Inconvenient Truths about Mental Illness
Over the past few days I, like many other Patch readers, have followed the story of the accident involving a bicycling doctor and a mentally ill motorist. I was intrigued by the comments of the person involved in the incident and by the readers so I wanted to give a personal example of someone who is going through mental illness himself.
Ever since I can remember I have suffered with anxiety and depression and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder a number of years ago. This has affected everything and everyone in my life in negative ways. I have been hospitalized twice for contemplating suicide, I have no career or job, and am trying to hang on to what is left of my family (I no longer have any friends).
Many people believe that the government or a charitable organization will help those who genuinely want to get their lives back and want to make a fresh start. I have not found that to be the case in my life. I have talked to many wonderful people who make it their vocation to help people like me but they could not. The main reason they could not help me is because I have private health insurance and I am not on any form of government assistance.
I do not want anyone to feel bad for me. I have met some of the best doctors, psychiatrists, and therapists through my insurance plan and am happy to report that I am stable, happy, and trying to do my best to get some form of employment (I have not worked in two years). I also have a beautiful daughter who I get to take care of all day every day!
I am happy for those mentally ill persons who get training and assistance, for we all need a chance to prove ourselves as useful to society. The person in the story is reportedly getting some help and I also applaud him for his sobriety. I am also extremely thankful that the doctor was able to basically walk away from this with only minor injuries.
JO
11:48 am on Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Thank you for sharing your story. After reading the story about Mathew Dick and the accident, I cannot believe people are so quick to judge and be so mean. The people judging have no right to. We try to teach our kids not to bully and to be kind but the "adults" on this site are a prime example of cyber bullying. We shoudl just be grateful Mathew was not put over the edge by the harsh nasty comments. Accidents are just that accidents, who cares what was said. Why be so mean to someone who admits to have a problem, why be so mean to anyone like those who commented on the aforementioned article. Thank you again for sharing your story.
Fed up
11:48 am on Tuesday, June 26, 2012
I like you have a mental illness. I was diagnosed in Jan 07. However, unlike you I have no medical coverage and even the state wont cover me. While I feel for Mr. Dick, his actions whether mental illness or not were inapproiate. I was involved in an accident in late 07 in which a 17 yr old was killed. When the police officer approached my vehicle my ONLY concern was for the driver of the other car. I knew they were dead. There is a thing called compassion and Mr. Dick showed none.
Wings
2:51 pm on Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Susie everyone handles things differently. The people in your accident died in his the guy got up and yelled and theatened him. For a mentally unstable person the accident then the yelling could throw a person for a loop. And they will say some things that others feel are out of line. Mental illness is a very selfish disease. All of your thoughts are about yourself when pushed out of your comfort zone. Just because you start your comment with "I like you have a mental illness" that does not give you the right to judge what Mr. Dick may have been going through.
Christine
11:48 am on Tuesday, June 26, 2012
I followed this story as well. I was mortified to see the usual Patch bullies make fun of Mathew Dick's family name, his car, his life and his mental illness. Thank you, Jason for sharing and for being brave enough to use your real name. You are a real man.
Karl Schuub
6:43 pm on Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Please provide evidence anybody made fun of a mental illness. Post quote - anything to indicate that's true...it's not. As far as bullies...I'll remind you of the incident where you typed the word "bitcx" in a response to me. Holier than thou is doesn't carry here and neither will an editor's choice of using an incindeary headline and then wagging a finger when people responded.
Kirsten Dize
2:52 pm on Tuesday, June 26, 2012
I would like to thank everyone for this very positive conversation -KD
Fed up
10:11 am on Wednesday, June 27, 2012
If Mr.Dick suffers from PTSD this accident can trigger worse episodes for him. I hope that he has and is able to see a therapist. This event can trigger another episode and this episode in itself needs to be treated. Hopefully he can continue on the right track towards getting better.
Terry
10:11 am on Wednesday, June 27, 2012
I too made a comment on the other article that people were egging Mathew Dick on to see what he would say next. People were making fun of his name, how he handled the incident, etc. People actually had the gumption to look up his MVA record and then make comments to set this unstable guy off some more. Yes to me also it was cyber-bullying. Some of these posters who are on here all the time need to get a life or look in the mirror before posting
MJ
10:43 am on Thursday, June 28, 2012
Kudos to you Jason for sharing your story. Metal illness is a disease that can be so hard to treat and can be debilitating (sp?) for the patient. I am horrified at the number of people that judge, comment and make assumptions whenever there is some kind of accident. Accidents happen, someone is usually at fault and someone is usually innocent. It is easy to comment on how you would respond to situation/accident/setback in life, but the truth is, you never know how you will respond until you are in the situation. We are all humans and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Except for the cannibal :) All of us have made mistakes in our lives and should not be judged on them for the rest of our lives.