mental illness

Here Are Some Insights From People Dealing With Mental Illness, Courtesy of Reddit

Despite the link-sharing site’s warts, once in a while Reddit comes through with a post that just makes you scroll and scroll. A couple days ago, someone posed a simple question: “Psychiatrists/Psychologists of Reddit, what is the most profound or insightful thing you have ever heard from a patient with a mental illness?” More than 7,300 comments later — and setting aside the fact that no one went through to fact-check the stories being told — there’s a lot here worth reading, including observations from both clinicians and people dealing with mental illness themselves.

Here are a few that jumped out, along with links if you want to check out the at-times-meaty conversations sparked by them.

My arms miss you.” Ten year old Autistic boy asking for a hug. — GetOffMySheet

I work with kids.

I had a kiddo in my office (probably 7-9 years old, somewhere in there), and everything he played with crashed, exploded or was destroyed in some way. I asked him about it (after he drew a picture then scribbled it out). He had a difficult past (not living with his parents, witnessed drug use, etc) “Well, if you get mad at the grown ups who make you mad, you get in trouble. But if you make an explosion or a car crash, they think you’re just playing.” Yep. 100%. Even grown ups do this. :) — mindilo0hoo

Patient with schizophrenia that described it as spending all day in a locked room with a stereo on full blast and not being able to turn the volume down. — GeniusLost

Child with autism who was struggling with her difficulty making and keeping friends: “It’s okay if I don’t have any friends. Having friends makes you happy but it doesn’t make you a good person. You know who was really popular? Hitler.”

This girl was so lonely and it was causing her so much pain, but she still managed to see the difference between being popular and being good. We made a project of finding examples of unpopular people who did really good and important things. She still has a tough life ahead of her, but I think her attitude will help her be strong. — nezumipi

“What screws us up most is the picture in our head of how things SHOULD be.” - Cooopz

Check out the rest of the thread for more of them.

Insights From People Dealing With Mental Illness