By Casey Trombley

We have all heard of depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, schizophrenia, and so on. Mental illnesses are becoming much more talked about in America. One in five people suffer from mental illnesses, according to the National Alliance of Mental Illness. People who often suffer from any type of mental illness will self-medicate, and it usually does more harm than good. Today, Danny S. suffers from mental illnesses, and she is here to tell us how it has affected her personally and her views on mental illnesses.

•  What is one or two major mental issues that you currently have? How do they affect your daily life?

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and major depression. The way bipolar disorder and the major depression affects me is that I get really bad mood swings. Sometimes I am either really happy and jumping all around, or I am yelling and crying; there is usually no in between. I have a tendency of getting negative thoughts and from time to time they get hard to push out of my head.

•  How do you cope with these issues? What are some of the difficulties that you have with these issues?

One of my main coping skills for a long time was self-harm, but lately I have really started to enjoy writing, which is my healthy way of coping. When I write, I am usually thinking about doing something stupid, then I think it through, and I then say to myself, “No it is okay.”

One difficulty that often occurs is when I am put in a social situation where I have a difficult time responding, especially if I have to give a presentation in front of class. I get really bad anxiety and usually end up making myself look stupid. For example, getting a magnet off of a white board; I will sit there and struggle with taking the magnet off of the white board. I will end up freaking out until someone comes and helps me and that is when I feel stupid, all because my friend could take the magnet off in one second.

• What are your views on people who self-diagnose with mental illnesses?

Well, I think it depends on their personal situation. If they are in a scenario where they cannot see a doctor, then that is somewhat okay, but it would still be healthy to go see a doctor. It is not healthy to say you have a disorder when you really do not have one.

• What are some suggestions you have for people who suffer from mental health issues?

Reach out, talk to a friend, a parent. Try to go see a doctor if you can because they will try to help you as much as possible. Even if they do not quite figure out what is wrong in the beginning, they will find something in the end. Recovery will take time depending on the person, of course.

If you are suffering from depression, anxiety, or just stress related to school or life, SPC has services that can assist you. Check out the website or call and speak confidentially to someone at 800-878-5470.

Header photo by ashley rose (flickr creative commons license).