Speakers on mental health

Wow! The speakers we had during class were wonderful! My reaction after hearing their stories was, how can I even think I have problems and trials when these two men have had way more than their share! We all have problems, we all have trials, we all have our own way of dealing with them. My parents have always told me that that God would not give me more than I could handle. Sometimes I question why some people seem to have greater burdens than others. Did everything these men go through contribute to their mental illness or did they have a mental illness to begin with and their problems brought the disease to the surface? I applaude their strength and their desire to help others who have a mental illness. Both of the men talked about the stigmas that go along with having this disease. The stigma about taking meds hit home. My son always felt inferior because he had to take meds and was made fun of at school for taking them. Of course, he always had to go to the office for the meds so the other kids knew about it. It is amazing to me how one of the speakers was able to wean himself off of all his meds (with the help of his therapist) and had been off of them for a year. I have attached a link about the stigmas of MI.