Well, I am depressed-- and I am not a lazy person-- I work, I study and I am mom of toddler. Yet sometimes -- I am soo depressed and sad that I cannot do anything, even if I make myself-- and it often happen-- the staff going too slow. For example -- today, i am very depressed and sick, yet I managed to check my students' exams. On the ususal day I would do it in half of the time and have enough time for doing something else.
As for we should -- one of the signs of depression are those should's . The stigma is very powerful thing, sometimes even if you do whatever you can, you have to work twice as harder to be even seen.

I sorta agree gluzanna, in that if you are stigmatised then you usually do have to work twice as hard to be seen.

But, i was kind of saying that people conform to a stigma more often than not, because it's the easier option.

So, if you depressed, lethargic, tired, it's a much harder fight each day to be optimistic and perhaps easier to dwell.

No criticism, I feel as guilty of this as anyone else may or may not. But I just can't help but sometimes feel that depressed people (me included) don't help ourselves enough. Yes, stigma is unecessary. But, opinion is always a freedom of right.

Hence, why I said before, ignore the stigma, move on, maybe even get better...

Annie, again

I have learned to embrace the things about me that attach stigmas to me. I am an outcast and always will be. Noone has walked in my shoes and I have earned the person I have become. And if someone doesn't like it. Well we all know where they can file there complaint.

Yeah,
that which doesn't break you,...makes you stronger. True. Agreed k73.
But, wasn't really the entire point.
Annie

I don't really think you can call it being lazy when you are afflicted with mental illness. There are days when I *cannot* move. It has nothing to do with wanting to or not, I just do not have the strength to get out of bed, let alone leave the house. I'm sick of people who are uninformed and sometimes even downright rude about things that they don't understand (not directed at the OP) I had a horrible bitch of a roommate my first year in college. I explained to her about my depression, and she simply laughed and informed me that I was a loser who needed to "get over it." If someone had almost any other kind of disease, you'd expect sympathy, but with anything mental, you become a target of the ignorant. If it was as easy as just ignoring it, do you think anyone would be depressed?

Well said wishnick...I have severe depressions where physically I can't move and I stay in bed. People are sometimes so ignorant about the real facts of depression. I would love to get up and get moving and functioning. I hate when I can't move or do anything and I absolutely hate staying in bed.
Monica

Hey wishnick,
if you read my post carefully, i've already said that the physical concequences of depression are real and undisputed.

I'm saying that the problem lies in our mind and affects our bodies. Both work in requirement, and harmony or disharmony with each other.

So, I was saying change our outlook, maybe change others outlook... then perhaps the stigma disapate's.
Annie

I like what K73 said about embracing ourselves for who we are. Too many people waste their time worrying about conforming.
Personally I think this culture is way too stressed out because people think that if they're just doing something, anything that gives their lives meaning.

I was a workaholic for a long time. Lousy way to live. I like being lazy.

That is the point. If anyone had read the post properly...
I was saying embrace yourself. Stigma, will forever be there and not just for mentally ill, but it doesn't have to effect us. IF we fight against it.
Annie

Compannie,well I kinda want top return to stigma point. This is very difficult to fight stigma-- people are not easily change their opinions. Especially for the mentalillness. You can fight them, you can not fight them-- this is almost the same. Only if you with constant number of very same people -- it make sebse (maybe). Yet if you just faught one and tired after war-- another one coming if you meet new person.

I have personal example-- I have social anxiety and left one party-- head of department changed my fall assignment, deciding that I cannot work with students and will check only papers, but won't teach. My own adviser-- who knows about my mental staff (head does not know) instead of standing up for me, whent to the head and let her know, stating that head made very right decision about me. If my advisor did not know about staff-- the things would stay much better than they currently are. And often just my physical illness-- flu or something else seen as depression. I often feel that my adviser speaks me as I was mentally retarded.

The first time i was diagnosed i told some people about my illness. i was iver ignored or told to pull myself togeather and treated like i was a bit thick. I recovered. I have depression again. i have told one person. Because of my children. no one eles knows except my friends on ds. Thats the way it will stay. Depression is hard enough to deal with with out dealing with other peoples ignorance.

i have enuff shit to worry about...hell if i'm gonna sweat any "stigma"...i yam what i yam, thank u, Popeye.
xoxo Di

Hey gluzanna,
that's sounds unfair what happened in your workplace.
Theres usually legislation in place to try and deal with such matters,in U.K. the 'Disability Discrimination Act, 1995.

Have a look at this link.
http://www.thesite.org/workandstudy/working/workwelfare/mentalhealthatwork

Even if your based in another country, there will be a similar goevrning bodies deal with these issues.
Annie

Yes, thank you compannie-- I know about this staff, however, officially it does not called change of assignment as result of mental illness, but change in the policy that graduate students do not teach straght after qualifying exam. They clever people at the department-- you cannot proove anything-- on a surfice everything will looks nice and clear.
As for my advisor speaking-- she will state that I have low learning ability and she tries to explain to me her best. Proof-- she failed me at qualification exam-- consequently I have low learning ability and seen as such by everybody else. Again-- on a surfice it will extremely difficult to proof stigmatizing as mentally ill.

One more case-- my reexamination was not checked for 5 weeks, even though the comittee told me it will be done in three weeks. When I asked what is going on with my exam grading I got the answer-- Please do not worry and not be scared, nothing bad happened, do not worry, it just we did not check the exam yet. I bet that if the department did not know about my illness, the answer was -- the exam not checked yet. Without mentioning anxiety and other my staff. Frankly, it feels bad.

I don't know what happened with my last post. It states not the things I wrote, anyway instead of education there it supposed to be low cognitive ability.