Blog # 3

Option 2

      

  1.  This self-quiz was pretty interesting as far as testing my knowledge on mental illness. I chose to take this quiz because I have close family members and friends who suffer from different types of mental illnesses. One thing that I learned from this quiz is that people with schizophrenia are not prone to violence. I got this question wrong. I think society has this belief that people with schizophrenia are violent people. One of my close friends was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and he actually lived with us for a while. He is not a violent person by nature; however, he had his moments where we were a little worried about how he would react. Another thing that I learned from this quiz is that when someone threatens with suicide the family/friends often don’t respond to them. I found this very surprising and sad. I would have thought that the family would respond by being offering comfort and trying to help.

2.       Yes, I do know several people who suffer from a mental illness. Like I mentioned in the question above one of my close friends suffers from schizophrenia. My mom and a couple of other family members suffer from depression, my husband suffers from PTSD due to his tours to Iraq, and I suffered from an eating disorder while in high school.

3.       My friend with schizophrenia has spent quite some time in hospitals trying to get him a medicine that worked for him, this has caused him to be unable to work regular jobs and has a hard time socializing with new people. He lives a very sheltered life with a very specific daily routine. My mom has suffered with depression for a big part of her life, and ultimately has had to be on anti-depressants for a long time now. Without it she can’t function very well and this affects her ability to keep up with her work. My husband’s PTSD has affected him greatly, especially now that he is out of the military. He has struggled to find his place in the civilian world and was prescribed medicine as well. His depression/anxiety gets so bad that it alters his ability to make daily decisions. I suffered from anorexia when I was about 15-17 and then again from about 20-22. This took a toll on my health and ultimately led me to be depressed and have severe anxiety about food. Luckily, about 4 years ago I found the fitness world and I have completely turned around my views on eating. I eat to fuel my body and no longer view foods as good or bad.

4.       I have learned that mental illness, whether it be schizophrenia or depression, can affect anyone. It doesn’t matter where you come from or where you are on the socioeconomic ladder. My friend with schizophrenia can live a normal life while under his medicines, however, as his body adjusts to the medicine he has a short time period where he feels he doesn’t need the medicine anymore. This is something that people with schizophrenia need to be careful about because quitting the medicine cold turkey can lead to their hospitalization. Depression can take a toll in a person’s life and really affect their relationships with other people. PTSD is something that most people, especially veterans, don’t like to admit to themselves that there is something wrong with them. It too takes a big toll on their lives and can cause them to have difficulties finding/keeping a job and can hinder their socialization.