In general what are your thoughts on mental illness?

[prplchknz]

so what are they?
what do you think causes them?
are you scared of people who are mentally ill?
do you know anyone who is?
what do you think impact on society is?
what do you think is the most effective way of treating them?
do you think you can tell who does or doesn't have a mental illness just by a sole interaction?
ect
I am not going to share mine, nor give you my reasoning for creating this thread. I'm just curious to see how you perceive it.

 

[Eilonwy]

so what are they?
I could give the clinical answer, but, instead, I'll tell you what I think. I think society determines what it considers 'normal' and anything that falls outside of that range gets labeled. Sometimes that label is warranted, in that the person with a 'mental illness' really cannot function well for themselves or in society and needs some sort of assistance in coping/improving so that they can function. I, personally, would put more emphasis on being able to function well for themselves, and then in society, unless the person really was a danger to themselves or others in some way. I also think we have very little idea of what 'normal' is or how it's achieved. I think the societal push for 'normal', depending on what that 'normal' has been defined as, is sometimes detrimental to mental health overall. Also, I think some mental illnesses are normal mental/physical reactions to abnormal stressors.

what do you think causes them?
Chemical imbalances in the brain, or brain injury.

are you scared of people who are mentally ill?
Not in general, but I would be if they were violent. I've only known one person with a mental illness who was violent enough to scare me, but he seems to have that under control.

do you know anyone who is?
My oldest brother hasn't been diagnosed, but we're all pretty sure he has OCD. I know a few other people with OCD, also. If we count brain injury, then my mom--her stroke caused vascular dementia. I know several people with diagnosed or undiagnosed anxiety disorder, depression, or panic disorder. My sister-in-law used to have an eating disorder. I know a couple of people with sex addictions, and one pathological liar. I would guess that some of the people I know fall somewhere on the autism spectrum, though I don't know if any of them were diagnosed. I know a couple of hoarders. One of my grand-nephews might be ADHD.

what do you think impact on society is?
I'm really only familiar with US culture, and only small sections of that, so my answer is going to reflect that. I think a lot of professions and corporations related to the mental health industry see profit in promoting mental illness. I think that we like quick fixes here in the US and dislike anything that seems to express weakness, but we also want to see ourselves as compassionate. I think the result is dehumanizing to society as a whole because we tend to see mental illness as something to be fixed and fixed quickly so that we can show how compassionate we are while expending as little effort as possible in making sure that everyone fits a certain standard of 'normal'.

what do you think is the most effective way of treating them?
It depends on the severity and type of mental illness. Mental illness due to brain injury might not be treatable, depending on the injury. I think that several factors have to be taken into consideration when determining the best treatment. I think we have a tendency to over-medicate here in the US. While some mental illnesses do need to be treated with medication, others might improve or resolve with other forms of treatment (therapies, diet, changes to the environment, etc.).

do you think you can tell who does or doesn't have a mental illness just by a sole interaction?
For the most part, no. Even if you can tell that something seems off from a sole interaction, you might attribute it to something other than mental illness (quirkiness, substance abuse, having an off day, etc.).

 

[Qlip]

so what are they?
Any behavioral manifestations that don't allow a person to integrate well into society.

what do you think impact on society is?
See above. In a way you can say that mental illness would not exist without society. I imagine that things we call mental illness aren't considered so in other societies and vice versa.

what do you think causes them?
The cause doesn't define what they are, it's the behavior. Cause can be anywhere between biological, trauma, education, preference or anywhere else.

are you scared of people who are mentally ill?
saying somebody is mentally ill tells me nothing, I would have no judgement until I knew who that person is.

do you know anyone who is?
Not closely that I know of.

 

[Opal]

so what are they?

Any behavioral manifestations that don't allow a person to integrate well into society.

