How has mental illness affected your life?

Not as simple as that. If people could just talk their way out of mental illnesses then alot of problems would be solved. But it doesn't work that way.
Certainly, depressed people could do with circumstances which tackle the source of depression. Anti-depressants in of themselves are not the final solution, but they are essential for treating symptoms.

Your advice is just unhelpful, and you shouldn't have bothered to register.

x

If it was as simple as "pretending to be a Sikh" or just "go out and enjoy your life" then I would have done that by now. Considered becoming a mental health practitioner?

I mean really, do you think I ruined my education & social life just so I could get some attention and to be a trendy mentally ill person?

LOL.

You want to look perfect....yes?

That is why you pluck/trim your eyebrows and are never happy with your hair. You do not like the shape of your forehead or head or possibly ears.

Am I right or wrong?

Are there any other aspects of your body you are not happy with that you haven't told us about?

If not, then growing your hair and wearing a sikh bandana (they call it a patka) and turban over that is a good solution to your problem.

This constant battering your brain has had from your environment (it is because of your environment (culture, people) that you are feeling insecure now) over the years has brought you to the place you are now. Depression was inevitable.

Follow my advice and see what happens. One step at a time. Gd Luck.

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'MY BRAIN IS MY FRIEND, NOT MY ENEMY'

aw, that sounds awful! i have low self esteem but it doesnt rule my life, not in the way that BDD seems to affect yours. did you manage to see a CBT in the end?

for what its worth, i think you have lovely hair! and doesn't seem 'messy' at ALL! anyhow, look at robert pattinson and kings of leon, etc. messy = hot!

hope things get better for you and everyone else posting in this thread.

Depression is the most common mental illness. First onset of depression imo shouldn't be treated with anti-depressants. Some people are too hasty in asking their doc's to prescribe meds.
It exacerbates the problem by turning a potentially temporary event into a potential permanent event.

Meds should be described for illnesses that are induced by chemical imbalances where the symptoms of the illness prohibit the individual from leading a normal life.

Depression in many instances doesn't just happen. In some instances there is a underlying factor that 'pushes' on the brain so often that it seems 'impossible' for the individual to accept it will ever be 'acceptable' to them.

I was trying to say individuals should try to FIGHT the symptoms that arise out of these conditions, constantly keep trying to find solutions and defeat or change these underlying factors to make them acceptable to themselves.

Never let a problem get the better of you. You are not as weak as you presume. The human body has a propensity to self heal so does the mind.

You're definitely not helping. Blaming people for mental illness is not the way to go, and is often damaging. When people are suicidally depressed, they've often exhausted their coping resources. The need for medicine perhaps depends on the severity of depression.

And you seem to be mocking thisisnew with your Turban suggestion and whatnot. I call troll.

Well so far I have been suppressing my depression which is mainly due to stress from the heap of upcoming university exams and social life problems (lack of it).

I occasionally whip myself HARD with a belt to let out my stress. Its something I have to face myself and no one can really help me :/

OK, well as long as you don't kill yourself.

Although I think self-harm is more of a social thing, rather than a mental illness.

I don't want to but I still get the thoughts.

social? I'm not an emo or whatever. There's nothing social about it.

Agreed. How is it a social thing when a lot people self harm and don't tell anyone about it?

I know. I've barely told anyone that I know irl. There's a handful of people that know and I've only told them because I can trust them. I know there's a huge stigma surrounding it but there's not really that many 'emos' that self harm. The majority (from my experience) keep it quiet.

If it wasn't a social thing, then people wouldn't self-harm in such a limited amount of ways. Slitting ones wrists would not be so common. Obviously there are other ways in which to self-harm, but if it was actually psychological, then the methods wouldn't be so limited - fact.

Also, just because it is influenced by society, doesn't mean you have to tell people about it.

But I'm shocked that the NHS is still so bad at helping those with mental health problems, I thought the resources and psychologists/ counsellors available would have been decent, and not fraught with mis-diagnoses etc. Can anybody explain this to me?