Reply to comment

There are so many things that I want to discuss and I find my thoughts all jumbled together, between depression and my own personal experience and schizophrenia of which I have very limited experience I feel as though "my mind [is] going numb"

Depression

I want to once again clarify that being sad and being depressed are two completely different feelings. The feeling of complete and utter despair, and the inability to rationalize that feeling are some of the worst experiences I feel an individual can endure. When a person is sad, there is a reason, my boyfriend dumped me, my kitten ran away, my mom and I had a disagreement. Depression does not come with any consolation; it does not have a reason, or a solution. Depression is a constant lonely, sadness; unexplainable and unforgiving to those who are so unfortunate as to experience it. So, when Yona and Paul suggested a pill, free from side effects and always reliable, I would have to be a masochist not to take it.

I want also want to add that I understand Meredith's point of view and I am glad that the illness that I found so completely draining and debilitating she was able to learn and grow from. However, I do not feel as though it is at all fair to say that one should not take a hypothetical pill because they have the capability to suffer, and through their suffering learn a great deal. I also think that depression does not make people who they are; on the contrary it breaks people. It breaks people down piece by piece until absolutely nothing is left, nothing but the want to end your suffering. Depression is not an opportunity and it is not normal, it is not used to build character. Depression is a mental health issue and that is why we are even talking about it. Treatment for depression is necessary and without it comes unnecessary suffering.

I am sorry about how forceful I am with this issue, but once you have been there - to a world that sometimes you cannot come back from for days - you realize the lengths to which you will go not to experience it again.

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia I can only imagine is also a terrible illness and I completely disagree with Paul that schizophrenia has positive attributes. I don't think that the families that deal with schizophrenia on a daily basis are amazed by the workings of a malfunctioning human brain, and the schizophrenics themselves - their inability to distinguish reality and fantasy must be like living through a nightmare that you can never wake up from. I believe that when an individual is not directly present in a situation all the pros and cons can be listed and discussed, but I do not believe that individuals in that situation see any pros at all - only cons.

So much of what it means to be human lies in human interaction and the ability for humans to understand each other socially. Schizophrenics do not possess many of those social skill and they often times do not live in the social 'real' world but instead in a world created by their own 'malfunctioning brains'. For those who think that schizophrenia has positive factors - I encourage you to consider that, as a schizophrenic grows older their brain atrophies. Schizophrenia is a disease and it needs to be treated.

It is important to consider that even schizophrenics such as John Nash who lived 'semi-normal' lives really can be large dangers not only to themselves but others. If the baby in the clip shown in class had drowned then I don't believe anyone would even consider 'semi-functioning' schizophrenics as actually functioning at all. Do communities have a right to know? Do schizophrenics have a right to help, even though they often times are opposed to it?

These are just some preliminary thoughts....