Yes. I’m a Black medical student hoping to go into psychiatry. I have completed psychiatric rotations so I have seen what the burden of mental illness is like. I have friends with bipolar disorder. And there is nothing sadder than seeing all the little Black kids with mental health problems inpatient treatment or…

The fact that the original post has gotten so many stars is proof that so many people really don’t understand mental illness.

That’s depressing for this already depressed person. 

You’re not alone. Your feelings are perfectly natural. You don’t need to feel guilty. Remember, you have an illness. You’re not choosing to have symptoms for poops and giggles.

Have you ever thought about attending some peer-led support groups? Some of the responses here are myopic. I think having a community of…

Thank you for writing this, Danielle. I am generally so angry at Kanye for how he has treated women that I didn’t have the instinctive compassion one should have for the medical side of things. Both can be true. I will do my best to separate my general dislike for him from the fact that he still needs help. Thank you…

You can’t just think yourself sane.  Mental illness is not a weakness of one’s will, it is a chemical abnormality in the brain.  As someone who has suffered from depression my entire life and having to listen to people tell me to “just cheer up” for decades I can say one thing with certainty.  Fuck you.

Really well done thank you. I just had a severe bipolar episode (my diagnosis now Bipolar 1 instead of 2) in April that was probably triggered in part by predisposition (previous hypomania) and the COVID pandemic. Came close to losing everything as I spiraled and angered and drank and became disorganized to the point…

Don’t feel bad about yourself! Most people don’t just “nip it in the bud.” Plus, what I’ve found is that people who aren’t medicated and are in recovery are white-knuckling it a lot of the time. I did this for a few years, and it was completely unnecessary. I was reducing my quality of life just to make a point to…

I hate to be this guy. But I will be. It sounds like you have Bipolar II or maybe Bipolar unspecified. Bipolar I is a completely different animal. It seems like you’re getting by on outpatient programs only and can’t conceive of the problems that require life-long intermittent stints in inpatient programs. You know,…

Please don’t feel bad about yourself. You are doing as well as you can, when you can. Feel bad about this op who seems to lack empathy. It must make it difficult for the people around them. 

I think you may be spot on with your thoughts on one of the reasons Kanye, and many other people with SMIs refuse medication. I work in the mental health field and have family that is greatly effected by bipolar disorder. My sister who is a musician has described certain meds as shutting a door because it changes how…

As others have said, mental health treatment in America is only for the middle class. If you’re poor, you can’t afford it. If you’re rich, you can reshape reality enough to avoid ever feeling like you need treatment. That seems to be what Kanye’s doing. Might explain some of his affinity for Trump, they’re kindred…

That is great news, congratulations to you!
However, not everyone is able to function in a healthy productive manner without meds, and they should not feel like they are somehow inferior because they can’t just nip it in the bud in their brains.
I know I’m defensive because I’m one of those people, but this comment…

I’ve heard several people say “I don’t like taking my meds. It makes me feel like ‘not me’”.

After his mom died it was clear to me something in him changed. I didn’t know what, but the way he acted and talked seemed much less sober and grounded. I did stop buying his albums and paying attention, I couldn’t anymore, it was depressing. I didn’t know what was going on, I thought maybe it was trauma from his mom…

I heart her :) 

One of the worst trends of the twentyteens (2011-2020) is that “I’m sorry if you were offended” got equated with an actual apology.

Also, he smirks through the whole thing. 

I learned about a decade ago how to recognize and react to a bullshit non-apology like this one (qualified apologies too), and it’s made my life so much better.

Emily, I appreciate you going above and beyond to lay out Yoho’s latest crimes against the English language. I’d like to add Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s eloquent ways of saying Apology Not Accepted:

Jesus fucking Christ why do garbage men always hide behind their wives and daughters?