"Maladaptive" behavioral patterns.

what do you think impact on society is?
It is counterproductive to maintenance of culture and tradition, but possibly helpful for societal reform. Each disorder impacts society differently though.

what do you think causes them?
Genetics, stressors, in some cases substance abuse.

are you scared of people who are mentally ill?
In many cases I'm drawn to them.

do you know anyone who is?
Every one of my close friends is diagnosed or very likely eligible to be diagnosed with anxiety, borderline, depression, bipolar, or schizophrenia.

 

[prplchknz]

I edited to OP, I thought of another question.

 

[cascadeco]

so what are they?

I think it's fairly commonplace for people to become mentally unbalanced, and less healthy/optimal, due to a variety of things. I think full-blown diagnosed mental illness, where individuals aren't able to function well in society or in caring for themselves, or are harming themselves or others, are more rare.

what do you think causes them?

Not super educated / read-up on all of it, but, my understanding is there's definitely a genetic component in many cases. In other cases, I think it's brought on by more severe levels of abuse at a young age, or other such trauma events that drastically alter a persons' sense of self and perception of the world.

are you scared of people who are mentally ill?

Not scared, I don't think, but, there are certain types of untreated mental illnesses where when I bump into those who have them, out in public, I can become on edge because their behavior is erratic and sometimes directed outwards in unpredictable ways.

do you know anyone who is?

My brother was diagnosed with chronic depression and something anxiety-related as a late teen, though for a long while now he's been ok.

what do you think impact on society is?

Hmm, unsure. In a broader sense though I think the western/modern world exacerbates a lot of unbalance, and/or there's a loss of awareness of 'Life' and a lot of more superficial treatments without going to the source; problems with culture/priorities in general that increase issues. BUT, that's for general mental health for everyone; I'm not saying in cases of mental illness (genetic causes, or more severe imbalance due to trauma/whatnot) that meds aren't in fact what's needed to provide more chemical balance.

what do you think is the most effective way of treating them?

My understanding is that for certain chronic mental illnesses, medication is the only way to effectively treat the symptoms and challenges/issues. For what I'd say are less chronic, maybe circumstantial or neurotic behaviors that have developed over the years of a persons' lifetime (which may not = diagnosed mental illness, or might be 'borderline', not sure what words to use), I think more cognitive getting-to-the-root, of assessing how a person thinks/perceives, could be a lot more beneficial.

do you think you can tell who does or doesn't have a mental illness just by a sole interaction?

I think that I can pick up on when someone is 'off' in some way or another, whether a neurotic behavior, unhappiness, coping, anxiousness, or whatnot. I'm not qualified to diagnose though, but, more extreme cases where someone isn't on their meds, can usually tell if someone has schizo type behavior where they are seeing things others are not.

 

[gromit]

Seems to me like some sort of physiological thing going on. I think there may be some sort of feedback loop between physiology, outward behavior, and internal thought patterns/mindsets, where you can disrupt any of those areas and it can impact the others as well. Probably most successful is to target all three.

This is my impression.


The most I have known firsthand in someone is depression and anxiety.

 

[Eilonwy]

bumping due to additional questions

 

[prplchknz]

bumping due to additional questions

thanks, so much

 

[prplchknz]

so what are they?
I could give the clinical answer, but, instead, I'll tell you what I think. I think society determines what it considers 'normal' and anything that falls outside of that range gets labeled. Sometimes that label is warranted, in that the person with a 'mental illness' really cannot function well for themselves or in society and needs some sort of assistance in coping/improving so that they can function. I, personally, would put more emphasis on being able to function well for themselves, and then in society, unless the person really was a danger to themselves or others in some way. I also think we have very little idea of what 'normal' is or how it's achieved. I think the societal push for 'normal', depending on what that 'normal' has been defined as, is sometimes detrimental to mental health overall. So, I think some mental illnesses are normal mental/physical reactions to abnormal stressors.

so do you think for the on going ones, once they've been stabilized and are able to function in society, treatment should stop?

