Note from Daisy: Mental illness is a sensitive subject. The fact that Bob was willing to share the brutally honest truth of his reality is to be admired. There's so much we can learn from his interview. I know that most of you will give him the usual warm welcome offered to those featured here on this website. For those few who opt to be judgmental: You're welcome to agree or disagree, but personal attacks or insults will not be tolerated and your comments will be removed. Thank you. ~ D

By Sandra D. Lane

I'd like to do a lot with this interview. I'd like to dispel the fears that all mentally ill people are dangerous or deranged killers. I'd like to address the stereotypical image that schizophrenics are all serial killers and that every manic bipolar person is like Charles Manson. I hope to separate fact from fiction and provide a modicum of truth in regards to mental illness as a whole.

And I'd like to provide a warning.

In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), just about every single person has some type of mental illness. This is a truth. Your phobia of spiders is a type of Anxiety Disorder, which of course is a mental illness. So is your totally rational fear of dogs after being bitten by one.