Serious? Complex? Severe?

I think complex, serious, severe is the increasing order of what I think would be a put off.

My diagnosis is categorized as both serious and can be severe.

You have genuinely been heard @Former-Member, as has everyone who has contributed to this thread. And not just by myself but by the wider organisation. You make a very valid point about inclusiveness which will be discussed further internally. We are testing different terminology right now which is why you might see various versions in different settings.

On a different note, it can be helpful to write longer posts in a word document and then copy/paste into a post. It reduces the possibility to losing your work and will make editing easier. I've learned this one at my own cost in the past

Okay, so I finally had a chance for a thorough read of this thread. I was already pretty enamoured with the Forums (as in all of you) but all those passionate, articulate and thoughtful opinions have given me twice the crush

Whether your response was a one liner or an essay (lookin' at you @theaveragejoe ) it has real value for us. Thank you for your analysis @mrkotter, for flagging the risks @Former-Member, for getting to the heart of it @Former-Member and for your depth @Sehnsucht, for wading in as a new member @1stepup61. Thank you also @Appleblossom, @Kurra and @Mazarita and all those to kicked off the discussion on Friday. I'd feared tumbleweeds but you gave me gems. And, as always @theaveragejoe, thank you for giving us something entirely unexpected to consider

I don't have final say [she said donning her flak jacket and helmet!] but those who do have been flagged this thread and given a summary of your thoughts. We will proceed gently and thoughtfully.

Thank you for the compliments @Former-Member, I think that you are right, there are some pretty amazing people on this forum. You are pretty amazing yourself. You know if I was on BlueBoards I would have probably been banned by now. I cannot believe that this forum is so open minded and that the people are moderately free to say what they feel. I think that this is very good Suzanne.

As far as my outragious ideas, don't tell anyone, it could all be a lot of rubbish 🙂 But for so long as it makes me feel good to write what I write, and what I feel may be right (for now that is) I will continue on this road less travelled.

As you know Mental Disorders are super CCCCComplex, a mixed bag of so many different things to consider.

Who knows for sure?, I tend to think that we create what we think, and see what we create. Nothing is real in strawberry hills, and I mean nothing.

If I was to start talking about physics people would probably think I am MAD, Raving MAD. But, according to physics, nothing is as it seems in our Universe. And, most probably, nothing is really there, it may be all just a very long dream, the dream of life. Sooner or later we wake up from this dream, only that this weaking up, I tend to think, is death. For us the end, but for me the beginning 🙂

@Former-Member thanks for consulting with us. From a professional perspective its something that's not done enough.

I look forward to the day when "mental" is dropped all together and we are included in chronic illness streams. Because the stigma and misunderstanding of "Mental" chrnic illness is still so very aold.

To describe my lived experience and name what this forum / org does it is this...

A Peer to Peer support forum for the differently brained.

if I HAD to use one of the three terms you proposed for my lived experience int he current frameworks it would be

• Complex mental illness

HOWEVER - new research is coming to light that immune system plays a huge role in complex mental health issues and tthat MUST be pursued throughly - not just sidelined because it doesn;t fit the paradigm.

I think its hard to have one word to fit everyone, as we all experience such extremely different things.

For me, I like complex because for me my mental illness is complicated. Sometimes I can be well, sometimes I can be sick, but when I am well it never really goes away, and when I am sick it is not simple.

For other people chronic seems to fit perfectly, like chronic depression - the same as chronic pain but for the mind.

I like the term mental illness because when it comes I call it sickness. That way I can treat it like a sickness; knowing that it is only temporay and requires attention, that it is not my fault and I can communicate that I am not well to my family without having to cry out for help in a more embaressing way or try to figure out how to explain my mind. I am lucky to be surrounded by people who don't hold much stigma so I can use these terms openly.

I also like MoonGal's idea about it just being part of the chronic illness streams, we are all too different to put in one catergory so whats the harm in making it broader? 'I have a complex illness' doesn't sound too bad to me.

Hi @theaveragejoe

I wouldnt think you were mad just cos you talk physics ... there can be a tendency for people into pure sciences to dissociate and go off in their heads .. thats the kind of marriage I had .... we would sit around making models of DNA out of plastic rods on my lounge table ... me and a few hacker programmers or ... the marine biologist from down the coast ... or my old friend from the chem dept ... and I'd feed them and change a nappy... and get tested with math probs to see if my skills were up to scratch ... bah humbug

Now that Nash's story is mainstream ... in general public awareness etc things are changing

I usually find your posts enlightening ...

.

I have a serious mental illness, Schizoaffective Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder

I am pretty much symptom free from Schizoaffecive Disorder but still living with Anxiety. While I think this forum would be a safe place for me to seek support with issues I may have with anxiety, I do not feel I would do the same for issues I have Psychosis or Mood Disorder. I don't often post or comment, and for memory have not asked to support as yet for fear of being misunderstood.

Simply by reading from other members post and comments I gain a lot, just by knowing I'm not alone is the 'struggle'.

Glad the forum is here