Wish I was "normal"

I wish I didn't have to deal with mental illness. I go around others with mental illness at a support group. I have no idea what normal is. I have no idea what is going on in others minds that I cannot read. I try to be careful who I tell about my mental illnesses. I learned this through a lot of pain. Best wishes to you!

Yes, I do sometimes wish that I didn't have to deal with all this. But I think that everyone has their issues.. those who don't suffer mental illness have other problems which are as difficult for them as this is for us.
As for telling people... that is hard, but I am trying to overcome the fear of 'what people think' and be more open, because that is the only way that the stigma attached to mental illness will be reduced. It's very hard t tell people, though.

Same here... I often wish i was normal, felt normal, thought normal.
like people say "no one is normal" but there is a normality, what other people consider to be normal, and I'm not it.
it hurts, and sometimes it's confusing, but when I'm feeling good I like that I'm different.
Its just hard to stay positive about it when I'm not feeling good.
And my husband always is telling me "people like you the way you are" and it's true, because if I was normal and didn't struggle with the things i do, i would be boring selfish and would have life too easy! Thank God for all the non-normal people!! we make the world interesting!!

Hi sunmacroman,

You know as you mentioned stigma..I do come from a family with mental illness stigma ..my paternal Grandma was years in a mental institution as crazy and receiving shock treatments..it was 1936..as soon my Dad's 1 year birthday..she was institutionalized..I have no idea the name of the illness she was carrying...she was "crazy, very agressive and out of control and received shocks, had to kept tide up, or drugged.." that it is all that we know. Most my Dad siblings (they were 8) have issues with depressions. My Dad take tranquilizers since his late 30's. I knew he has depression issues and sometimes was bit nervous..couple years ago my Mom told me he was diagnose bipolar. Than it must run in the family as genetics goes..6 years ago as I entered my 40's I started to feel very stressed out, worried about much and had my 1st panick attacks and etc..

Conclusion: I come from a family stigmatized by many individuals with some mental issues, they were/are not "normal" but I loved them all, most of them I had the pleasure to meet..I ha opportunity to meet even my Grandma..30 + years after she went to institution, at her home and she was delighted and laughing at my ways of girly performance at 4years old. My Dad always remember those days we had with her as me making her laugh and sooo happy! She went throu sooo much, so much as our family did too, as my Dad growing up without her, for years living among the crazy institutionalized people.

Normal or crazy we deserve as humans to be treated with dignity, respect and love. In many places in this world people with mental issues are treated like animals, and there is much shame, still. That is very very sad. May the Lord provide for those who are suffering near by and far away.

There was a movie released in 1980 titled "The Big Red 1" about the U.S. 1st Infantry division based mostly in WW2 (except for the very beginning).There was a scene in the movie where American troops were capturing a mental hospital occupied by the Germans in France.The scene was in a dining hall,& at the end of the battle,one of the patients picked up a German submachine gun & started firing,calling out as he did "I am like you.I am sane".I have never forgotten that scene,& I believe that the intent of the scene was to show the irony of "sane" people killing each other.Is normal really that "normal"?Many times Christians are thought of as abnormal.in the book of acts Festus told Paul that his intellect had driven him mad.Look to Jesus.With Jesus there are no normal ones.We are all special to Him.Normal?With Jesus,I will take special any day.God bless you

I didn't feel normal for a long time. The biggest thing that helped me deal with issues stemming from PTSD is being sent to a mental health professional by my psychology professor. I can actual feel normal again and I'm glad I was sent there.

God Bless

Yep! You're not alone. It might help to tell God about this until you cry. I did that and I felt the weight coming off of me. Maybe feeling so alone with this at that time was putting the weight on you. Maybe taking it off will help you to feel better. You can talk to me about it, if you need someone to talk to.

My problem is not thinking I am inferior to others, but thinking I am superior.

I too have Asperger's, but I am against people who discriminate against others for having it.

And I routinely make fun of people. I guess that is not nice.

Actually I grew up with Asperger's. And when I am at home I have cognitive disorders and the like. But I still speak my mind anyway. And I am afraid I may get into fights with others.

I guess that is bad. I have trouble being nice, tell me.

Speaking of normal people, I guess we go out in public and we wonder. How many of you struggle with cognitive problems? Like me, for instance. At home or abroad. And then one says and thinks strange things.

You're right, it's very hard to say what 'normal' is... everyone has something to cope with, and we probably all seem strange sometimes!
Praying that you'll find ways to cope, Red Lioness

Sometimes they call us wacko's, but I say it takes one to know one.

I hear voices in my head, but I also can hear people thinking.

That's really bad of course if they don't like you, yet can be really good if they do like you.