 

[Eilonwy]

so do you think for the on going ones, once they've been stabilized and are able to function in society, treatment should stop?

You're asking about on-going mental illnesses, which I would define as those where the chemical imbalance in the brain or the injury isn't curable, even though it's treatable, so I would say that treatment shouldn't stop.

 

[prplchknz]

You're asking about on-going mental illnesses, which I would define as those where the chemical imbalance in the brain or the injury isn't curable, even though it's treatable, so I would say that treatment shouldn't stop.

I'm trying to get a full picture of people's opinions

 

[Eilonwy]

I'm trying to get a full picture of people's opinions

so do you think for the on going ones, once they've been stabilized and are able to function in society, treatment should stop?

Then, my more general answer would be that if they can continue to stay stabilized and function in society once treatment has stopped, then treatment should stop.

 

[prplchknz]

Then, my more general answer would be that if they can continue to stay stabilized and function in society once treatment has stopped, then treatment should stop.

but wouldn't that mean their illness isn't long lasting after all. by long lasting I mean lasting a life time.

 

[prplchknz]

Then, my more general answer would be that if they can continue to stay stabilized and function in society once treatment has stopped, then treatment should stop.

but wouldn't that mean their illness isn't long lasting after all. by long lasting I mean lasting a life time.

 

[ceecee]

so what are they? I really do try to look at this outside the box of normal and not normal. It's never that black and white.

what do you think causes them? Any number of things from brain trauma to biology to environment to chemical use or congenital disorders.

are you scared of people who are mentally ill? It would depend. There are absolutely very dangerous mentally ill people but generally, mental illness doesn't scare me.

do you know anyone who is? Yes. More than one.

what do you think impact on society is? I assume you mean the impact of the mentally ill on society. I think it runs the gamut from very little impact to huge impacts, depending on the person and their actions.

what do you think is the most effective way of treating them? Getting them diagnosed is probably the biggest hurdle. Beyond that, there can be many kinds of treatment and combinations of treatment

do you think you can tell who does or doesn't have a mental illness just by a sole interaction? Tell exactly what they have by one interaction? No probably not. Can I tell something may be wrong with them from a single interaction? Yes.

 

[Eilonwy]

but wouldn't that mean their illness isn't long lasting after all. by long lasting I mean lasting a life time.

Well, I had to think about this. I was assuming that a chemical imbalance could stabilize over time or a brain injury could heal over time, so there was a possibility of stopping treatment. But, after some further thought, I think that most of the mental illnesses listed would require ongoing treatment.

But that might also depend on where you draw the line between normal and mentally ill. Like in the case of depression--is it only an extended period of sadness, or is it full-blown depression? Also, I'm including things like substance abuse and environmental factors in causing chemical imbalance in the brain, so if those aren't permanent changes to the brain, or can be reversed over time, then is it really mental illness?

 

[prplchknz]

Well, I had to think about this. I was assuming that a chemical imbalance could stabilize over time or a brain injury could heal over time, so there was a possibility of stopping treatment. But, after some further thought, I think that most of the mental illnesses listed would require ongoing treatment.

But that might also depend on where you draw the line between normal and mentally ill. Like in the case of depression--is it only an extended period of sadness, or is it full-blown depression? Also, I'm including things like substance abuse and environmental factors in causing chemical imbalance in the brain, so if those aren't permanent changes to the brain, or can be reversed over time, then is it really mental illness?

that's a good question. I think that it still is. But it's not chronic.

 

[garbage]

In short -- they exist, and they should (in most cases) be treated to the extent that they prevent someone from functioning. It's all gray; but that's where I'd define the cutoff. That's where the pros tend to draw the line, too.

 

[prplchknz]

In short -- they exist, and they should (in most cases) be treated to the extent that they prevent someone from functioning. It's all gray; but that's where I'd define the cutoff. That's where the pros tend to draw the line, too.

wait so they should be treated to the point of not functioning?