Illness as identity
I find it quite amusing when I read stuff about mental illness being a misunderstood identity instead of an illness with both psychological and physiological factors. While it is true that mental illnesses are rather misunderstood and misrepresented by the media and news outlets (another topic for another day), it is not just reducible to a character attribute or identity and that psychotherapy and medications are a way of Big Pharma and whatnot to destroy that identity to create a narrative of the normal.
It's quite easy to come to the conclusion that your illness is your identity but is it really? Without getting into the postmodern, let's see what makes your identity; gender and sexuality (malleable, however it may be), your interests and hobbies, how you carry yourself, your friends and relationships, attitudes and etc. A mechanism of depression and many mental illnesses is the loss of interest in what you love, your energy and overall levels of enthusiasm. Can you really say that because of how you feel at a certain time, especially when down, a part of what makes you, you? Because I can certainly say for myself, that when I feel down, I don't want to do anything, but when I feel better, it all comes back and this is certainly true for many.
Another thing is the idea that by medications, we become slaves, zombies, addictive, and lose our identity. I think that is a flawed assessment. Since depression does have a physiological component these drugs are beneficial. Even more so for bi-polar, and psychotic illness. Those medications make you normal in the sense of you are in control and not your illness. For many with bi-polar, it feels like a high, like this is the true you when in fact your brain isn't functioning right and many engage in risky behavior that may have grave consequences. The other thing is that taking a few pills a day makes you a slave, I mean how could it? It's pop and swallow, it's less invasive than a diabetic taking insulin. For diabetics, taking medication and making a few lifestyle changes are required, but does that end or change their identity? No. It might make them more aware of certain risk behaviors, but it doesn't change their personality.
If you are taking drugs prescribed by a psychiatrist that means there is something wrong, that you're brain isn't functioning as it should. It has nothing to do with forcing a narrative of the normal or any other alternative, conspiratorial bullshit. It has to do with the efficacy of these drugs and yes, right now it's very inefficient to find out what drugs work for you individually, but as there is more research and testing, there will be better drugs. It's really frustrating to see the viewpoint of many that drugs are a cheat or something to shy away from, when instead it could be a lifesaver.
And side-effects? While those maybe scary to think of at first, having untreated and undiagnosed mental illness can have far worse consequences than many of the side-effects of the drugs, which are more of a slight nuisance than actual danger. Especially with sexual side-effects, that has more to do with having an open communication with yourself and your partner. There are two people in a relationship, so I find that argument really selfish considering that without meds things can go quicker downhill and result in death rather than taking the meds and having to adjust yourself in the bedroom.
