Someone asked “Why do people admit to others they have mental illness?”

I responded with the following.

Great question, and there are several parts of this response.

Preamble.

To admit something almost suggest that you are doing something wrong. Though there are times when honesty with self and others is required and necessary in many aspects of our lives, but there might not be anything inherent to “admit” when someone has an illness. Though that’s not to suggest that some illnesses do have an impact on others around us. Suffering with mental illness is potentially such a condition that not only affects the person suffering, but potentially others around them.
A friend often uses the term “mental distress” rather than, and never, “mental illness”. I wondered about the insistence in that peculiar phrasing, and that friend suggested that phase better accounts for the contribution of others toward someone’s already distressed state of mind. That makes sense. But seeing which contribution is what, honestly, might be quite complex and delicate.
Perhaps rather than being in a position, or put in a position, to have to admit to others about having a mental illness, it might be better if the conditions existed where a person could “share” about their mental illness, or distress, or whatever is felt? Do you admit when you have a flu, or do you share with others, who can empathise, how your flu is causing you to feel?

Why Share?

I feel this question can be viewed in several ways.
Reasons why you might not want to share

• Understanding. Often it’s not obvious what’s happening when your experiences become difficult and challenging due to a mental illness. Especially at onset. And often, people labour for a long time with their illness not really aware that what is a mental illness can be treated. How can you communicate something effectively that you don’t really fully understand? Better psycho-education (at schools and work environments) and early intervention might be helpful with that understanding.
• Insight. Insight, or a lack of insight, is a particular difficulty with mental illness, and often raises contentious debates about liberties when treatment is forced upon someone. With effective treatment and therapy it’s possible to have great insight into your condition. And with that insight the hope is wellbeing can be maintained and to minimise the impact if a relapse should occur. Even people without a diagnosis often lack insights about themselves and their behaviour. Don’t you know people like that?
• Fear. Mental illness can be a terrifying experience. Unless if you have experienced it, it’s difficult to appreciate just how profoundly affecting and disruptive mental illness is. Depending on the particular diagnosis, people with mental illness often fear other much more than others could ever fear a person with mental illness. Would you open up with someone when you are fearful of others?
• Stigma. Oh stigma. Stigma is very real! At whatever stage of recovery there is some stigma. And even if fully recovered, stigma might continue to follow that person around. With your relationships (how do you explain to your new partner, when illness is much misunderstood?) With employment (why is there a huge gap in you CV/resume?) With friendships, etc. I’m sure most people don’t set out to stigmatise others, but it does happen, and that along with many other barriers often make it difficult for people recovering from mental illness to being to rebuild their lives. How would you hold onto you sense of hope?

Reasons why you might want to share

• Support. People going through difficult experiences generally need support. Whatever the difficult experience, and mental illness isn’t any different. If sharing can be encouraged, empathy understanding and compassion shown, then the person going through the experience of recovery has one of the most helpful things in that process of recovery. Don’t you relay on the support and love of those close to you when things are difficult? Or, don’t you often yearn to have a person in your life with whom you can connect and speak with?
• Treatment. Sharing, openly, clearly,and honestly matters when receiving treatment. In fact, perhaps the quality of that sharing might determine the quality and effectiveness of that treatment. How can someone help, when what you really need help with isn’t communicated?

Reasons why it’s important to share

• Isn’t it healthy to be fine with who you are? There are reasons you might not what you share, and reasons why you might want to share. But, whatever you are going through, you are you. And, it’s it not healthy to be grounded in you and what you are going through. Why stigmatise yourself?
• Being in touch with your own story. Articulating yourself and putting things into words often is helpful in processing your experiences. Gaining new insight, perspective and appreciation about yourself and your experiences. This could be a private thing like keeping a journal. This could be speaking with people you know and trust. Or, even it could be sharing your experiences with others. Isn’t it true that the more in touch you are with your experiences, the better positioned you are to affect changes?
• Supporting and inspiring others. You could be going through it. Or you might have been through it. There is something valuable in each and every one of the things we experience. The value of those personal experiences, if you seek to find value and purpose in your experience then what you have to share can be of tremendous value. if you could make a difference in someone else life, wouldn’t you?

I hope sharing this with you is somehow helpful.
Hope all is good.

(Other responses can be found at http://www.quora.com/Mental-Illness/Why-do-people-admit-to-others-they-have-mental-illness)