Can someone literally turn you mentally ill just by the way they act?

1. 61

   Keith Dugginsposted 9 years ago

   Can someone literally turn you mentally ill just by the way they act?
   
   I feel that I'm going insane every time my schizophrenic mother wants me to.

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2. 94

   Maffew Jamesposted 9 years ago

   Ultimately, you're responsible for your own mental health. If you let something upset you, you'll end up upset. Nobody can make you feel a particular way unless you allow them to have an effect on you.
   
   Also, if it seems like she is trying to drive you insane, she probably is. It's possible that she feels isolated and alone, and feels that she can only relate to you by doing this. Bringing you down to her level so to speak. It's probably subconscious though and I wouldn't direct any hatred towards her for doing it. People have a tendency to project their own problems onto other people without realising it.
   
   If this continues, you should probably put some distance between yourself and your mother to allow yourself to rest and return to a better state of mind.

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3. 90

   Theophanesposted 9 years ago

   YES, the closer you are to someone with a serious mental health issue and the more manipulative that person is can cause you to go completely bonkers. Whenever they're going into a downward spiral why not bring you with them??
   
   I had someone who was severely bi-polar in my life. Everything was great for a while but then she managed to over time suck me into her animal hoarding problems. Before I knew what was going on I had 65 cats ruining my house! And then I had to be paranoid of being reported for said 65 cats because I didn't want to lose the animals that were mine all along and I was taking care of properly. These cats had every disease known to felinedom and it was a MASSIVE strain to treat them, home them, etc. It's been 10 years since this happened and I still have five of them - who I hate - because they have such bad IBS no one will take them. I'm seriously considering putting them down, which makes me feel guilty and shitty because it's really not the cats fault they found themselves in this situation.
   
   In the meanwhile I have distanced myself greatly from this person. We only talk on the phone every now and then. But she makes sure to call whenever she's going through a crisis - anything from, "I'm in the ER bleeding - think it's a miscarriage" to "I'm homeless again and I don't know where to go." to "I swallowed all my stashed pills. Just wanted to say bye." (I should mention I never know where she is when she does any of this BS so there's nothing I can do to begin with and I sure as hell am not offering her space in my house again for her or anything else!)
   
   Long story short I can thank her for countless panic attacks, ongoing anxiety, a complete lack of trust in pretty much all people, severe pessimism, and exhaustion among other maladies. 
   
   Here's what changed me from trying to rescue her to wanting to break free - I looked at myself one day and realized I didn't like the person I was when I was around her. If this is how you feel with your mother than I suggest you run for the hills. It's really tough, you might not make it on the first try, but you will be better off for it. I'm sorry.

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4. 0

   Daveadamposted 9 years ago

   She's not doing it to you Keith, your doing it to yourself by how your reacting to her..All you have to do is learn how not to react to her, no matter what she says or does to you..You can do it like everybody else can, but you have to practice your patience & emotions & feelings control..Learn mindful distraction & meditation, & your'l be eventually immune to unwanted thoughts emotions & feelings..Once learned & realise over say a good few months, no one or no thing will ever faze you again mentally or emotionally....So no, no one but yourself can turn you mentally ill....Try to always be aware of your words & actions, & try to stay in control of your emotions & feelings, & distract unwanted negative thoughts with mindful distraction practice....It will be a month or so before you start to get the gist of it all, but keep going until you do because when you realise it fully yourself, you will be born again. :-)

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   1. 0

      Daveadamposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Find more things that you love doing in real life, physical things where your moving about..Practice concentration doing only one thing at a time with no back ground music, & "the" magic word is "patience" as it will take a good few months. :-)

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5. 75

   Diana Leeposted 9 years ago

   Yes, I believe an unstable person can have an effect on your thoughts.  Some people know just what to say to make another person mad.

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6. 61

   Morgan Anthonyposted 8 years ago

   You cannot be "turned", but you can definitely be negatively influenced, and your energies and psychologies can be thrown out of balance. If you stay in that environment too long, it will become more and more difficult to heal from it.

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