I have to ask for prayers for my nightmares when in reality they are out and out demonic attacks.

What good does it do to discern if we can't learn ...

Im trying something new ... I'm drawing closer to God I have to it's getting so bad.

He did say to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength ...

This will surely please Him ... after all I am already blessed with salvation.

It's His other servants that need prayer ... you know the ones that ask how your doing and don't really care about the answer.

So I just say, "Oh you know somewhere in the middle", because they don't want to really hear if you are doing bad, right ...

They just want you to say; "fine, just fine, just like you I'm doing fine"

God bless ya'll I hope ya'll are doing just fine, wink, wink

geetrue said:

Sometimes they call us wacko's, but I say it takes one to know one.

I hear voices in my head, but I also can hear people thinking.

That's really bad of course if they don't like you, yet can be really good if they do like you.

I have to ask for prayers for my nightmares when in reality they are out and out demonic attacks.

What good does it do to discern if we can't learn ...

Im trying something new ... I'm drawing closer to God I have to it's getting so bad.

He did say to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength ...

This will surely please Him ... after all I am already blessed with salvation.

It's His other servants that need prayer ... you know the ones that ask how your doing and don't really care about the answer.

So I just say, "Oh you know somewhere in the middle", because they don't want to really hear if you are doing bad, right ...

They just want you to say; "fine, just fine, just like you I'm doing fine"

God bless ya'll I hope ya'll are doing just fine, wink, wink

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How very profound the words you have written are.Though it is not about me being blessed,I still must say how very much they blessed me.God bless you

geetrue said:

Sometimes they call us wacko's, but I say it takes one to know one.

I hear voices in my head, but I also can hear people thinking.

That's really bad of course if they don't like you, yet can be really good if they do like you.

I have to ask for prayers for my nightmares when in reality they are out and out demonic attacks.

What good does it do to discern if we can't learn ...

Im trying something new ... I'm drawing closer to God I have to it's getting so bad.

He did say to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength ...

This will surely please Him ... after all I am already blessed with salvation.

It's His other servants that need prayer ... you know the ones that ask how your doing and don't really care about the answer.

So I just say, "Oh you know somewhere in the middle", because they don't want to really hear if you are doing bad, right ...

They just want you to say; "fine, just fine, just like you I'm doing fine"

God bless ya'll I hope ya'll are doing just fine, wink, wink

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And btw,I would rather stand shoulder to shoulder with you & be a fellow whacko than what the world calls normal.After all,did not Festus accuse Paul of being insane in the book of Acts?

I have had plenty of highly talkative debates in the past as to what is defined as ‘normal’. A massive number of people will have some form of mild mental health issue at some point in their lives. Most, however, are in complete denial about it. Especially older men. As an example, between 8-12% of the general population experience depression at some point during a particular year. Many more will have it over some point in their life. When one includes such things as alcoholism, anxiety/mood disorders, ‘hidden’ self-harm, the percentage grows exponentially. Within the custodial system in Britain the percentage with ‘current’ mental health issues can be as high as 60% of the prison population. Sadly there are simply not the financial resources to address this problem.

All those who are in Christ should remember we are all ‘normal’ as far as He is concerned. Throughout the ministry of Jesus there is a direct correlation to those who need the most help and compassion of God and His seeking them out. We see it time and again. Those who society hated and rejected were those who the Lord Jesus Christ readily embraced. We see it with the leaper, we see it with the women caught in adultery, Christ’s love knows no bounds or barriers.

It is the grace of Christ, and not the virtue of man, which transformers our ‘self’ identities into Christ centred identities. Who really cares what the world may say of us? We are His.

The fact of the matter is that everyone has their issues. If it's not mental, it's health. Sometimes, both. What's worse are spiritual issues. There's people who are at the peak of healthy, mentally and physically, wealthy, and at "the top of their game," but they don't recognize their need for a savior and will spend eternity separated from Christ. Those are the camels that might never go through the eye of a needle to recognize their need for a savior.

And that's a scary place to be.

sunmicroman said:

Have you ever talked to someone about some of the things you struggle with (such as depression) and have them reply they have never dealt with anything like that? They might say their child has or something, but they haven't.

Don't you just envy that? I know we are not supposed to covet, and I really am not wanting to do that, but I just think to myself, "I wish I could be like them and live a fairly happy life without all the issues I deal with."

Also, do you ever not want to tell people about your issues because of the way they might think about you or attach a stigma to you due to you having "mental issues"?

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Be confident. Having a mental illness does not make you less than everyone else. Confidence is a part of Virtue. When dealing with these types of problems it can give us the motivation to be attentive to our faith.

The way I look at it is at least "we" are getting help for our problems; where as, normal people do not.