Would you date someone with a "mental condition"?
 

Would you date someone with a psychological or neuroligical condition?

I don't think I would date someone who schizophrenia, bi-polar, or someone with a personality disorder.

Maybe I would date a guy w/ OCD or ADD. It depends what form and how severe it is and how much control he has over it.

I would. But it would all depend on his condition and how severe it was. Was he on medication and was it well controlled. All these would be a factor. I wouldn't date him if I thought his condition was a danger to myself.

I agree. I've met many people who think that they are normal, but I've never actually known anyone to truly be normal. I'd rather date a woman with her problems up front, and reasonably under control.

This is a really interesting topic (Dionysus always comes up with good stuff :))

Schizo? No. That could pose a danger to my safety, if they're suffering from hallucinations and living in a reality that doesn't exist. Tourette's? No, and only because Tourette's is usually not controlled very well, even with meds.

I don't consider myself judgemental, and I definitely agree that everyone has their "weirdness" about them...all I will say is that I seriously dated someone who was depressed, and based on that I can't EVER imagine dating someone with a worse mental condition. Don't forget that depression is an illness, too.

The last guy I seriously dated was bipolar and while it was only for a few weeks, I would not do it again. He chose not to take medication and thought he was fine. I only saw him in the "up' stage but it was crazy. He should have been on the meds.

Now he also had a problem that if you disagreed with him ON ANYTHING he took it all personally and thought you were insulting him and insinuating that he was stupid.

And, thought I should take him out all the time and spend money on him (since he was unemployed).

So, he had more than a few issues...........

Re: Would you date someone with a "mental condition"?
 

As an individual diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and clinical depression I really do not like the idea of this post. I understand it is your opinion and you should be welcome to that, but please remember we are no different than anyone else. To me this is like starting a post that says would you date someone who is black or white, depending on your race. I do take medication and have control over my disorders-- but please remember that mental illness is now waaaayyyy more accepted than it has been in the past. So do not stereotype us and make it even harder to break out of the negative stigma mental illness has carried with it in the past.

Re: Re: Would you date someone with a "mental condition"?
 

I understand your feelings, and I hope I didn't offend you with my post.

But I don't think she was grouping all people with mental illnesses together- hence the discussion.

I don't really think you can compare the state of someone with GAD or mild depression, vs. someone who is, say, violently schizophrenic....I don't know, I'm not trying to sound ignorant or make light of your medical condition, I just think that there are major differences that would change the route of the relationship.

I completely understand what you are saying and what you all mean. But the first sentence in the post-

"Would you date someone with a psychological or neuroligical condition?"

applies to all individuals with a psychological or neurological condition.

I know I am not as severe as some of the other disorders, but someone has to start to make a difference somewhere by protecting all individuals who suffer by no choice of their own.

Drug Addicts
 

Some may consider this to be a mental illness. I dated one drug addict, and that was one too many. Never, ever again. Get successfully treated before we even go out for coffee. Also, my father was a cocaine addict, so I have a real difficult time forgiving and tolerating drug addicts in denial.

Re: Drug Addicts
 

I feel the same way about alcoholics. A close family member (not either one of my parents) is one and if I see ANYTHING resembling that type of behavior I won't give the person a chance.

Speaking from the point of view who has had major issues with depression and anxiety disorders herself . . .

It almost entirely depends on how controlled they are. I have bipolar friends who you would never know weren't 100% healthy, and I have bipolar friends who can be borderline psychotic. I would never ever knowingly start dating someone with a serious problem, even if it's "just" depression or "just" anxiety, because I know I could never deal with some of the isht I've put people through at my worst. Depression and anxiety problems, if left uncontrolled, can be just as bad if not worse than some of the supposedly more serious problems like bipolar disorder.

The problem is that many people who deal with issues like this are pretty good at covering it up. The chances that you're going to know someone is bipolar or whatever before you become close to them are generally relatively slim. And I don't think that if I started to care for someone I could ever break up with them just because I found out they had some kind of "mental condition," even if I knew it would save me a ton of pain and work in the end.

Yeah because i think they're easier.

-Rudey

Shame on you.

But it is true. Very true.

Re: Re: Would you date someone with a "mental condition"?
 

I have both ADD and mild anxiety disorder. :)

So, I'm not judging anyone. However, I do know that things like this can effect relationships and I do think this is a relevant topic to discuss.

Tourette's, like many mental conditions, varies in severity. For some people, it's the spontanious swearing, for other people it's nothing more than an occasional eyebrow twitch. I never knew that until I met someone with Tourette's and he explained it to me.