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God Has Been Misquoted For Over 5000 Years!

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notworking:
I used to agree with you that society did people with mental illnesses a disservice by "forcing" them into treatment just to make their behavior conform to "normal."  That was before I started working with the mentally ill on a daily basis.  I rarely, if ever, encounter people with schizophrenia who are happy the way they are.  Part of that is the illness itself -- it takes away the capacity to feel joy or really any positive emotion.  In addition, many people hear and see things that are scary or upsetting.  They often believe that others can tell they are "different" or are plotting to harm them.  They try and try to reconcile their perceptions with those of the rest of the world and simply cannot.  The same thing is true of people with bipolar disorder -- they may have some brief moments of happiness while they're manic, but the consequences of their manic behavior cause even more problems later -- and depression.  Hospitalization, medication and, in rare cases, ECT, can help many of these folks.  It's not a question of forcing people into conforming behavior, it's a question of relieving suffering.
Mental illness is no more a gift than diabetes is.

And it is no more a philosophical choice than diabetes is.  The belief that mental illness is really voluntary behavior is a damaging one that has pervaded our society for centuries.  Mental illness is a medical condition, not a character flaw.  When you frame it as simply a variation from "normal", you encourage people to believe that the mentally ill can control their symptoms and just refuse to do so.

Also, no one does psychosurgery anymore.  Take your medicine.

Anonymous:
Thats a good post notworking. I second everything you've said.

Antigen:
Well, I think Notworking is working from a different perspective than some of us, if you'll pardon the pun.

I think you tend to come into contact w/ people who actually are mentally ill and who actually do need some kind of help. Most of the kids who land up in these places don't. Defiance is considered a mental illness in this circle. Never mind what legitimate reasons the kid might have for being defiant, children are to be seen and not heard; to speak when spoken to and to obey w/o question.

Most of these kids would be given a clean bill of health by real professionals. It's the parents who have the problems. And they go outside of regular professional channels because they have to in order to get what they want; someone who will agree w/ them that their children are a terrible burdon who need a good brainwashing.

That's one of the differences between the Troubled Parent industry and legitimate therapy. The only diagnostic criteria is a parent who's willing and able to pay for placement.
If quitting drugs means joining the war on terrorism, does this portend the fire bombing of Amsterdamn ?

--Felton Manifestation
--- End quote ---

Anonymous:
//Well, I think Notworking is working from a different perspective than some of us, if you'll pardon the pun.//

Possibly - I hadn't thought of the post in relation to placement in an abussive program...

//I think you tend to come into contact w/ people who actually are mentally ill and who actually do need some kind of help. Most of the kids who land up in these places don't. //

If they Are mentally ill, and they end up in such a program, it is devistating beoynd words; and I am deeply conserned that it happens a lot.
So many forms of mental illness appear on the serface as a behavior problem. What is actually going on is extreamly complicated and not easily understood even by some trained professionals. The "treatment modality" one finds in these programs couldn't be more wrong for a mental patient (not that what is often foubnd is right for any one) and will likely be devistating in its effects.

My agreement with Notworking was more along the lines of actuall therapy and the sometimes very helpful medications; and how wrong it is to believe a mental patient can just Stop being Crazy. They do sometimes need others to make dicissions for them, if they aren't to be very dangerious to themselves and others; and if they are to have any hope for recovery.

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