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Half of All Americans Mentally Ill
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Half of All Americans Mentally Ill |
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Huan Yi Member Ascendant
since 2004-10-12
Posts 6688Waukegan 
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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,165646,00.html I have to wonder where and who is this perfect standard against which the rest of us are measured? Is it not then possible to call entire eras and their peoples mentally ill? From where comes this arrogance? |
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Huan Yi Member Ascendant
since 2004-10-12
Posts 6688Waukegan |
“Last, but not least, is the prejudice which includes all others, namely, that everyone’s happiness is the same. For this assumption causes us to designate as “neurotic” any other whose ideas of happiness do not coincide with ours. Herein lies the greatest sin of psychology: that it sets up absolute standards derived from a rational interpretation of one prevailing type by which to judge not only our fellow men but also to interpret personalities and behaviour of the past.” Otto Rank Beyond Psychology |
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Ringo 
since 2003-02-20
Posts 3684Saluting with misty eyes |
The politically correct term isn't mentally ill... it's "Poets" lol http://www.mysticwicks.com |
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Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
According to experts, severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia, dementia and manic depression are relatively uncommon. "But the updated Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (search), or DSM — the standard survey for mental illness — lists conditions like adjustment disorder, passive-aggressive disorder and female sexual arousal disorder as mental illness, reflecting what are claimed to be advances in the mental health profession." LOL...female sexual arousal disorder? are we more 'disordered' aroused or unaroused???? methinks someone has his/her head on backwards or up the proverbial darkest of alleyways.  LOL at Ringo's answer. Isn't being a bit off center a prerequisite to being a writer? an artist? a musician? an actor? Maybe the number is closer to 99% of humans being just a bit nutso at some point in time in their lifetime? In which case, being 'off' would be the norm, and therefore, not an abnormality or social disorder. Those stats are hilarious! Anyway, I am not nutso, but that other person sure is |
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serenity blaze Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738 |
Well, I know I'm half-crazy.  |
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Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
LOL, ok, so that makes two of us who admit to half...there's ONE so far. Anyone else? |
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serenity blaze Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738 |
I'd seek treatment, but I happen to think it's my better half.  *high fiving Kacy* |
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Tim Senior Member
since 1999-06-08
Posts 1794 |
"From where comes this arrogance?" I am not attempting to violate any rules of Passions, but what immediately came to my mind on reading the initial post was substituting the word ignorance for arrogance. Perhaps if there was not such a stigma attached to mental illness, or lack of knowledge on the part of the general populace on a subject that effects all of our lives to such a great degree, it wouldn't be a matter for humor. One has to wonder if humor is sometimes used to hide ignorance or fear. Mental illness is a disease like any other and there are varying degrees of illness. I doubt the response would have been the same had the quote been that one half of the world will be physically ill this year. I wonder how many members of Passions if they took a screening test for depression would qualify... What does that mean? It means we have a lot of people who are suffering from an illness that is treatable, but do not seek treatment because they believe they will be stigmatized by a society that still believes those suffering from a mental illness should be institutionalized. |
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serenity blaze Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738 |
Good point, Tim. I do laugh, so that I won't cry. I have been diagnosed with clinical depression, and I did quit seeking treatment. Unfortunately I'm one of those folks who have adverse reactions to anti-depressants. (I veer from self-destructive tendencies to suicidal intent.) And I agree whole-heartedly with every word. Some of my best friends are schizophrenics. And my dear friend, that ain't a joke.  The majority of them, are compassionate, intelligent people who happen to have a chemical imbalance.So your point is well taken and I thank you for bringing dignity back to the thread. And I apologize for making light of a serious problem.  I came back to add, though, that I do reserve the right to laugh at my own demons. (I prefer that to cowering in fear, thank you.) And yeah. I do laugh a lot."His name is Legion." *hugs* Tim [This message has been edited by serenity blaze (08-14-2005 07:22 PM).] |
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Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
Good points, Tim. I apologize to anyone who thinks I was making light of a serious problem. On the other hand, I believe that in one way or another, anything and everything about humanity is up for grabs when it comes to humor, though I might have been on the other side of this particular issue thirty five+ years ago. I guess I've found that sometimes humor IS a great survival technique. I do understand your main point, however. There's a great deal of mental instability exhibited by the human species in general. But we have created and inane mindset of categorizing people and many of our behaviors as being illnesses that make us somehow 'less than' we should be. I've worked in treatment centers, with schizophrenics and other 'disturbed' clients, as well as with 'normal' groups in public schools and the business world. I've seen a wide range of behaviors, and to me, these stats are ludicrous at best. The way this information was presented is a distortion of reality. That's not to say many, if not most people have at least once in their life had an episode where they might benefit from some professional help. To lump so many behaviors under the title 'mental illness' carries a very heavy price. Remember a political candidate who lost his support base because he had a recorded incident of seeking professional help? Many people questionned his mental stability just because he admitted needing then received some professional help. Anyway, I appreciated your input, as it is true, there is great harm in denigrating humans for seeking and receiving help when needed, no matter what the problem may be. The same stigma is also wrongly placed on people for seeking physical treatments for 'socially undesireable' behaviors. ...another hornets nest... |
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Alicat Member Elite
since 1999-05-23
Posts 4094Coastal Texas |
The group who came up with this load of overrippened manure has to be in bed with the pharmies. Some of their definitions for mentally ill include coffee addiction, hormonal hot flashes, food pickiness. It's all to pigeonhole everyone neatly and concisely, all labeled so nicely with a pill for every malady, real or imagined. If I go any further, I'll have to pull on some hip waders, since my boots are starting to overflow from all the crapola. |
