Living With Mental Illness

When Patty Duke learned that she had a mental illness, she was happy. For most of her life, Patty Duke suffered from wild mood swings, hallucinations, and debilitating depressions. Patty Duke believed that her mood swings were the product of a troubled childhood. Patty's childhood was difficult. Most of Patty's childhood was spent living with people who were neither her family nor concerned with her wellbeing. Patty was a child star and her caretakers only wanted her to perform and make them money. When Patty escaped these caretakers, she became wild, uncontrolled, often going on wild shopping sprees, drinking too much, and living on little sleep. Patty married during this time and would often threaten suicide in order to manipulate her husband. Patty knew this behavior was not normal, but she was afraid to ask for help or to admit that she might be insane...