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Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2016 12:49:22 GMT 1
A massive topic. One in three of us is said to suffer from mental ill-health at some time or another...
We may not recognise it. We may pass it off as 'feeling a bit down'. It is no less for our seeking to trivialise it.
I am a nutter. Or I may be. It is beyond our comprehension. All sorts of labels are attached to it - 'learning disabled' 'depressed' 'psychotic' bi-polar'' ' socially dysfunctional'' ' neurotic' 'paranoid'....
So which type of nutter are you? Or might you be, without your recognising it? This is a serious question. Because it colours your view of Everything. I would not wish anyone to consider this topic flippantly. One in three of us suffer in the course of a lifetime. That's not funny. We start by recognising it, without being able to fully understand. I declare myself sociopathic, but harmless. I'm not a psychopath, or a kiddy-fiddler, so I feel no need to change. How about you?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2016 22:30:49 GMT 1
Annon...I don't like the term 'nutter', even when you are referring to yourself. 'Learning disabled' also went out of use quite a while ago and I also find that term objectionable. Why? My two stepchildren have special needs and I don't consider either of them disabled. They've had learning difficulties for sure, my stepson especially. My stepdaughter is a qualified plumber and she struggles to cope with everyday life (and to find employment despite her qualifications).
My late wife was a senior special needs teacher and always was of the opinion that nearly all men had high functioning autism. I can recognize some traits of my own that would fit in with an autistic diagnosis. But none of this relates to 'mental illness' does it?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2016 11:45:08 GMT 1
Wouldn't want to get bogged down in the use of which terms to get across which thoughts, sonnetpete, because neither the terms nor the thoughts are easy to define or understand.
Can't agree though that 'learning disability' is out of date, nor have I any problem likening some impaired mental faculty to physical disability. I've worked with those who have some difficulty, to varying degrees, with basic day-to-day life, right down to being able to dress themselves.
Do agree that some disorder of the brain is not a disease that can be cured, is not ill-health at all, and that autism doesn't sit well with the notion of mental ill-health, but regarded more as a disorder to manage.
Rather than dwell on what does and doesn't constitute mental ill-health I'd rather see the topic as a recognition that their are forces within us which lead us to view and interact with life in a certain way, and that when those forces lead to negative views and negative interactions we must take a step back (i.e. recognise it) before continuing, because I haven't yet found negative views and negative interactions helpful to the individual...
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2016 16:13:57 GMT 1
I think that 'learning disabled' and worse still, 'retarded' are common terms in the USA rather than the UK. Physical disability can be a manifestation of severe autism. At the school where my late wife taught, they had students who had to be fed by tube and whose life expectancy was not great.
As I posted before, these problems do not strictly constitute 'mental illness'. Autism is a condition, that can at best, be managed with either drugs or good support (probably both). However, the condition can lead to many of the 'illnesses' you listed in your original post. I have a friend whose Aspergers diagnosed son, suffers with severe depression. Despite being a talented musician he has no belief in himself and has little ability to 'step back' and review his life. He needs support and positive comments from others to encourage his self belief.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2016 12:08:26 GMT 1
Clearly this is a topic to which you've given some thought, sonnetpete....
But you say nothing about yourself. It's possible, if not likely, that we see mental ill-health in others, but not in ourselves. We're 'normal' and everyone else is barking...
"Hello, My name's annon3, and I'm alcoholic" is what AA encourages people to say, as a fundamental first step in confronting something. I, personally, will not admit to alcoholism, I know better, while secretly conceding to myself that I've probably got a problem....
My dog was traumatised as a pup by a big, vicious dog intent on killing him. Ever since, all big dogs are a potential threat to him, and he responds himself to them with hysterical aggression, however much they approach him with a waggy tail. The early experience has warped his mind.
So the premise is that for any number of reasons we may suffer from a warped mind without realising it. And that it's in no-one's interest to have a warped mind, or if we must have a warped mind, then we must manage it, in our own interests...
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2016 19:38:03 GMT 1
I don't think I'm normal Annon, far from it. But then what do you define as normal? We are all suffering with some mental problem to a greater or lesser degree. It is, as you say how we manage those problems. Some people can't manage and seek their help at the end of a bottle or the tip of a needle.
A few years ago I had occasion to attend a few AA meetings here (not to seek help but to support a lady friend). As an atheist I found them unsettling in the way they used 'God' or belief as a means to accept that at times they couldn't cope with their addiction and left it to a 'higher power' to 'sort out'. That's probably a gross over simplification and I'm sure that as a help and support network, AA is invaluable, I just didn't appreciate the religious overtones.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2016 10:20:10 GMT 1
...... No word yet from anyone suffering from depression. At this time of year I do believe I'm SAD (Seasonally-Affected Disorder). Short days, dirty weather dead leaves all conspire to cast a gloom over everything, with the inevitable comparison of Spring & Summer, when days were filled with Joy. Happy days were once, they're not now....
I attach no shame to feeling depressed for this reason. It's not by fault it's nearly Winter! I'll probably drink more to compensate - now that's something to be ashamed of, being depressed isn't -it's normal for there to be not-so-good times...
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bendodds
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Left because of jackie.
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Post by bendodds on Nov 26, 2016 12:24:29 GMT 1
All our house has true white light bulbs everywhere. Certainly combats the I'm fed up in winter syndrome. First two lots of hypertension pills I was on caused me mental problems. Funny thing is that I didn't notice it!
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