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A rant. Not THE rant, but a rant all the same
Sometimes I wonder why it is (or so it seems) that some
people can just sail through life without any major
problems. How some seem to live life to its fullest. How
some don't inherit all the physical problems that is handed
down from generation to generation.
My brother was born with a birth defect. Doctors told
my parents that it was nothing they did wrong. It was
something inherited. They told the doctor he was wrong
this "defect" was no where in the family. Then at a family
reunion when my brother was in his late teens early
twenty's they saw it. A distant cousin had the same thing.
See, doctors were right it was inherited. But it didn't
happen in a "straight line", it was more in a "round about"
way. But it was there.
Same thing can be said for mental illness'. More likely than
not if you have a mental illness chances are you will find
a family member (or lots of family) that has the same
illness or something simular to what you have.
The thing is that family will admit to having "passed on"
some genetic defects but they won't admit to having any
mental illness' in the family. Why? I had someone the
other day tell me they don't blame people for not wanting
to admit they could have passed on this gene. Why? I
don't understand this and quite frankly this really pissed
me off.
I have a mental illness. I KNOW it is inherited. I KNOW
there are family members with the same type of problems.
I KNOW from which side the family it comes. So why
when a family member is approached about the illness
being inherited they totally lose it? Refuse to discuss it?
And after they calm down they will admit that "so and so's
daughter" has simular problems (but she is just crazy.
remember how she acted as a teen). But to look at them-
self and just admit that yeah it could have come from me
is something they aren't willing to do.
And then to have someone who is your friend say they
don't blame them for not fessing up? Bet you wouldn't
have said that about any other illness would you? Maybe
being my friend is harder than you thought it would be.
Maybe you don't want to "see" my problems.
Folks mental illness is just like any other physical illness,
you just can't see it. You could see my brother's "defect"
(but thanks to some doctors that worked miracles you
can no longer see it) but not mine. Everyone will admit
that his "defective" gene was in "in the family". But no
one wants to admit to my "defective" gene being in the
family.
Well screw you! Don't admit it. I have plenty other
inherited problems (high blood pressure, high colestrol)
and even this horrible bipolar disease. I know where it
came from. I am not blaming anyone. Crap happens.
You never know when a baby is born what it might inherit
and from who. But to just flat out deny it is wrong. You
aren't protecting anyone. You aren't helping anyone.
No, this isn't the rant I wanted to do the other day. But
the more I thought about something that was said to me
the more I had to get it off my chest.
onestrangecat at 6:01:00 PM EDT Blog about this entry |
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Ranting is a good thing.......I don't think keeping stuff inside is healthy at all. You seem to have a very good attitude about your illnesses {{{{{Kathy}}}}} and I applaud you for the way you express yourself about them.
Vivian -
These days it's important to be open about the genetic component of mental illness or the predisposition towards it. But there is a huge stigma attached to that subject, and that is taking an awful lot of breaking down.
Guido
http://journals.aol.co.uk/pharmolo/NorthernTrip -
I couldn't agree with you more. I have no idea why mental illness is something relatives want to shove back into the deepest recesses of their gene closets and pretend it's not there and it didn't come from their side etc. Ridiculous. In this day and age we are so much more informed on this subject, why are people still embarrassed about this being in the family. Maybe it's ignorance, maybe they are not in the more informed catagory because they are too busy denying it that they aren't able to see anything that pertains to it. It's too bad you have to deal with these people.
xoxo, Heather
http://journals.aol.com/heathermarie3073/Mylife/ -
It certainly is all about stigma. My SIL`s mother is bi polar and several other of her relations have it to so there is no question of it not being genetic. Why some people mental illness more than physical I don`t know but it`s as real as any other.
Sandra xxxx
9/27/06 10:48 PM
Ellie