nightrider it is quite reassuring to hear that you have made a full recovery. In my family we have a variety of mental illnesses (as i believe is the case with most families) however we have been quite successful at acknowledging them.

My grandfather was actually a psychopath (no awareness beyond his own universe, brilliant manipulative abilities, selfdestructive tendencies and a seeming lack of a conscience). He turned that way due to a fall from a horse at a young age (damaging the frontal lobes of the brain and thus making him incapable of empathy at any more than an intellectual level).

My mother's father had had strong neuroses as a result of a domineering and fastidious mother (as well as issues developed from his time in the Danish Resistance in WW2) which he transmitted to his own children.

Myself and some of my cousins (particularly the older ones closer to my age) have followed in the footsteps of our elders by battling with depression and eating disorders.

Mental health is the most difficult to maintain. Due to the individuality of humans , to maintain mental health requires constant analysis of self and solutions are also a completely individual process.

Acknowledging mendtal disorders and dealing with them requires a lot of bravery. A mental disorder is a sign that all is not as it should have been in your past. To acknowledge that something in your past has been detrimental is perceived as extremely dangerous as it will require a re-evaluation of all the you are and allt he you have experienced.

Mental illness is not a disease that is to be treated or destroyed. It is an indicator that must be heeded when it shows itself.

I am sure that part of your recovery process involved not only meds, but also intensive re-evaluation of what you were, what you have experienced and what you have been led to believe.

I think meds can assist you in dealing with these problems, and in some cases suppress the symptoms of mental issues.. but the cure can only take the shape of mental re-evalution.