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Story of mental illness. |
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The little girl celebrated her birthday when she was 7 years old. Everybody got a birthday party in her family when they turned 7. that was because there were 6 children in the family and her parents could not afford a birthday party every year for every child. Mary remembers that birthday today because she never had another in her life. At 64 years old ,she spent her birthday alone as she usually did.I t could be worse, she had spent previous birthdays in mental hospitals. It was not a pleasant experience and she was embarrassed to have anyone visit her.Over the years,she had been diagnosed with many illnesses until they settled on Bipolar and PTSD. There were many factors that contributed to this. She was traumatized by her childhood because she was beaten and neglected. She traumatized by her 2 marriages because both husbands were abusive. She was traumatized by Hurricane Katrina when she lived in New Orleans. Mostly she was traumatized by the stigma of mental illness. People treated her differently, especially her friends and family. She wanted to shout,"I'm Still Me!" Her self-esteem was shattered but she eventually was able to overcome most of her concerns.At first, she just wanted to hide away, but it was too depressing. She started going places on her own where people didn't know her.She learned to enjoy her own company and a few friends and family wanted her around again. People don't understand mental illness and seem to be afraid it's contagious.This is still true today. Mary died the day after she left one of her hospitalizations. She was 65 years old and she died of a heart attack, alone after walking out her front door. |
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