What do you think of people who claim mental health issues are just excuses?

I honestly think they’re just wired differently... they come from totally different backgrounds... at least if you ask me.

Look, I’m not saying those issues aren't valid excuses, because I've read enough to realize there’s usually something deeper going on behind the scenes... but my personality just won't let me play along with that mindset. My immediate reaction is always, "Oh, please, just shake it off and move on." Then my rational side kicks in and tells me it might not be that simple, but that initial gut feeling stays—it's more like, okay, fine, you have a problem, now actually *do* something about it. Sobbing about it isn't going to fix anything. Go talk to a specialist, get moving, handle your business. To be honest, the constant stagnation bothers me way more than the actual problem itself.

To the people who think depression is just some convenient excuse to be lazy: I honestly wish you could experience it firsthand. Maybe then you’d shut up. It's ridiculous how hard it is to find actual information these days—it feels like we're living in the Stone Age. Pathetic.

Jerry Martinez5 said:I agree.

But honestly, so many people have mental health struggles. Take me, for example. Then recently, I heard this mom talking about her daughter—the girl is supposedly dealing with depression, so the mom has been supporting her for years. Because of this "depression," she couldn't finish college or get a job.

The kid has a boyfriend, a social life, looks great, goes out all the time. When I ask if she's seeing a therapist, everyone looks at me like I'm an idiot. Obviously, she isn't. 🙏

In my opinion, that isn't depression; it's just laziness. With therapy and maybe some medication, she probably could have finished school and found work. It’s much easier to let your mom pay the bills. Do I think she's mentally healthy? Not even close. If she were, she wouldn't let her mother meddle in her life like that for so long.

Years ago, back when I lived in a small town, I knew people with the toughest diagnoses—schizophrenia being the worst in my book—who held down steady jobs and functioned perfectly fine every day. When things got bad, they’d just take a month or two off on medical leave. If people actually had decent support systems, even those with severe conditions could lead active lives. (Though, I guess for most, that's impossible, unfortunately.)

A healthy person will never truly understand you, but then again, you don't vent to them. Things are harder for people with struggles, but that doesn't mean it's impossible.

Unfortunately, I have both a college degree and a Master's, along with a mountain of mental health struggles. I'm actually dealing with dual diagnoses: depressive-anxiety disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder. I've dealt with depression since the start of puberty—something my "wonderful parents" just brushed off as "growing pains." But the depression didn't go away after puberty passed, and I've been seeing a psychiatrist for five years now.

My parents, who should be showing much more empathy—though they actually believe they are being understanding—have told me that these things aren't even real and that psychiatrists aren't actual doctors. I won't go into details (though maybe I will in a journal) unless I decide to end my life today. Honestly, I'm just waiting for my husband to get home from work because my son is not even three yet and can't be left alone.

All in all, this prolonged depression and anxiety resulted in me taking far too many anti-anxiety meds, which landed me in the hospital. That time was a genuine, desperate attempt to numb the anxiety, but today... today I am consciously thinking about the end. I can't take it anymore.

And for the icing on the cake: yesterday, my "wonderful" father blamed everything on me (after the hospital situation, I lost my job). My only regret is that I didn't tell him that HE should have acted like a father during my childhood instead of acting like a dictator.

Sorry for the long post; I just wanted to share that I have a very close connection to the issue of people who think mental illness is just an excuse, and it's truly terrible...

Honestly, I have even less respect for the people who keep a stash of Xanax at home and act like it’s totally fine to pop them whenever, yet they turn around and judge anyone who actually relies on them.

Back when I first started dealing with anxiety, I was a complete mess—just lost and spiraling. My biggest mistake, though, was thinking everything would just fix itself if I ignored it 🙄. I remember talking to this one close friend of mine once; she was one of my inner circle, and she suggested I take some Xanax just to deal with my "stress and tension." I thought about it, but I was too terrified to just start self-medicating without help (good for me for having that gut instinct 🙂), so I turned her down.
Once I finally had to face reality and admit that things weren't getting better and that I had a real issue, I basically "came out" about it to my boyfriend, my parents, and my girlfriends. Just the people closest to me... but that same girl who offered me the pills? She completely lost any sense of empathy and reacted so poorly. If I could take back that confession, I would. But hey, what's done is done. We didn't even speak for a while, and while we're cool now, things aren't what they used to be. Not to mention, she’s never once bothered to ask how I’m actually doing mentally.

The rest of my circle was really supportive, but this whole thing changed me. It made me way more guarded about my mental health. I’d much rather people think I’m being lazy or rude than let my guard down only to have them treat me like I'm crazy. And I'm not. But if someone doesn't get it, I'm not going to waste my breath explaining. The people who truly know me, know who I am. As for everyone else? I honestly don't give a damn 🙂

I mean, whatever, everyone deals with their own stuff. I know from experience that I'll go through these huge bursts of energy where I'm basically a total workaholic. Then, out of nowhere, I just crash and get super lazy and wiped out. No clue why it happens, but it does, so I totally get where those people are coming from. 😛

Douglas Morales2 said:Unfortunately, I have both a college degree and a Master's, along with a mountain of mental health struggles. I'm actually dealing with dual diagnoses: depressive-anxiety disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder. I've dealt with depression since the start of puberty—something my "wonderful parents" just brushed off as "growing pains." But the depression didn't go away after puberty passed, and I've been seeing a psychiatrist for five years now.

My parents, who should be showing much more empathy—though they actually believe they are being understanding—have told me that these things aren't even real and that psychiatrists aren't actual doctors. I won't go into details (though maybe I will in a journal) unless I decide to end my life today. Honestly, I'm just waiting for my husband to get home from work because my son is not even three yet and can't be left alone.

All in all, this prolonged depression and anxiety resulted in me taking far too many anti-anxiety meds, which landed me in the hospital. That time was a genuine, desperate attempt to numb the anxiety, but today... today I am consciously thinking about the end. I can't take it anymore.

And for the icing on the cake: yesterday, my "wonderful" father blamed everything on me (after the hospital situation, I lost my job). My only regret is that I didn't tell him that HE should have acted like a father during my childhood instead of acting like a dictator.

Sorry for the long post; I just wanted to share that I have a very close connection to the issue of people who think mental illness is just an excuse, and it's truly terrible...

Despite the depression and everything else, you finished college, got your Master’s, entered a relationship, got married, and found a job.👍 👍 👍

That’s exactly my point—diagnoses and issues don't have to be excuses. Was everything harder for you than it was for people without those problems? Yeah, obviously much harder. But you made it happen! 👍

You really should be proud of yourself.

And your parents, clearly, are just absolute morons. Luckily, you didn't let them completely wreck your life.🙏

It’s tough to accept that we have parents who don't want what's best for us. Who don't actually care about our well-being at all. But when you have parents like that, I guess there's no healing without pushing them to the very edge of your life.

People like that—until they actually go through it themselves—will always try to stigmatize us. It’s because of folks like them that we have to fight twice as hard. Honestly, it's exhausting. And even then, they still don't give us the respect we deserve. I say don't even bother paying them any mind.

Let me say this again:

It’s because nowadays, everyone claims they’re dealing with depression, hysteria, mania, or some kind of mental breakdown just to justify everything...
We’re talking about non-pathological stuff where a person's reaction is actually totally normal, but when you ask them "how's it going," they answer honestly and give you a glimpse into their *current* headspace... which is what you were actually asking about in the first place...

But then you go into full combat mode the second someone mentions "depression" (and yeah, you react like that—I'm assuming, since that's clearly the whole point of this thread)—and that’s exactly where the conflict starts.