Well You know, this does'nt surprise me in the least! I am to the 'real world': a nutter! a 'head-case' a 'raving loonybin' 'unstable' 'dis-functional' a 'headcase' I'm 'cracked' I have apparently 'lost it!' these are just things that you have to put up with from the 'stupid people', the people that have no intellectual level of understanding of another's functions, its actually quite sad and the best thing to do is to rise above these people. It's just like in business, you would'nt be upset if a person with no credibility what-so-ever tried to critisize your business you would simply disgard them as 'talking nonsense' and then think no more about it, with our own machanics (brain-wise) there will always be someone that will try to put us down because they don't understand us, that's down to their own disfunctional, un-educated brain, and it is as simple as that! I would just delete him, block him and never really bother with him. He, (that is not capable of discussing/understanding adult issues, that, let's face it, there are so many 'adult's' that can relate to mental/emotional health issues, its the 'hazard of growing up'!) is not really worth the 'time of day'!

Hello Juliana Thank you for stopping by and sharring your thoughts with us. You know, at first, I thought about just ignoring John's comments but then I thought. Why not turn this into something positive. John has provided me with a first hand opportunity to expose the kind of stigma and disrespect that those of us with a mental illness have to deal with on a daily basis. This exemplifies perfectly what happens when uneducated people feel the need to pass judgement on those whom they do not know or understand. So no, I am not going to just ignore these unsavory comments. I am going to use them to help more people understand more about what mental illness is and how much pain is caused by those who do not share our compassion. Thanks again Dee and please do come back. I love your "attitude" Sincerly, Bill Vanderbilt

Hello Bill, I have only been to your mental health forums a couple of times...I too talk about mental health and emotional well being!I have been dealing with depression for many years...I had a major episode where I had hit rock bottom and wanted to commit suicide back in 1988, that was a single episode. I found out at that time that I have a chemical imbalance, so I have to be on anti-depressants for the rest of my life. I also suffer with anxiety/panic disorder and social anxiety disorder. I have to say that I have never felt that I had a stigma put on me because of my mental health issues. People that do not know about mental and emotional health are just like you before you knew about it...they have to learn, and so did you at some point! I never have a problem talking and teaching people about mental health issues. I studied about it after dealing with depression myself so that I could teach and educate people about a very serious issue we have in this world. For so many years society have looked at people like they are crazy or something just because they have depression or any other mental health issue. We know that is not true, but for many others that belief still exists. With that said, I never get upset with anyone that doesn't understand because I feel I have to be compassionate towards them as well. Why you ask? Because we all have to be compassionate towards each other for what one does not know about and understand! Teach them...help them learn about the issue...don't get upset with them! That will not accomplish anything, except getting into a position like you are right now. I read the emails you posted, and I do not feel the same way you do, I must say! John wrote...it had been brought to his attention...thereby telling me that someone else felt he should not be debating with you over whatever topic you were debating about! Perhaps that person suggested that you would get too upset by continuing the debate, otherwise why would John also say that he went to your forums and found out that you do indeed have mental health issues. The way it looks to me it seems that John was taking the advice of someone else, and he was only looking out for your best interest due to what he was told! I really feel that there was not anything malicious meant by his comments. I feel that sometimes people get defensive about an issue they have and subconsciously are just waiting for something negative to be said or done, and then they over react. I really feel Bill that you reacted to what was said before really reading what was wrote. I am not taking anyone's side here, I am purely going on what I read, and I really do not see any malice in what John wrote. My friend, we have enough problems and fighting in the world, and alot of times it is over lack of communication, or something being misunderstood. Let's not see that happen here in our community as well. I feel we are all adults here, and that we can communicate and share our feelings and opinions with each other without having to be criticized by anyone else. We must remember that God created us all, and He created us with different minds, so each of us are individuals with different opinions, thoughts, feelings, etc. So therefore, we need to respect each other and remember not to judge anyone else, for God is The Judge, not us! Another thing Bill, it does not accomplish anything to announce to the community when you have an issue with someone. Instead why not contact that person personally and let them know how you feel...let them know you didn't appreciate something that was said or done, and then work it out like 2 civilized and rational human beings. I feel doing it this way gets alot more accomplished, and things get worked out much better in the long run! Maybe you can consider doing that next time my friend...do it for yourself, the other individual, and for the betterment of the community! I am going to send this response to John as well, and I pray that you and John can talk and get this issue resolved! God Bless You Bill, Your Friend, Marilyn

Hi Bill, John was relaying to you a message given to him. He could have kept this to himself or blabbed it all over but instead he spoke directly to you with his concern. You should dialogue with him, not the whole community. I believe he needs assurance that it is ok to dialogue with you. Please keep the door open and stay friends as we all came here to Adlandpro to learn from each other. Hope this helps or should I MYOB

Hello Mary I have been around Adland for quite a while and have always treated people with respect. I did attenpt to discuss this with John in PM 's but then I find out that he was continuing his personal assault on me by writing pm's to other members of the community trying to muster support for what he had done. It is not me who has resorted to any underhanded means of defending my position. Every single person who was involved in that forum has given me their support and their blessings. Everyone who really knows what happened is just as upset as I am. Also, I have tried very hard to not make this a personal attack on John. As I stated early on , I used this as an example of the kind of stigma and discrimination that people with mental illness deal with every day. It isn't fair that people like John should be making derrogatory remarks towards anyone that they do not know or understand. The ways to avoid this type of conflict is to become more well informed, prior to making statements such as those made by John. There are 50, million people in the U.S. with a mental illness and I don't believe that any of them would appreciate being told that they are not entitled to an opinion because of their inability to reason. To me, this is not about getting people to help me attack someone else. It is about educating people about a common attitude in America, and a lack of understanding, that makes life even more difficult for those of us with a mental illness. Understanding, Education and Compassion will go a lot farther towards making this a better world than will criticism and stigma. I am not a spiteful person and I don't have an ounce of hatred in me. However I do stand firmly on my beliefs weather they be my religious beliefs or my beliefs just about life in general and I assure that my beliefs have been formulated, based on a very sound sense of reasoning. Thank you for your input Mary. May a smile follow you to sleep each night and be there waiting when you awaken. Sincerly, Bill Vanderbilt Mental Health Forums http://community.adlandpro.com/forumShow.aspx?ForumID=8212 http://community.adlandpro.com/forumShow.aspx?ForumID=8259 http://community.adlandpro.com/forumShow.aspx?ForumID=11791