Out of the closet

I've got a nasty feeling I was played. 

I've always been clear - medication is my lifeline.  Mental illness is just as "real" as asthma or cancer.  Mental illness does not "cured" by faith alone.  It is not a character flaw.  It is "real".  Just as real as a cold or flu, but far more deadly. 

Various people have posted various STUPID things.  The most common being the old "antidepressants will turn you/your kid into a school shooter".  I blocked one person, and deleted another who became progressively more vehement about my meds being "un-necessary and dangerous". 

You want me walking around, off my pills?  Now that's a scary prospect.  I doubt I'd make it a month. 

The other chestnut, and one preached by my old pastor on several occasions: "God will heal you if you have enough faith.  Throw away your medication, repent of your sin, and God will work on your problems." 

Now, regarding the former pastor, he did say one thing I DID agree: that the devil and his minions can use depression and other trials to oppress you.  I agree with that.  I didn't agree with the rest. 

It's blaming the victim for an organic illness.  He never blamed cancer patients for their illness. 

So, I got another one day.  I said what I usually do, real illness, attacking the victims, etc.  She got all bent and said "I didn't know it would get you so upset". 

I wasn't upset.  I was very, very, tired with an overwhelming urge to beat my head against the wall.  It can be very taxing, at times, to be an out-of-the-closet mentally ill person.   The ignorance is astounding. 

Your average person does not understand depression, schitzophrenia, and bipolar disorder to be actual, organic, illness.  They believe it's a character flaw, an inherent laziness and failure to assimilate like the rest of the normals.  They believe our medications are addictive (mine sure aren't, and make me feel like crap to boot).  They believe we are attention-seeking drama queens who rain down chaos like a meteor shower. 

They don't understand, at the core, it's as simple as a bladder infection or epilepsy - we are sick, we take medicine, we are better.  We continue to take our medication so we continue to stay well.  We want normal, quiet, lives.  We want peace and harmony.  We do not crave drama. 

She mentioned "she got a little depressed after getting cancer so she understood".  I explained she did not.  I said, you can look around the room and know that everything is "real".  I do not.  I asked if she had ever been suicidal for months on end - for decades.  She didn't answer. 

I also asked her how she'd like it if I told her the cancer wasn't a real illness.  That the chemotherapy was a crutch.  The cancer was a result of sin in her life and she had to repent before her healing. 

She blew her top. 

Later she said "I thought of you when I put [the article] up". 

Clearly, I told her, if you thought I would like a post stating that depression is a result of sin, only - and very reluctantly conceding that "some people might want to see a doctor" - implying personal weakness if they do - if she thought I'd like any of that she didn't know me at all. 

At that point she unfriended me.  Good riddance. 

She kept trying to bait me and I wouldn't let her do it - in part because it was apparent she was trying to bait me. 

I'm debating my response.  When I read this ignorant crap I feel an obligation to share the truth.  But the person who posts the crap never receives the truth and ends up blocked or unfriended anyway. 

Perhaps I'll just move to the blocking phase after linking to this blog.