I was in my young twenties, and went swimming at a public pool. The lifeguard was cute. But I knew I had no chance with her. You see, I was part of a group for which the pool had been exclusively reserved. We were a group of…
mental patients.
When you’re a mental patient you can get locked up. But after you get out you can getlocked out; locked out of people’s hearts. Sometimes once you reveal your mental illness, everything you do and say is interpreted by others through their lens of mental illness (they don’t seeyouanymore; they see every movie and newscast distortion of mental illness).
For example, you can’t get too upset about injustice, or they get worried about their safety around you. You can’t get too excited and animated, or they say you are agitated and worry about their safety around you. But the worst response…