Hey everyone, what's up? =D

Chii, I haven't seen you in forever!

Hi Anna! How's tricks?

Cami, do you think this is better? I added a Lunar Staff and changed the hair color to one of the pink shades, the darker one. (Just so you know it's updated on your end.)

Interesting, what you mentioned. Wanna hear another odd bit? For my final in Deviant Behavior today we had to write about how it's suggested that mental illness doesn't exist. Depression, anxiety, psychological suffering... all those do, but to be actually mentally ill is a crock? (Keep in mind this isn't my opinion, but what we were told to base our answer on. We were to write a paper on why, then, if there is no mental illness do we have such an elaborate mental health care system.)

The idea of mental health not being an issue is brought up by who dictates what is stable and unstable. It varies society to society. What one's normal might be doesn't necessarily mean the same for another.

Hey Chii, great job on becoming a Mod, you deserved it. xD In short, you are a kind, loving person. Which is the exact opposite of me because I like being evil and depressing.

@Anna
If it's any consolation, I don't consider you evil nor depressive. And you've not seen my bitchy side that I keep locked up. Just wait 'till I'm pregnant. I advise you RUN. xDD
Thanks on the congratulations. Hopefully I do a decent enough job. I have this weekend free for Mene stuff, but the next two will be sucky with finals and all that crap.

How's life been? :3

I like it a lot better with that hair. Much, much better. I think it's very pretty.

Hi Teh Anna!

Actually, I kind of agree about mental illness not existing. <<,, Not completely, but to a large degree.

I think everyone has personality tics. Things that are different about them. Some are sadder, some are more obsessive. In some people, these tics are expanded to the point that they seem to take over the rest of their personality. This, of course, is when it becomes an issue, because at that point it interferes with their ability to cope.

But it's the label of mental illness that I pause at. And the label of obsessive compulsive. And the label of schizophrenic.

Ah, you know how I feel about labels. I think these people need help, definitely, but at what point do you decide that someone is ill? And at what point do you just try to help them calm down?

Every year, more mental illnesses (as well as physical illnesses) are invented. Did they really exist before, or did someone just decide that they exist?

And I'm not doing a very good job of making my point. x.x

@ Chi - xD Just wait until I start to get my cramps. If I get that look in my eyes, the best advice I can give you is to head for the hills and don't look back.
Good luck with your finals!
Life's been decent to me. :D I feel a little poor for some reason, but... >.> Meh, I guess I shouldn't be complaining.

@ Amari - Hey! :D

Let's look at schizophrenia. It's a labeled mental illness, and once a person is diagnosed with it, it's hard to escape all that's attached to the namesake.

I'm not sure if I believe mental illness exists or not. I feel people like to hide behind labels at times. It gives them excuses for their deviant behavior. It's very easy to say, "I'm sorry I did that, I don't know any better." Or even something like, "It's the medication; this isn't me."

People can be unhealthy, but the physically ill aren't labeled nearly as badly as the mentally ill.

I think in the end I am going to go ahead and say mental illness exists unless some people are genuinely born unsafe for society. There are whack-jobs out there, like those who go on psychopathic rampages and kill people.

Maybe they're not mentally ill though. Maybe it's something else in its entirety.

Thing is, both in my Psychology class last year and this class now have given the article over the man (and those who worked with him) who faked schizophrenia to see if he could be misdiagnosed. He had a theory that anyone could declare themselves mentally ill, regardless of how they really functioned. A bit disturbing, really.

Edit to Anna:
Lately I've been having really wretched monthlies myself. Dunno what's up. o.o, I can sympathize with you though.
Poor? On Menewsha or offline?

Oh, I certainly believe that people hide behind labels. I'm depressed; that means I can't go out and make friends. Just accept me as I am.

I'm obsessive compulsive. It's an illness. That's not going to change.

But, of course, it's assumed that most physical illnesses you can get better from, while that never seems to be the belief about mental illnesses. If you have it, you have it forever.

And that, I can't get my head around.

There was this journalist I really liked who faked mental illness in order to find out what conditions were like inside a mental health facility.

Teh Anna: I really like your sig pic. It's adorable.

@ Chii - On Menewsha. It feels that way, because just yesterday I had 6k.

