Reader Submission: The Words Someone With Mental Illness Most Wants to Say—Please Give Society Empathy and Kindness

This is a reader submission from someone with mental illness, using the case of 'Ms. Y' to illustrate how unkind external stimuli exacerbate mild depression into PTSD and hypomania. Drawing on personal experience, the author pleads with society, media, and government officials to exercise empathy and compassion, not adding more unkind stimuli or hostile looks. The author emphasizes how difficult mental patients already struggle and calls for schools to teach relevant education from childhood. The author affirms accepting their condition, working to maintain 'normalcy,' hoping societal progress brings greater help for patients.