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Mercnbeth -> RE: DO you think that someone with a mental problem should not be involved in the lifestyle ? (6/6/2007 10:44:03 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: mistoferin
I think that it is interesting that 52% of the respondents to this poll so far answered that they have mental issues. I too am surprised that it is that low.
It is in vogue to claim a mental disability to justify behavior. Besides, it takes away the blame and introducing yourself having a mental illness is almost expected.
A child isn't "bad" or "disrupted" they are "hyper-active" - here take Ritalin or Straterra. You have mood swings? You're not emotional you are "bi-polar" here's some lithium, or in the latest craze they'll give you anti-seizure medication lie Tegretol or Depakote. Anxiety got you down? Xanax or Valium will do the trick. Depressed? There are a bunch, A-Z; Adapin to Zoloft.
Is the world any different now than it was prior to the psychology boom? Is there a larger percentage of people mentally ill? I don't believe that is the case. There is more readily available information, leading to more self diagnosis. It used to require going to college to learn about human psychology. Back in the day there was even a term for what would happen to first year students. 'Freshman Psychosis' was used to describe what would happen to students who took a 100 level psychology course and found that the had many of the symptoms that described paranoia, split personality, depression, schizophrenia, and many other of the disorders they read about in their textbooks. Now the same information is presented in magazines that you read on the toilet. It is having the same result.
However now stepping up to take advantage of this "little knowledge" are the psychologist, and drug companies. Banned cigarette commercials have been replaced in the ad market by pills which will ease your depression, reduce your anxiety, and level your moods. A susceptible mind can get a bad case of 'Freshman Psychosis' simply by watching TV. Based upon sales, there are a LOT of susceptible minds, seeking that magic pill that will make them feel good about themselves.
One common denominator of the drugs referenced? ALL require taking them forever. In business, you try to find some product/service for your business that creates an annuity. The drug companies, especially in the mental illness industry, have the concept perfected. You'll be taking your anti-depression meds from the day you are diagnosed to the day you die. Keep them in prescription form and you'll be visiting your Doctor regularly too. As a patient/customer - don't ever be expecting a "cure". Your "disease" is paying too many bills for too many people.
Truth is, many people shouldn't feel all that good about themselves at varying points in their lives. It sure has happened to me, for reasons legitimate or minor. A close friend or relative dies you should be depressed. A couple buildings full of them warrants generating all kinds of negative emotions. Would you want to take a pill that deflected daily reality? I've had many friends to regularly take psycho prescriptions. When I ask what it does for them, they say it "takes the sharp edge off of daily life." Wow - Were I to seek a pill cure, it would be one which would make life sharper.
There are mentally ill people in the world. There is a need to help the those unable to function due to their brain's inability to logically process and react to the world around them. These new age diagnosed deceases are not among them. They are trying to make the routine and common ups and down of reality flat. In effect they are taking the 'roller coaster' that is life and laying it flat.
Should someone with a self proclaimed or diagnosed 'mental illness' be in the lifestyle? Why not? Would I consider someone with a self proclaimed, or diagnose ambulatory 'mental illness'? Sure - But I think the smirk and the sarcastic comment coming out of my mouth would not have you consider me. Having a partner with some diseases may be fun to play with; especially a multi-personality who takes on varying submissive persona. It would take role-playing to the ultimate level.
There was an interesting article in the LA time on this issue. The subject was college students. This is the final two paragraph summary:
quote:
In 1913, psychologist Lewis Terman proclaimed that skyrocketing teenage stress was driving an "epidemic of child suicide." In 1935, the American Council on Education's American Youth Commission reported that 75% of young men suffered physical debilitation induced by mental anxiety, while a national study a year later found youth in a "melancholic … state rapidly approaching a psychosis." In the 1980s, the National Assn. of Private Psychiatric Hospitals and other lobbies trumpeted an "epidemic of teen suicide" that later congressional testimony and an American Psychological Assn. investigation concluded was an attempt to fill beds in overbuilt psychiatric hospitals.
Judging by the best evidence we have, today's high school and college students are no more troubled — indeed are probably less so — than those of 15, 25, or 35 years ago. That higher tuitions raise student anxiety — a new UC-funded poll found 16- to 22-year-olds citing "school and money as their top sources of personal stress" — is just one more compelling reason to base mental health funding on professional criteria rather than "suicidal student" scare campaigns.
Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-op-males27may27,1,1223636.story
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