Yes, I'm a bit afraid. For instance, the local library employs disabled and a particular young man constantly waives and follows me, saying "hey, hey, come here". I've been told its my hair color that seems to attract him. In any event I'm afraid and don't make eye contact and keep walking. Should I make eye contact? Would this invite him into my personal space? I feel bad that I don't acknowledge him, all the while also afraid. I bet the library staff think I'm stuck-up, tho! Which is embarrassing.

Dancer
There's an interesting documentary from some years ago, (i'll remember the name eventually) about the Vietnam vets against the Vietnam war. Their activities were very very extensive. They were known about at the time, but that history has been forgotten. It's mentioned therein that a myth was begun, about the crazy dangerous vets, in order to discredit the activities of the antiwar vets.

mustang why not talk to one of the libery staff and ask thir opinion on weather you should acknolage the guy or not, thir be familure with his patters of behaviour

when this happens in our countire the S-H are treateed horriblie, raged edjes to wonds snipped with no pain relife, verbalie chastised and mocked, publicalie embarised and some have been left after cutting too deep and bleading too much with a plastic bag over thir arms (they put it their to catch blood) and then a towel rapped around their arm. All pationts are seen by a triage nurse to asses thir severity hence time wating....get a ununderstanding nurse and you be sitting hours and hours and hours, all as a type of punishment to discourage the behaviour.

within the area of addiction thirs many self harmers, S-H can itself be classed as an addiction after reaching a sertine level of severity before its just potencialie addictive.

I done my masters around this subject and heer many are untranned, don't know basic around self-harm or just view it as attension seeking, which for some it might be, but i often wonder what thir seeking attension about, not just attension seeking bad bad bad !

i glade you delt with your mum and the stuff it effected you by and that you have a good relashionship with her now.

I know mentalie hellness affects behaviour and being in relashion to a mentalie ill person is tireing to say the lest and couse damage in those close, how can it not when one definision of mental illness is strange or uncommon behaviours, so how can it not.

The other side of coin is for crying out load thir mentalie ill! you know what i mean?....I think its my responciability to mop up the issues this couses in me, not to keep blaming the ill person. It certinlie exercises your spiritule muscles lol.

i hop that makes sense.


as for people becomng wide eyed, fearfull about the unit what, if any stuff is being done to readress the stereotypes?

oh i forgott with S-H heer thir either locked dowen in a unite medicated and returned home, or just sticked up and put back ut on the streets. their should be another option reallie but thir aint

oh and as for the people heer within the forum, i was hoping the others would think oh i know so and so with such and such and thir ok with me, so...maybee i give x person in real life a chance before i make my mind up abou them...thats why i made that point.

My immediate thought when reading dancer's original question was that I'm NOT afraid of the mentally ill. We all have friends and family members who are mentally ill. Well, I do.

But the more I read, I realized I do have fears. Those fears have to do with the other person's mood. And a lot of the moods have to do with reaction to medications. I was once around a loved one who was hospitalized for mood status. The doctors were way too aggressive with trying different meds to get his behaviour to level out. He became even more agitated. I witnessed several nurses, the hospital security man and a male nursing assistant try to get this man in bed and restrained. Let me tell you. I was scared. Someone mentioned the adrenalin rush, the increased physical strength. It was all there. I was the loved one present and had absolutely no control over the patient. There was no way I could have talked him into cooperating. It was awful.

So, for the most part, I'm not afraid of the mentally ill. Often, I wouldn't even know who they are. But I am petrified of someone whose mood changes in my presence and there's anger involved.

The same goes for someone who isn't mentally ill but becomes angry in my presence. There are plenty of people who are not diagnosed with mental illness, but have anger issues. Wouldn't care to be around them either. So to me, it's not the mental illness, but anyone's foul mood.

good destinction dotsie think you hit the nail on the head with the mood and anger issues.

i would't stand in way of anyones line of fire, id either vanishe (have done that) or come over the top of them scareing them more than i had been scared (done that too) especialie if i felt it to be a bullieing situasion and bullies do back dowen when face with force....on;lie if its bulling.

after talking, or went to one or other. i have combined both sometimes lol.

anyone metalie well or not when out of control with themeselfs are very scarrie to be around, and i been scarred many times but not felt it untill afterwards a lot sometimes during aswell. I been told that i don't look afraid but why would't i be but just blocking it to survie the moment at the time. Both works and has it place but its about judment at time.

i was stuck in a room of maybee about 10 people all a bit emotionalie vulriable one decided they were gonna hammer one other but not in the building anyway talking was doing no good and i was physicalie between them both and afraid of it getting physical in the building anyway. I had enough thought it was gonna explode and went to leave to go call police emergency style, obviouslie i hade't annonsed why i was going just "i sick of this s&&T"as i was halfway to door i stoped walked back a few paces and talked to agresser and invited him outside for a cigerete.

Away from crowed and person he was ragin at he calmed dowen, took a good 20 minets reasoning and "heers your choises and consiquinses stuff" type of chat So that was right thing to have done at time but it was putting myself perhaps in a more vulrible positen potencialie but it actulie wase't in the actule playing out of the situasion.

i rember that one clarlie as i never felt so scared or physicalie vulriable as that in my life and onlie becouse i knew i was newlie pregnant, so physicalie restraning someone be out of question and or getting between two men fighting be out of question too, thats what hietend my fear that day.

apart from desplayed or barlie conselled anger anyone worthie of being given the chance.

thanks for the nail hitting

now i popping back in with afterthoughts and its just that vulriable dose't always mean helpless of without ability to harm, sometimes it just depends on person within or reaction to meds or lack of meds too, as with your relative.

perhapps it all on an indivduel situasion basis ....and not the mental illness as most people could get to a level of out of controlness that has them dangerise, mentalie unwell or not.

I believe more than anything I fear becoming mentally ill myself. I just read an alarming article saying that not only is diabetes bad on its own, and may contribute to certain cancers and heart disease BUT now they are finding it also is a precipitor to Alzeheimers disease. GEESH!!! What else?

I read the report thouroughly and instantly began forgetting things. Now I can worry about yet another issue related to health.