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The Battle to Define Mental Illness (2010)

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Re: The Battle to Define Mental Illness (2010)

#51
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Mental illness could also be defined by a person's ability to function in their community and social constructs. Are you suggesting rebelliousness and non-conformity should be considered mental illnesses, defects to be cured?

it already is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oppositional_defiant_disorder

That's not what that page says ODD is.

Re: The Battle to Define Mental Illness (2010)

#53
It's kind of strange that psychology has this dual role of both giving advice to the sane and managing the insane. The same division was a thing in psychoanalysis too with neurotics vs psychotics

Why does it do both? Why do people use it as a go-to source for life advice?

People will go to a psychologist for marriage troubles, and they'll also go to a psychologist for psychosis. Seems like a weird place to go to marriage help for unless your wife is psychotic

It's like psychologists have been given this role that religion used to occupy

Re: The Battle to Define Mental Illness (2010)

#54

It's kind of strange that psychology has this dual role of both giving advice to the sane and managing the insane. The same division was a thing in psychoanalysis too with neurotics vs psychotics Why does it do both? Why do people use it as a go-to source for life advice? People will go to a psychologist for marriage troubles, and they'll also go to a psychologist for psychosis. Seems like a weird place to go to marr…

It is exactly the role religions used to play - more so in the past, yes, but still pretty much in scene today still, although perhaps weaker - so this answer your question:

> Why does it do both?

Demand. For what? For adaptation to the current metagame.

While writing this reply, I remembered a few passages from a great thinker, that I think may contribute and expand the conversation, for those interested:

"Art, ethics, philosophy bear witness: under the crust of words and concepts, the living reality of non-adaptation to the world is always crouched, ready to spring. Since neither gods nor words can manage to cover it up decently any longer, this commonplace creature roams naked in railway stations and vacant lots; it confronts you at each evasion of yourself, it touches your elbow, catches your eye; and the dialogue begins." [0]

"After all, if an individual refuses both to adapt to the violence of the world, and to embrace the violence of the unadapted, what can he do? If he doesn't raise his will to achieve unity with the world and with himself to the level of coherent theory and practice, the vast silence of society's open spaces will raise around him the palace of solipsist madness." [1]

"People are bewitched into believing that time slips away, and this belief is the basis of time actually slipping away. Time is the work of attrition of that adaptation to which people must resign themselves so long as they fail to change the world." [2]

Raoul Vaneigem

0, 1: https://www.darkmatterarchives.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/0... 2: https://voidnetwork.gr/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Revolu...

Re: The Battle to Define Mental Illness (2010)

#55
The problem of classification is one not useful by defect. In stead it should go by effect, on the individual and on society, as it cycles through the situations encountered by a old, tribal, militaristic clan based society. The adaptations we define as ails today were useful back then in the role of * and gave the individual a place as *.

It helps to understand what it was of yore.

Re: The Battle to Define Mental Illness (2010)

#56

Is there any condition with as broad a definition as autism? It can cover anywhere from a non-verbal 9 year old with an IQ of 70, to a popular attractive valedictorian genius with incredible masking skills. A slow developing 3 year old labelled early and for life, or a perennial loner 80+ year old finally discovering that their traits are shared with many others.

But autism isn't defined by intelligence or age. You might as well say 'isn't alcoholism such a broad definition, when everyone from world leaders to young people to a perennial loner 80+ year old finally discovering that their traits are shared with many others.

Re: The Battle to Define Mental Illness (2010)

#57

It's kind of strange that psychology has this dual role of both giving advice to the sane and managing the insane. The same division was a thing in psychoanalysis too with neurotics vs psychotics Why does it do both? Why do people use it as a go-to source for life advice? People will go to a psychologist for marriage troubles, and they'll also go to a psychologist for psychosis. Seems like a weird place to go to marr…

It is exactly the role religions used to play - more so in the past, yes, but still pretty much in scene today still, although perhaps weaker - so this answer your question: > Why does it do both? Demand. For what? For adaptation to the current metagame. While writing this reply, I remembered a few passages from a great thinker, that I think may contribute and expand the conversation, for those interested: "Art, ethi…

I'm not sure if its my internal bias, but I'm reading that as the way to prevent the slow slip into insanity is violence with an intent to change the world. The funny part is there may be truth to that.

Re: The Battle to Define Mental Illness (2010)

#58
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it already is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oppositional_defiant_disorder

That's not what that page says ODD is.

The page does say it, I'll agree with that. But I think that the classification as of the disorder basically is a method of classifying people who generally have real life experience with life going wrong, they have reason for behavior which doesn't make it a disorder but instead self preservation.

They are classifying the symptom, not the cause. "Treating" it is fixing their environment and not the person. Too bad drugging the individual is the cheapest solution to create compliant individuals who won't take action.

Re: The Battle to Define Mental Illness (2010)

#59

This conundrum reminds me of a thought experiment. You have people use a mental illness as a defense in courts of law. But could you not plausibly define anyone who commits major crimes to be mental ill? Mental illness could also be defined by a person's ability to function in their community and social constructs. But a healthy species, evolutionary speaking, requires these outliers. These deviations from the "norm"…

>But could you not plausibly define anyone who commits major crimes to be mental ill? Yes, and it makes punishment in the manners we do it [US] frankly unconsciable for being torturous. What else do you call forcing a man to sit in a concrete and iron box for ten years involuntarily, if he would willingly expatriate instead? Imprisonment should become optional with expatriation. It is assinine that we take away passp…

This will be interpreted as.

"Come to the US, commit crimes until you get caught, then leave instead of jail time".

This is not a deterrant.

Re: The Battle to Define Mental Illness (2010)

#60

Is there any condition with as broad a definition as autism? It can cover anywhere from a non-verbal 9 year old with an IQ of 70, to a popular attractive valedictorian genius with incredible masking skills. A slow developing 3 year old labelled early and for life, or a perennial loner 80+ year old finally discovering that their traits are shared with many others.

I think it's just the complexity of our brains that's the issue here. Your brains can be different in really many ways, and many of those differences can cause multiple symptoms, which are then used as a basis for diagnosis. That's why autism, adhd and others have such a high rate of comorbid diagnosis.
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