@ Amari - Thank you. :D

I'd contribute something thoughtful to the discussion, but my brain died. v.v

Teh Anna: Somehow Chi and I seem to get in conversations like this every other time we talk. We're always debating some big issue, whether moral, psychological, or other. <<,, I'm not sure how it happens actually.

@ Amari - One of these days, when I'm intellectual enough, I'll try to join in. xD

@Cami
Some do recover, at least listed medically. It depends on the illness really. Pedophilia for instance pretty much has you labeled for life because there's a high statistical risk of another offense. That, and the subject underlying it is very emotional and touching. Whatever sparks people sparks a more coarse reaction from them.
We're probably speaking of the same person. Rosenhan?

@Anna
No worries. Mine will die pretty soon. It's just a bit past 1am here. I'm just keeping an eye on my husband right now since he's sick. ~.~

Nah. I don't remember mine's name, but she was female. (possibly too lazy to look it up, possibly will do so by the end of this post).

Pedophilia is uncertain grounds to me. There are the levels of sexual deviancy (as written by someone other than me). At the top (most holy and ritcheous sex) is married straight couples. Unmarried straight couples follow. I don't recall whether gay couples beat out random sex with strangers (but straight!) or not.

And at the bottom of this list is pedophilia.

But when you think about it that way, you have to start pondering the fact that homosexuality used to be considered a mental illness. Is there going to be a point in our future that pedophilia is considered just another sexual preference?

After all, the sin isn't in the preference, it's in what you do with it. A man can be as straight as a whistle, but it's still wrong to have sex with women who are unwilling. That's called rape.

Similarly, it's considered unethical to have sex with someone who works under you because that person may feel pressured to have sex with you because you are the holder of power.

The same holds true for people who are attracted to children. The simple fact that they are attracted doesn't harm anyone. But if they force the child to pleasure them, then that's wrong. And, of course, being the adult in this situation, they are the holder of power, and a child may feel presured to do as they say, making any kind of sexual act with a child unethical.

So, then, if you have a preference that can never be followed up on, perhaps life becomes a lot more difficult to cope with. Does that make it a disease?

Also, is this particular sexual preference something you're born with, or, as it seems to occur most often in people who were sexually molested as children, is it something that demonstrates real damage to your psyche?

@Cami
I'm pretty sure pedophilia would only be considered another sexual preference if children having sexual encounters any age from newborn up 'till puberty (but not after, always before) becomes socially acceptable. In short, for where you and I live, no, it will not be anytime soon, nor before you and I are dead and ground to dust.

And yes, your point is true. It's not the preference, it's acting upon your desires. Did you know you can be diagnosed with pedophilia without having acted upon it, though? You can have the "disease" but escape the label of "pedophile" so long as you "keep your hands clean".

I'm sure there are several theories as to why some have pedophilia urges. I'm sure in some cases it is because of a sexual experience at a young age, either by choice or by force. Children explore a lot more often than parents like to think.

Every statistic has an exception though. Statistics were meant to be followed as guidelines, which is why I shy away from them. You never do know who formed the group of people who filled out the survey.

That's completely true. Statistics and surveys are often biased.

Ag. I just kind of dislike things being diagnosed. <<,, Can't we just kind of say, "You have issues. Let's try to work through these issues," instead of saying, "You have this disease, and will be looked at strangely be people you meet on the subway."

Not to mention the medicinal side of it all. I don't think it helps, not the man-made drugs anyway.

I'm still leaning toward believing that a lot of disorders (or illnesses, whichever is preferred) are nutritional imbalances.

I understand not all are, but I know several are.

No wonder I'm so topsy turvey. XD

I'm sort of on the opposite side of you on that one. Maybe some are nutritional imbalances, but I doubt that most are.

I think that people are born with certain predispositions. Some parts of their personality stand out more than others. However, they may never stray from the normal. What happens to them throughout their lives has an effect on whether these evolve into issues.

Take Damien, for example. He has a very addictive personality. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that he's every going to become addicted to anything. Say, though, his life is going very badly, he's extremely unhappy, and he starts drinking. He's likely to become an alcoholic. Or, he tries drugs; he's likely to become a druggie.

Neither of those, of course, are mental illnesses (well, I don't know. They may be considered mental illnesses by now. I can't keep track), but they're examples of how natural personality traits and environment combine to create the final result.