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ice Member Elite
since 2003-05-17
Posts 3404Pennsylvania |
This is a very interesting thread, Thank you John, for opening it. My feelings are that all humans are mentally ill in some way or another,including myself. That is, that I feel the figure should be 100% not 50... being imperfect entities living in an imperfect atmosphere will not allow perfect mental harmony. It is hard for me to define mental illness, almost impossible in most cases, except for a few- consider serial killers and child molesters and people who chose war as a method of solving conflicting issues, as examples. Considering also, our present culture, and the battering of it by commerce and politics, it is understandable why we have the jitters and shakes... The thing that bugs me most about this issue is the assault on children that act out their grievances with "erratic" behavior, these innocents that we classify as having a.d.d.- a.d.h.d. and other similar maladies. I am quite sure that some of these kids need some kind of med to straighten them out, but am also quite sure that many are not mentally ill as they are described, but are still in a pristine state that says to them...run from this, hide from it, you do not belong here in this adverse place.. I also believe that taking drugs by adults in some cases is acceptable, especially if they have tendency towards being depressed beyond what is normal at times... but believe that taking them is just a Band-Aid on an infected sore..it makes the wound feel better but does not really cure..I also believe that whomever chooses to take them should do so, if it makes them feel better. I will expound what I believe is the cure... and that is a changed society...I know, I know, I have been called "nuts" before, and realize that this is said to be impossible. Ooops, it's time for me to go to work, be back later.... -----------ice ><> [This message has been edited by Ron (08-15-2005 01:57 PM).] |
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LeeJ Member Patricius
since 2003-06-19
Posts 13296 |
Yes, a very interesting thread, dito Ford's thanks to you John Ford, I cannot wait to read your cure, so hurry up, will ya?  you've left me hangin here |
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wranx Member Elite
since 2002-06-07
Posts 3689Moved from a shack to a barn |
Agreeing with Alicat here If you were to read the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders", you might find the number of "mentally ill" to be an actual 100%.... Yes, there are mental illnesses that require treatment. But the pharmacutical companies can't make substantial profit from so small a demographic. The answer? EVERYBODY is mentally ill! I say again, people are being treated by "Cosmetic Psycho-Chemotherapy"...Not something I made up, someone else did that, and I wonder where he works.... LMFAO |
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littlewing Member Rara Avis
since 2003-03-02
Posts 9655New York |
NOBODY is normal, there is no such thing, there are just varying degrees of insanity. |
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Huan Yi Member Ascendant
since 2004-10-12
Posts 6688Waukegan |
So everyone is, at least in some part, nuts . . . How many have heard: “People say I’m crazy” or some variation as if it were a point of attraction. Then what is mental health? |
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serenity blaze Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738 |
Mental health, sanity, i.e., reality, is a collective agreement. And oh? I wish you luck on agreement. If you can find the courage to make a definitive stance on any topic, I suspect you'd find you wouldn't need so much luck. Consider this our official parting of ways, John. I'm bored. |
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Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
LOL that's a healthy attitude K |
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hush Senior Member
since 2001-05-27
Posts 1653Ohio, USA |
Well, as the title implies, the article doesn't say that "half of all Americans [are] mentally ill," but that half will have a mental disorder warranting treatment at some point in their lives. Not quite as hard a pill to swallow, especially considering that in my experience with the elderly as a nurse's aide, many people living in nursing homes have (outside of dementia, which is usually caused by Alzheimers or an organic brain disease) symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. If you've seen the amount of people I see getting ativan and xanax, you might be more inclined to agree. Also, in my hospital clinical rotations, you'd be amazed how many paxil, zoloft, and prozac you hand out on a med-surg floor. I do tend to agree that people jump to medications as a cure all, and that doctors, including general practitioners, tend to prescribe these medications without proper psychiatric evaluations and follow-up. It's like prescribing a pain pill for a broken ankle without splinting the fracture, and it really makes me angry, because poeople either a) get prescribed a med they don't really need, b) get prescribed a medication that doesn't adequately treat the full range of their symptoms, or c) get prescribed medications without the necessary therapy and support to work out their issues that may contribute to the problem. |
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Larry C
since 2001-09-10
Posts 10286United States |
Ringo is probably right. Besides the broader the definition the more justification for psychiatry and psychology(which I minored in). The more I studied the more I thought it bunk. |
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Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
The news article was titled "Are Half of All Americans Mentally Ill?" and predictably, some will scan these news headlines, then answer that Q .... yes or no....without digging into the facts or stats, or thinking it through. And another piece of garbage news will get registered and compartmentalized into someone's brain...as if were a fact. Who is responsible, the researchers, the media, or the readers who buy this hook-line-stinker.  |
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Tim Senior Member
since 1999-06-08
Posts 1794 |
forty years ago, we institutionalized the criminal, the elderly and the mentally ill. With the advent of pyschotropic drugs, treatment of the mentally ill was revolutionized and today, it is primarily the criminal and the elderly we institutionalize with great strides being made to bring the mentally ill back into the community. Discovery of new drugs is a major reason for the more humane treatment of those suffering from a mental illness. I suspect one could take a walk through the pysch ward of any hospital or any state's pyschiatric hospital and see the crazy's and the bunk that is utilized into attempting to deal with the wacko's. (that is sarcasm by the way) overmedication is a problem. I would suspect more so with those not suffering a mental illness as most health plans do not cover mental illness to any degree, because why deal with bunk and the crazies? I suspect it is far easier to ignore the problem of mental illness and say those who suffer are just crazy and over medicated than confront and deal with the problem. |
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