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When Doctors Thought ‘Wanderlust’ Was a Psychological Condition

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Re: When Doctors Thought ‘Wanderlust’ Was a Psychological Condition

#51

Post by fit2rule »

maxheadroom wrote: post #17
izzydata wrote: post #2

Aren't most mental disorders just behaviors that differ from the norm and make it difficult for those people to function in everyday society? Some cultures wouldn't recognize some things as a disorder if it wasn't difficult for those people. My point being that I don't understand where you draw the line. If someone had such a need to wander the world that it meant that they couldn't live properly in modern society th…

> Aren't most mental disorders just behaviors that differ from the norm and make it difficult for those people to function in everyday society? (Story time.) I went to a presentation one time at work about mental health. (It was part of the government's mental health awareness campaign[0].) In this presentation, the presenter mentioned bathing/lack of changing clothes as a marker for possible mental health issues. As…

>would it really be a sign of mental health issues or would it just be a byproduct of their lower social-class life?

Indeed, I think you've hit on a modern malady - the belief that modern society is no longer engaged in class warfare, and that psychological 'ordering' of society is no longer aligned on those boundaries which benefit the ruling class.

Because, in fact: that belief would be wrong.

Re: When Doctors Thought ‘Wanderlust’ Was a Psychological Condition

#52

Post by sevensor »

LifeLiverTransp wrote: post #12
whatshisface wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Some cultures wouldn't recognize some things as a disorder if it wasn't difficult for those people. There are a few mental disorders like that, but it's important to bear in mind that most of them (major depression, mid to low functioning autism, anxiety, schizophrenia, and so on) lead to objectively reduced functioning independent of society and a lot of suffering in whoever has them. It's not something to be roma…

Almost like biological determined scoutships for a group, arent they? Imagine a bunch of hunte/gatherers, who just entered a new continent (like north-america)- having those loonies orbiting the group, reporting new ressources, scouting ahead- sounds well adapted.

In the case of dromomania's "patient zero", his wanderlust appears to have resulted from traumatic brain injury. I don't think this squares with your theory.

Re: When Doctors Thought ‘Wanderlust’ Was a Psychological Condition

#53

Post by [deleted] »

admax88q wrote: post #14
Nasrudith wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is also the converse - what is accepted as "normal" or even praised as a virtue is harmful and destructive. To give real examples smoking was normal, as was pedestray and ironically the Roman gladiatoral combat which is considered peak decadence was intended to combat decadence! Normal is a pretty shitty heuristic for being good.

> Normal is a pretty shitty heuristic for being good. A few counter examples doesn't mean that the heuristic is bad. Heuristics will always have counter examples, that's why they're heuristics, not rules.

[deleted]

Re: When Doctors Thought ‘Wanderlust’ Was a Psychological Condition

#54

Post by tk75x »

coldtea wrote: post #32
jeroenhd wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see how Roman gladiatorial combat is so different from modern sports. The only major difference is the fact that nearly all gladiators were slaves, but otherwise I see no difference between gladiators and UFC fighting tournaments (or for that matter, American football). I just don't see the peak decadence point.

> I don't see how Roman gladiatorial combat is so different from modern sports. The only major difference is the fact that nearly all gladiators were slaves How about modern sports aren't "to death"?

Only a small fraction of gladiatorial combat was to the death. Gladiators were expensive to acquire, train, and maintain so their masters didn't prefer them to be killed.

Re: When Doctors Thought ‘Wanderlust’ Was a Psychological Condition

#55

Post by shin_lao »

bagacrap wrote: post #46
shin_lao wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not just about making it hard to function in society, it's also preventing these people from achieving their goals and being happy (whatever happy is for them). Usually you can spot a personality disorder objectively if the person has no continuity of any kind in her life: relationships, career, personal achievements... In the case of wanderlust, it can be an unhealthy coping mechanism: "Something is wrong, I wi…

So every hobby must have a practical purpose or it's unhealthy? I'm glad for my own sake I don't agree.

Could you tell me where you think I wrote that? I was not talking about hobbies but general life attitude.

Re: When Doctors Thought ‘Wanderlust’ Was a Psychological Condition

#57

Post by ARandomerDude »

izzydata wrote: post #2

Aren't most mental disorders just behaviors that differ from the norm and make it difficult for those people to function in everyday society? Some cultures wouldn't recognize some things as a disorder if it wasn't difficult for those people. My point being that I don't understand where you draw the line. If someone had such a need to wander the world that it meant that they couldn't live properly in modern society th…

> My point being that I don't understand where you draw the line.

Agreed – one reason I'm opposed to aborting babies suspected of having a mental disorder.

Re: When Doctors Thought ‘Wanderlust’ Was a Psychological Condition

#58

Post by jackbravo »

penagwin wrote: post #38
maxheadroom wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Aren't most mental disorders just behaviors that differ from the norm and make it difficult for those people to function in everyday society? (Story time.) I went to a presentation one time at work about mental health. (It was part of the government's mental health awareness campaign[0].) In this presentation, the presenter mentioned bathing/lack of changing clothes as a marker for possible mental health issues. As…

I think the real qualifier is if lack of self-care is due to personal choice then environmental resources. You don't have clean water to regularly wash clothes/yourself? That's not a personal choice (in this instance). If you DO have clean water and aren't taking care of your basic hygene, then there's an issue. If asked "why" and the answer is "no point" then that's a pretty clear sign of depression. "I don't know h…

But people tend to get used to the environments they grow in. So if you had low access to water, you end up learning to shower only once in a while, and you take it as something natural. Like the cliche (racist cliche?) of people in America complaining about people from Europe or Asia having a more apparent body odor. This also reminds me of the movie (or books) Dune. Where people from Arrakis are used to drinking very little water, and deem people from other planets as "fat on water" because they can even smell their "excess" off water on their bodies, and see it as a sign of wastefulness.

Re: When Doctors Thought ‘Wanderlust’ Was a Psychological Condition

#59

Post by jackbravo »

anjc wrote: post #42
maxheadroom wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Aren't most mental disorders just behaviors that differ from the norm and make it difficult for those people to function in everyday society? (Story time.) I went to a presentation one time at work about mental health. (It was part of the government's mental health awareness campaign[0].) In this presentation, the presenter mentioned bathing/lack of changing clothes as a marker for possible mental health issues. As…

Access to water in Ireland is assumed to such an extent that it isn't even listed in the ESRI's criteria for poverty. As such, it's very obvious that lack of bathing/changing clothes will almost NEVER be due to lack of access to water. Even temporary halting sites must have access to water considered by local councils. > From a privileged, lower-middle class or above perspective Very confused as to why you think 'wat…

In Mexico it is more common to have water shortages on low income areas in big cities. Whereas rich areas can even have their own water wells.

Re: When Doctors Thought ‘Wanderlust’ Was a Psychological Condition

#60

Post by 50656E6973 »

johnchristopher wrote: post #37
50656E6973 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing you described was indicative of that person having a "mental illness" so much as exhibiting anti-social behavior.

> Nothing you described was indicative of that person having a "mental illness" so much as exhibiting anti-social behavior. I know this is the internet and for all you know I could be a dog but this is HN and I assume that if I say that person suffered from schizophrenia you know I am not saying that lightly. Now what more do you want ? A transcript of the conversation between his mother and the department director w…

That's much more indicative.

>if I say that person suffered from schizophrenia you know I am not saying that lightly.

Unfortunately, it is very common (even on HN) for people to toss around labels like "crazy", "nutjob", and "schizo" against people they disagree with because it exempts oneself from the burden of empathizing, introspecting, and thinking deeper.

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