Ah, but those predispositions, do you know for certain what causes one to be predisposed? Genetics, yes, but do you know what sparks it?

Research is being done on autism, for example. People are beginning to feel that one isn't born autistic, but instead predisposed to autism. It's some environmental factor that sets them off. Mercury for instance, in some water and food sources.

I'd be frightened to have a baby born healthy only to feed it something bad without knowing, effectively messing its system up.

My cousin had severe (and I mean severe) anger issues until they found out her medication had been pumping mercury through her veins.

It depends on which predisposition gets sparked by what and what one believes the real factor to be.

I'm in no way denying some people are simply born with what they have, but some things have alternative explanations for them. Like schizophrenia. I don't believe it's a mental illness at all, but I don't feel like elaborating publicly as to what I feel it is. If you wanna know sometime, PM me.

<<,, I do want to know, so why don't you PM me when you feel like typing it out. XD

I just don't think I could do the parent thing. There are too many ways I could mess the kid up. Maybe if I adopted one that was already messed up, I might be able to help improve it. :3nod:

I watch America's next top model, and there was a girl with aspergers on there. Now, I don't know a whole lot about Aspergers, but just from watching her I didn't think it qualified as a disease. She was uncomfortable in social situations, had trouble getting a long with the other girls, and wans't very good at memorizing things or public speaking.

Do you know how many people that describes? x.x And yet they related EVERYTHING to her disease. None of the girls would let her have a bed, and she started crying. It's the Aspergers. The judges tell her she's doing a good job, they're favoring her because of the Aspergers.

I think it's utterly ridiculous. Maybe she just needs to learn these things, but how can she ever do that if no one thinks she's capable of it because of a label?

Oh, and by the way, I would have cried if none of the girls would have let me have a bed.

I want nothing more than to bring someone into the world I helped create and instill my knowledge into it. Whatever he or she does with that knowledge is ultimately up to them, but I want to at least say I tried.

I'm not positive, but I'm leaning toward believing my older cousin has Aspergers. I am, however, very much positive one of my college mates has it. She talks about it freely, but she refuses, absolutely refuses to let it dictate her life. Knowing her mother (remember the one you jokingly told me I had to explode because she held your first name?), I feel it's because her mother didn't want her child to be told "no, you can't do it, you have autism". That woman is something special. She's had a hard life from just the few stories she's shared with me, and I know she's made damned sure to let her children know it's okay to fight back against your oppressors.

There is something in Aspergers that makes it differ from the norm. There are several examples I can give you of how Jennie is dysfunctional and can't perform certain tasks no matter how much she's tried to learn. It's the same type of tasks that Aspergers end up grouped with.

There may be one thing to Aspergers or autism in general... there are some physical notations as well as mental, otherwise I would be disinclined to feel... my goodness, I just lost my train of thought.

XD

I mean, I'm sure there's something that caused her to be diagnosed as such, but she talks like a normal person, she acts like a normal person with a few social difficulties.

And it drives me nuts that she's defined as the Aspergers girl. Everything about her is the disease.

Okay, I'm one word away from being done with this class log (which I swear I've been working on). I just can't think of what the word is.

The basic meaning is that, by the very nature of something, it can be interpreted in many different ways than many different people.

I believe it starts with an s (but I could be wrong) and I think it's three syllables long.

It would be used in such sentences as:

The play was so _______ that it was impossible to come up with one meaning for it.

"Everything about her is the disease."

Bingo. That right there sums up one of the biggest flaws with mental illness. The labeling. That's where I was going with it. You can have the flu and still be yourself, but if you have an emotional breakdown, all of a sudden some drastic thing is wrong and you're unstable for good. :roll:

Er... *tries to think of the word you need*

<<,, Good luck. I'm stuck on it.

So, what's the right course of action? Do we get rid of the idea of mental illness? it's all just personality flaws that will be worked on?

Or is it better to legitimize mental illness? Teach people that these are diseases that, with some treatment, can be cured, no different than the flu?

I'm pretty sure mental illness will remain as it is because the industry is a huge cash cow anyway, and you know how this country works.

Ah, yes. Of course.

/pokes/ Stop changing.

I need to get to bed. I'll be fairly busy tomorrow, but I'll probably make it on at least briefly.

Loves and byes. <3