Innocent girl in baby slaughter accusation
My friend and workmate had just had her first baby and was very nervous about taking care of the child while her husband was away. I used to stay over with her, help her take care of her first born, keep her company - much as I had done throughout her pregnancy.

Around the same time I was diagnosed with manic depression. It was a pretty difficult period but I had started taking medication and seeing the shrink frequently, and people were being very understanding given that severe mental illness is still highly stigmatised and taboo in this country. At least, most people were...

"Are you still okay to babysit for me tonight?" asked my friend sweetly.

"Yeah, no problem, what time?" I asked.

"No," she said. "I mean are you...okay...? You're not going to harm my baby, are you? You wouldn't... kill my baby would you?"

My antipsychotic drugs were not strong enough to suppress the hurt and betrayal that someone (whose father is a neuroscientist) felt the need to ask that question.

Political Correctness might have been welcome. Actually, no, some semblance of awareness might have been better - people with mental illness are more likely to be the victims of violence than to cause it.

The on-topic PC bit: I don't care so much about whether it's called manic depression, bipolar, mental distress, or variations on those themes. I do prefer that people are a bit PC and don't label me "nuts", "bonkers", "mad" or "psycho". I use "mental" myself sometime so feel free to label me with that. And please don't confuse mental illness with learning difficulties. I get to mock learning difficulties. Cos I'm mental.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 22 Nov 2007, 18:09, 8 replies)

I wonder
if no one has replied because they are afraid of offending you?
(housetits is channelling Natalie Cassidy - then, Thu 22 Nov 2007, 20:41, closed)

hmmm
I was wondering that. And then I thought, nah, it's b3ta...
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 22 Nov 2007, 21:59, closed)

Ah.
Depression.

"The illness that dares not speak it's name"

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. I used to hide, as much as you can do when you're a raving loony, the fact that I've suffered for years with depression. Then I "came out" - much as Gay does. I stopped being ashamed of my "weakness" and started to talk about it.

But I still refer to Pysch Wards as:

"Napoleon Factories"


What?
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Fri 23 Nov 2007, 2:00, closed)

Say it now and say it loud, I'm suffering from mental distress and I'm proud!
Better living through pharmaceuticals. And therapy.

Y'know, I quite enjoy the mania until it reaches the seeing/hearing-stuff-that-isn't-there phase, but I agree with you about the depression. Put simply: I don't think I'd survive another major episode.

More power to lithium, SSRIs and sleeping tablets (in small regular doses).
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Fri 23 Nov 2007, 9:08, closed)

Had to post.
My mother-in-law has a similar type of problem. My wife's a bit sensetive about it and refers to it as a 'hormonal imbalace'. Being the tactless twat that I am, i keep saying 'offensive' things, like "she's off her tits again" and "she doesn't know what planet she's on".

Being resonable, I don't think I should have to mind my mouth when she's been calling us at all hours of the night, worried that she packed the wrong underpants for my F-I-L. (He works away)

It was a bit harsh of your friend to say what she did, I would never believe that my M-I-L would do anything to actively harm our baby, but I have gone to her house after she called me (sounding panicky) to find her and our niece stark naked and stuck in a vicious cycle of panic and fear. (The niece threw a paddy and because she couldn't cope, the M-I-L panicked and started wailing and so on).

On a more positive note, and showing my b3tan colours, I usually look at the bright side (which my wife fails to appreciate) because some of the things she comes out with when she's 'off on one' are pure fekkin comedy gold.
The other year she bought my wife a Donald duck 9pc jigsaw for christmas, and an ornamental teapot for me. (My wife was 23 and there were no children in the family, I didn't drink tea)

Best of luck with everything.
(Greencloud Wanted to go fishing on, Fri 23 Nov 2007, 9:46, closed)

hmmmm
I met my current bloke in a depression/bp chat room (and a year on we're very happy thank you)....but I would confess to not telling most people where we met due to some peoples views on mental health 'issues'.
PC stuff doesn't really help at all I would say it's the thought (or lack of it) behind what's said not the actual words that matters.
(cmouse is pondering about life in other jobs, Fri 23 Nov 2007, 11:42, closed)

If only I were mad I could have Mad Pride
I have ME/CFS, you should see what utter bollocks people with this have to put up with every day and not just from ordinary twats but the medical professionals (ha!) who are supposed to help us. Apparently, we have a suggestibility virus and want to be sick (live in poverty, etc), so the only treatment is to convince us that our sickness beliefs are wrong (CBT). Then if we don't get better it was our fault for not believing/wanting to get better. This means that any person anywhere, if we are actually well enough to venture outside for a welcome sojourn, can verbally abuse us at will because we are malingerers, even described by one medical professional (government approved bloke) as "the undeserving sick" (because of our hypochondriac malingering and fake illness beliefs). It's so much fun. I kind of wish there was PCness for ME/CFS.
(Bus Turd, Tue 27 Nov 2007, 16:19, closed)

whoaa!
'Undeserving sick'? That's so harsh! Yeah, we get shunted into CBT too (after a year long waiting list). When they asked me what I wanted to address in CBT I said: dealing with manic depression, fear of deep lows, fear of commitment, fear of having sex with people I'm close to, fear of spiders and fear of chewing gum. We're working on the first two.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Wed 28 Nov 2007, 19:33, closed)