No matter how you slice it, Mental Illness always has been and probably always will be a taboo subject. I suppose the main reason could be because most people don’t understand it. What is it that makes “IT” choose certain members of families and skip others? Why do medications make life manageable for some people, yet other people must spend their lives institutionalized? Doctors may understand it but lay people sure don’t.
Friends and family members may not want to talk to you about it because they don’t know what to say to you about it. Heck, they may even be embarrassed because you have “it”. I choose to tell folks about my illness early in our friendship because I don’t want them to feel uncomfortable about it later if it comes up. I want them to know they can come to me with questions. But, most of all, I need to be honest with them when I’m cycling.
But, here’s a word of caution – not everyone is going to welcome your news with open arms. Like I said, no matter how you slice it, Mental Illness always has been and probably always will be a taboo subject.
FYI:
In a survey of 2,000 people across Britain, almost 30% said they would find it difficult to admit publicly to having a mental illness, compared with 20% who said they would have difficulty coming out as gay. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/feb/20/mental-health-taboo)
In the genre of “things you don’t talk about at dinner parties,” mental health issues rank higher than politics, sex, and religion. (http://nicoleisbetter.com/how-to-break-the-mental-health-taboo)
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