It bothers me how apathetic people are to people with some sort of mental impairment, illness, whatever you’d like to call it. For instance, a heard a girl in my French class joking around and saying she had “ADD” because she was really hyper today. As someone who actually has “ADHD” and is medicated and has gone to therapy for it, it really bothered me. 

Because people say things like this all the time and for whatever reason it’s okay. When people have mood swings they joke around about having bipolar or call people bipolar. When people are having a few bad days they claim they have depression or they are insensitive to people who actually have it. I hear jokes about schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, etc. Why is this acceptable?

You wouldn’t joke about having cancer, or AIDS, or diabetes, or herpes, etc. or make fun of or light of people they do. So why is there so much insensitivity to people that have mental impairments? It’s typically a lifelong battle for them. They are usually always medicated. Many of them go to therapy. It just frustrates me because I feel like people don’t know enough about it. And just because its not something physical that’s killing you they don’t take it seriously. I’m not asking people to go read all about these conditions, but be respectful of it. And I know these conditions aren’t as serious as something like cancer that can kill you, but my point is that you don’t make light of someone physically sick/impaired, but it’s acceptable to make light of people with some sort of mental impairment.

I don’t like having ADHD. I don’t like being medicated for it. I don’t like that I’ve had to go to therapy for it. There are days when I’m very bitter about it. People think being prescribed Adderol, Ritalin, Concerta, Vyvanse, etc. is so awesome. What people don’t realize is that what happens to me when I take my medication isn’t the same thing that happens to you. When you go and buy an Adderol from someone, you take it, feel all jacked up, get tons if shit done, stay up all night, etc. But I take it to feel normal. When I take it it makes me feel like you do everyday. I’m sure the people that make jokes about having things like this don’t understand what it’s like to take medication to feel normal. They have no idea that my insurance premiums go up because of it. They have no idea that my medication has put me in the hospital. They have no idea at all about anything. They don’t understand the slightest bit. Just because you are too lazy to go do your homework or you’re a little jittery does not mean you have ADHD. Stop joking about my impairment. And stop joking about other people’s.

Don’t make light of something you don’t understand. Don’t make fun of people for it. Please. And I know I get easily offended. I know not everyone with ADHD, manic depression, bipolar, borderline personality, schizophrenia, etc. is upset that people do this. But I’m upset for them right now. Because I don’t think it’s okay.