You have an emotional attachment to mental illness that is overbearing your assessment. This is completely understandable given your history.Your last statement shows how little you know regardless of what degree you have. Do you think people just wake up one day and realize "I have mental illness"?
I have had two kids very close to me that have struggled. One succeeding in taking his own life and the other attempted but thank God unsuccessfully. Literally no one that was close to either one of them knew anything was wrong.
Maybe she did know before. But I highly doubt she shared much with anyone if she did. The comments and thoughts in the this very thread make it easy to see why people are hesitant to seek help or even admit they need help.
Maybe my standing on my soapbox will help just one person realize there is much more to mental health than most realize. And maybe they will see someone close to them that needs help and recognize it sooner. And maybe that person will wake up tomorrow.
Unfortunately it isn't nearly as simple as some on here would like to believe.
You are having a hard time understanding that I'm simply saying that while some in our society have an incorrect view that mental illness is controllable and you can just "fix it", the other side has gone way overboard in thinking that everything anyone does means they have mental illness. It is possible that she does not have mental toughness. Not having mental toughness does not mean she has mental illness. Having a "tough time" mentally does not mean she has mental illness. Being flaky, in her own head, a wimp, etc. is not akin to mental illness.
Elevating every doubt, fear, and anxiety to mental illness level is just as damaging to diagnosing and treating true mental illness as those who think it doesn't exist at all.