Knowing
Today at work, one of my friends jokingly teased, "Do you have ADD?"I was, admittedly, really behind on some minor thing I should have already been finished with. But to answer his question, no -- I haven't been diagnosed, as yet, with Attention Deficit Disorder. And if I had been, back in June 2002 when my psychiatrist did diagnose me as having clinical depression, the Zoloft I take every day for that would also handle any undiagnosed ADD. So I should be in the clear.
It was a joke. He's a great guy and I'm not hurt, angry or upset. But for just one second, maybe even one-tenth of a second, while we all kind of laughed about it, I wondered what everyone would think if they knew that they work with someone who has, technically speaking, a mental illness -- one that you know you shouldn't be ashamed of because you can't help having a chronic chemical imbalance in your brain. Maybe they wouldn't care at all. Or maybe they would. You wouldn't be embarrassed about having a chronic disease like diabetes, right? So telling your friends that you finally got help three years ago and it was a great thing to do and that you feel better - lots better now - ought to be something that isn't as tough as you're making it out to be.
But it is. It just is.
posted by rekkidbraka @ 2:46 AM
2 Comments:
I've had a few friends that were on anti-depressants. My opinion of them never changed because of it. It would take more than that to shake my friendship. I've even come back to friendships after a year or more's hiatus and been just as close. I think it's a brave thing you just admitted to, Rekkid. I think it's indicative of how much trust you have in your friendships that you can say these things.
Thanks. My college friends here in ATL (we call ourselves "The Group") have known from the start and they've always been cool with it.
They were glad that I got help back when I was really depressed in spring 2002 b/c they were worried about me. They missed seeing me at their parties and gatherings and didn't understand why I suddenly sort of dropped off the map. It's good to be back in the mix and feeling healthy again.
People diagnosed with depression shouldn't feel alone or embarrassed. It's a chronic illness, not unlike diabetes. Too bad society still attaches this stigma to it b/c it's a disorder of the brain. If it affected anything other than your mood, I doubt people would be so leery of talking openly about it.
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