January 2nd, I turned 53 years old. At the age of 12 I watched my dad come in from work looking like he had a hangover. An ambulance came and instead, a few days later I learned that he had tried to commit suicide. Apparently the business he owned was going bankrupt and he was in deep depression. After that day, he was in and out of the V.A. mental ward for the remainder of his short lived life of 55 years. My mom, did not cope with this very well and began to drink. Friends stopped coming by because there was a stigma attached to my dadsdisease. Prior to his death, my sister (she was then 16) wasdiagnosed as beingbi-polar. Now not only did I have to take care of things when dad was depressed, but now I had a sister who would have manic episodes coupled with depression. It was a merry go round to say the leastandobviously can still be b/c of my sis. But I love my family and did and still do everything I can do to help. I will never give up on any of them. They are my family. My son who has a twin sister and are 22 has PDD (pervasive developmental disorder) he too, like your son is in denial. I try not to "rock the boat" too much with him and think that perhaps I am in denial of his disease b/c I can't do too very much about it at this point in time. I at times am afraid of him but have learned "how" to talk to him. I'm originally from the Upstate New York area and moved to SC about 16 years ago. I love living in the south, but they lack (as do many states) much in the way of getting help for mental illness. Still that "stigma" and not enoughfinancial support/assistance to help educate people. 41 years is a long time to be acquainted with this disease and if you do not have a strong support system, I do believe it can swallow you up. My guess is that is why a good number of people are homeless. Currently, my sister is in a "cycle" (i believe that is what it is called) because she goes from manic state to depressed and is hospitalized. She has two daughters that I take care of when she goes into the hospital. She has been seperated from her husband for 7 yrs now as hereally did/does not understandher disease. The mental health center my sister is associated with started a support group for family/friends of people w/mental illness but was short lived due to funding. I know the children appreciated the wee bit of time that we had with that group and wish there was more out there for people to become involved in. After living in a family with mental illness, I know that you must stay on your meds. You MUST speak candidly to your doctor about the effectsyour meds are or are not having on you. You must stay strong and know there are people out there in worse situations than you are in. There is also a support group called NAMI that you may want to look into online.They have chapters everywhere. Well I've told you quite a bit about my family and self and am here to chat with, etc. I could probably go on and on and have probably been all over the placetrying to explain things best as I can. My email address is terrischatting@gmail .com. I would love to become an advocate (spokesperson) for mental illness to help quell the stigma associated with it. It is a disease. Some people with the disease are worse than others, some are better. Some try self medicating, some do not. And all have stories to tell and should have someone that they can tell it too.I think perhaps this is a good place to start and if anyone wants to vent, talk or whatever,I have good listening ears. Terri