ANSWERS: 56
  • No way, I'd be there for them, they are here for me :-)
  • No,because they can't help it,people are born with mental illnesses.
  • No way Zack, I still love you buddy!!!
  • No. I have a dear friend suffering with a mental illness and my opinion of the struggle involved has changed drastically.
  • No, of course not. We all have different levels of ability, in different areas. A person with a mental illness does not have to be defined by that illness. The illness is just one aspect of that person, just like any other chronic condition. I wouldn't think less of someone with athritis or diabetes.
  • Everyone will say no... and i agree! A mental illness is an uncontrolable thing! However, they can get on your nerves but it still isnt their fault!
  • No, and I don't :)
  • The problem is that other people do. They might no mean it but you'll think differently about someone screaming with torretts than you would someone walking down the street reading a book.
  • I have this female friend who we believe is suffering from depression because she's the bread winner and no one in her family tries to help her out. They keep on splurging, while she continues working hard for the money (yup yup I know you've heard that before). But we kept on supporting her and making her laugh. When she's with us, we try as much as possible to cheer her up and to help her forget her problems even for just a while. What are friends for?
  • It depends on how the person is dealing with the mental illness. I don't think 'negatively' of people like that but I have removed myself from people with mental illness because it wasn't healthy for my son and me.
  • No way, I would hope they could get the right treatment if possible and as much support as they could stand. I believe many people have some illness mental or physical. It's not their fault, like blaming someone for being tall. I love ya' Zack : )
  • Absolutely not. They're suffering. They need your care and support, but not your pity or your distaste.
  • No, but I would try to find someone to help them if they weren't aware they needed it.
  • No, They're all crazy, like me;)
  • I haven't so far...
  • no. i usually try to help them as much as my limited power allows. they do the same for me - and no a reality slap in the face is not negatively thinking of them. it's a wake up call from a friend who cares enough to tell you to snap out of it at times [diagnosed w dysthymia].
  • I wouldn't because I myself am not quite mentally sound. However, my 'friends' discovered this and were not too understanding.
  • Unfortunately, most people do think that. However there are others who accept that all of us are defected in some way or the other.
  • Only if they refused to seek treatment.
  • I think negatively of a friend who is an alcoholic and doesn't stop drinking. She's been through detox once and was back drinking within a week. She was never commited to the program to begin with and refuses to go to AA for one reason or another. I got tired of her phone calls in which she was slurring her words. Don't have the patience for it. I send birthday and Christmas cards but don't answer her calls. I'm friends with other family members so I know she's still drinking and I don't need the complications in my life. She knows where to get help. Still makes me angry. Alcoholism is an illness also and is in the mind as well as body.
  • I don't think so.
  • No way, man. Since I also have a mental illness, they'd actually become more appealing...heh.
  • No for sure. They could be just like us but in a different way. Look! They are suffering from a mental illness and we are suffering from a crying heart.
  • never!
  • Absolutely no way...stress is a mental illness and I think most of my friends suffer from it...and probably myself included...its the modern world we live in :(
  • No way. A person can't help being ill. Holding it against them, now that's insane.
  • No, considering i have a mental illness too, i think its like someone asking, would you think any less of me because i have HIV? i know i wouldn't its just an illness and it doesn't define who the person is, so no i wouldn't think any different about my friend.
  • of course not. it is not there falut there are suffering an mental illness! some people are born with it! the problem is some poeple dont relize how seriours some peoples mental illness might be.
  • No, I would give encouragement and support.
  • Absolutely no way
  • No, mental illness is so misconstrued. We don't think much of anxiety disorders, but mention bipolar and people think crazy, when they don't know how many types of bipolar disorder there are or that people can be normal on meds. Even severe schizophrenics can perform normally in society "if" they take their meds. and the right combo. is found. Yes, it's scary, but probably everyone has something that would fit the DSM-IV-TR criteria for something. I know I do.
