Stop Comparing Diabetes to Mental Illness

I totally agree with the author of this post. My narcissist mother has diabetes and loves to tell me that bipolar is no different diabetes. The problem that I have in this case, as the term is used in the context minimize the experience and pain of the illness. Both are two separate illnesses and it's insensitive for people to make that the standard thing to say to someone with bipolar, especially when most people are really knowledgeable or have accurate information about what Bipolar is and isn't.
But what really gets under my skin, when people like to compare the two as it it's a competition as one is worst than the other. When it's not as always easy to seek help and receive the proper treatment and care in comparison to someone with diabetes. Overall, there is less stigma associated with diabetes and I don't see any headlines or news that reference the gaps and lack of resources for "diabetest." It's not a competition, people need to stop comparing the two it's not a competiton.
Also, for people that are supposedly saying that "it's no different than diabetes." then chance are they know very little about the disorder. Most people only know what they hear repeated by other people and what they see on lifetime originals. Which I also have an issue with, they even further stigmatize sterotypes of mental illnesses. Next time, I hear this statement... I will simply as the person what do they know about bipolar and explain the difference and similarities between Diabetes and Bipolar. We need to start really challenging folks who are saying this, to make them think and use the dialogue as a teaching moment, so people will become less ignorant about general information about the disorder.

Thank you for writing about this topic. I actually Googled, "I am sick and tired of bipolar disorder being compared to diabetes. And, found your article, just what I was needing.

Diabetes is nothing like mental illness. Mental illness is not a biological life-long chronic disease caused by imbalanced brain chemicals...it is theory that was debunked in the 1980's and is now used as a marketing gimmick to help promote and sell psychotropic medications and to encourage medication compliance. Many many people from all around the world recover fully from mental illness without medication or psychiatric "help". Diabetes = physical disorder caused by failure to produce enough insulin. Mental illness = emotional/spiritual/social problems that to date have no biological or genetic marker.

YES ! a psychiatrist once said this, regarding my son's alleged schizophrenia.
well they ve been treating him for over 15 years and he has got WORSE.
was previously a brilliant young man at Oxford University, now a shambling wreck with voice slurred by medication. I quite often think it would be better if he had died.
NOT diabetes at all, diabetes is much simpler and is physical, only involves one person. Emotions are VERY catching, everybody around a 'mental' patient is freaked out, watching for disaster, and ensuing disaster of one form or another ensues. Psychosis is fear, and the treatment is more fear.
there is only madness, no mad person. When police call on me at 3 am to take away my son, I am mad. Personally, I would prefer rather to die than have some ****** shrink dicatate my life, fill me with drugs that dont work,lock me in a crap institution.
Diabetes drugs actually work, psychiatric ones dont. they are just a cosh for the convenenience of the bystanders who are afraid of what the mad person might do. Duh. if they worked, and people felt BETTER, they would take them and there would be any need for controversy.
you wrote a very good post, thanks.

Hmmm. I am both diabetic and bipolar, and I tend to just take my medications and ignore both until something happens that makes me pay attention to them.
Both do different things to me. Diabetes makes me tired, thirsty, and cranky when it is out of control. Bipolar tends to make me think about suicide when it is out of control.
I think there are similarities, but I agree, the stigma is much worse with the bipolar thing.

While I agree it don't think is fair making a general comparison between mental illness and diabetes. I think that you at time can make a specific comparison with anything to illustrate some aspect of the illness.
I could compare bipolar disorder to a roller coaster, for example, to explain the mood swings, even if roller coasters is fun and bipolar disorder isn't all that fun. Or I could compare over training syndrome, with a laptop running to hot.
And at times I think can compare mental illnesses with physical illness.
For example, I do occasionally compare a panic attack to a astma attack.
“Panic attacks are a bit like asthma attacks. They can come suddenly, the one having them feel like they might die, and their hearts is racing, they can ahve trouble breathing, and thier body is panicking. But if you see one having one, give them space to breath, stay calm, try to calm them down and get them to breathe slowly, until is passes.”
And I would in some instances, when explaining something specific about mental illness compare with type 1 diabetes in some specific aspect. Like to explain that even if lifestyle factors is important and might improve and stabilize my condition, I will still need lifelong medication.

Great article until you took God's name in vain, shame shame.

Natalie,
Interesting post! I have both mental illness and diabetes.
Yes, both are chronic. There is also diabetic stigma -- especially with Type 2 diabetes -- because if you're overweight the assumption is that you have it because you're overweight and/or out of control with food. (Read: "It's Your Own Fault.") Not always true, but if you're overweight there's no way to "act skinny" to avoid the stigma. And actually getting skinny doesn't always remove the diabetes.
If people know you are diabetic, then every food choice *seems* to be at issue. It feels like you are being judged constantly, silently. (Sometimes not so silently!)
But in my own experience, the biggest reasons I can compare them is that both have symptoms that can be completely random and changeable -- and seldom in a good way; treatments seem to work one day, but not the next, leading to frustration and despair; both can provoke sudden life-threatening issues that feel so out of control; and both have a "lifelong" label staring at you whenever you feel at all down about them.
And they are intertwined. Blood sugars can be thrown majorly out of whack by stress. Some psychiatric meds are known to increase blood sugars. Plus, major depression is increasingly being recognized and proactively treated as part and parcel of diabetes.
I do understand why your life experiences led you to writing your post. I don't think there's any "right" or "wrong" here. I just offer you my life experiences as a different point of view.
Thank you for your post!

Hi Natalie,
Good points. For some people the illness is nothing like diabetes at all, but it's something people say to give others hope and to reduce stigma. You know me, however, I prefer the truth to such things. So I'll stand with you on this, much of the time mental illness isn't like diabetes at all.
- Natasha

It appears I am making the first comment here, and I hope it sets the tone for those that follow: I think your disclaimer makes clear that this is your position. You are neither judgmental nor argumentative in stating what you believe. The post is thoughtful and considerate of those with both mental illness and other illnesses, specifically diabetes.
I am probably guilty of having made the comparison to another illness, including diabetes without really considering all of the ramifications of the comparisons.
I agree with your statement regarding why the comparison to diabetes has been made, "To make us feel less alone," and would add that it is an attempt to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness. I also agree that it is a faulty comparison, especially after considering your experience.
Thank yo so much for sharing your position. You are correct in stating that "Mental Illness is a distinctly *different* pain." Instead of trying to compare it to something it is not, we should work harder to describe mental illness and to educate people about how it can be treated. Most importantly, more of us need to speak up about our own experiences, especially our triumphs! Kudos.

so what would you compare it to?
Both mental illness and diabetes are chronic, biological, life-long illnesses that require treatment. Both have symptoms when not regulated that include changes in mood and behavior. Both can lead to premature death of not treated.
The argument of comparing mental illness to diabetes is one to try and educate others about it being a chronic disease, not necessarily the patient. Let's be honest - you never see a movie or TV show that depicts someone with diabetes shooting up a place. By comparing it to another chronic yet treatable lifelong illness, the idea is to destigmatize mental illness - interrupt the correlation to violence and danger.