  • Been there many times. I've never dropped a friend or thought less of them. I still have friends with problems. When I make a friend, it's for the long haul, as long as they want to be friends, I'll be there to help in anyway I can. I'll do the research they need, I sit with them all night, I'll take them to appointments, I'll care for their animals or kids.
  • I suffer from many and have no right to judge but even if I didn't I still wouldn't.
  • No. I have a problem with depression so I know what its like to have a mental illness.
  • Of course not..this is a time for compassion not back biting. I'm loyal to my friends..except for those who betrayed me of course.Ü
  • Of course not. I have yet to meet a normal person anyway!
  • no if they need medical help they should get it, people need to be able to cope in society, if there illness is so bad they cant cope they can and should get it. I would try to help them seek medical assistance if I thought they were very bad off .
  • ocourse not, thats like asking would I think negatively about someone who has cancer. It's not a persons fault that they have mental illness.
  • No, I would do the best to try to help them and learn more about the illness
  • no i would not
  • No... My mother is Bi-Polar I have been exposed to mental illness from a young age because of that. I have no negative thoughts for people with illness of any kinds.
  • I would not, but then I have bipolar disorder. With one exception in the last 20 years my "true" friends will have nothing to do with me. We need to come a very long ways before the stigma is gone. Good luck. This is not your fault. Do the best you can do and keep it to yourself as much as possible. Make new friends who do not know. It's the sad truth.
  • Because I suffer from (or rather, live contently with) a "mental illness," I would hope the friends who do know about it don't think negatively toward me. If they had one, I would find them a bit more tolerable in knowing they aren't much more different than I am.
  • no...becouse i suffer from Opssesive Compulsive Desorder (OCD)!!!
  • No. Would you think less of them because they had an obvious physical illness? One and the same.
  • I think there's a lot of saints in this list. I for one am not applying for sainthood. I just want to be a human being like everyone else!
  • No, I know what its like and I would want to be there for them
  • No, not at all. The people I both live and work with all suffer from a mental illness - it's the line of work I chose, in fact I think the complete opposite. In my experience I have found that those suffering from a mental illness have very interesting life stories - some of it is extremely painful, there are issues they are still trying to come to terms with, but at the same time, as they go through life you see them work at and overcome these problems. They are still just like anyone else - I would hope people wouldn't think negatively of someone with cancer, a broken leg, a heart condition, a bad back etc. and mental illness is just the same. There are however, people who find it difficult because mental illness is not something they can "see" - they can't put a plaster on it and make it all better. I love my friends and colleagues for who they are as people - for their sense of humour, their support, and their friendship. A mental illness should never override these positive aspects.
  • no. they cant help suffering from mental illness.
  • No. I have the greatest respect for people who can admit that they have a mental illness and follow through with obtaining help for it. They are making themselves vulnerable in admitting it. Best of luck to you.
  • Maybe it's because I've had a few rough times, but I would never judge someone because of a mental illness.
  • No, would make them feel like family to me.
  • To be honest, it would depend on the illness. Something including violent outbursts would almost certainly make me feel scared of them, and scared is a negative emotion, isn't it? I had a friend once who was going through a really depressing time. I tried everything I could think of to help him, but none of it made any difference. He became more and more uncomfortable to be around. So yeah, as awful as it might sound to admit it, I guess mental illness would make me feel negatively about a friend. Mind you, I'm so far gone now there's not too much I don't feel negatively about... :P
  • Never! Nobody is perfect; everyone has their imperfections and though not always understood, most of us are able to accept mental illnesses in our friends. 'Mental illness' is a big term, and many people don't always consider the fact that most metal illnesses are actually pretty acute and almost unnoticeable in some. It's hard to tell someone you have a mental illness, it's a scary thing to say about yourself. But as long as we are capable of understanding and/or accepting it as an imperfection, it'll be fine.
  • Not at all. I'd be a huge hypocrite if I did.

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