Is the term mental illness the new excuse for people?

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   nightwork4posted 13 years ago

   Is the term mental illness the new excuse for people?
   
   it seems that more and more people want their problems to be diagnosed as a mental illness, is this the new way of excusing peoples shortcomings or are these illnesses legitamate. I wrote a hub about addiction and people said the it is a mental illness but I completely disagree. what's your take on this whole subject?
   
   

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2. 69

   RonPareposted 13 years ago

   Mental illness is caused by drug abuse in some cases.
   Other cases it is after they quit the finally can see they are mentally ill.
   Some people think that it is mental illness that attracts people to the chaos that is drugs.
   In nearly all cases, the diagnosis is illusive as Dr's aren't easyto come by and some think just like you.
   
   Just because drug culture didn't effect you, doesn't mean it hasn't effected them drastically, for life.

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3. 65

   NateSeanposted 13 years ago

   Getting any kind of diagnosis is becoming the new "The Devil Made me Do It".
   
   People go out of their way to get a diagnosis of ADD or ADHD for their kids because they don't want to take the responsibility of being bad parents, or they  know that the only way to get their kid into a better school is for him to have a label.
   
   So yeah, I dont' see mental illness being much different.
   
   I don't mean to say that there aren't people who are mentally ill. But likewise there are a lot of mentally ill people who manage to behave better than so called healthy ones.

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      Laura Schneiderposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      It depends on whether the so-called "healthy ones" have ever been tested for a mental illness and how well-controlled the disease is in people who have been diagnosed and treated for one, doesn't it now? Most people just don't get diagnosed & tre

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4. 83

   Lady MJposted 13 years ago

   You come up with some pretty tough, thought provoking questions. I had a discussion with a friend about this yesterday. She thinks Charlie Sheen is mentally ill and should have separate standards from "normal" people because she feels bad for him.
   
   I don't see how someone who truly has a mental illness could gain so much success in their life, fall into drugs, then say they were mentally ill all along. The consideration is they have to have such severe mental and behavioral problems that require psychiatric intervention. Sober!
   
   I know many people (my husband and sister included) who are bi-polar borderline schizophrenics and they do not have drug and alcohol addictions so I know it is possible to stay away from it.  Generally someone who is mentally ill will get a prognosis at an early age, or it would be noticed rather quickly if they have a late in life onset.  It is a disease of the mind. Not choosing drugs to self medicate your sorrows in life then becoming crazy. That is stupid.
   
   Unless stupidity is considered a mental illness now.

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      Laura Schneiderposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Addiction is actually considered a mental illness, and a serious one. It has actually been proven that it is possible for someone to be an alcoholic who has never tasted a drop of alcohol, for example, so don't judge individuals against others.

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   Mr. Happyposted 13 years ago

   I think the pharmaceutical industry is creating pills for illnesses we don't have but then, we slowly start believing that we do have them and that we do indeed need those pills. They got a pill for everything now: if your head hurts, if you have diarrhea, constipation, if you need to pass out, if you wanna stay awake, if you have too much energy or too little ... &$#%!
   Good question (your questions are always good - thanks!).
   So the answer (lol) would be that there are illnesses created for the pills we need to take,

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6. 81

   Wayne Brownposted 13 years ago

   I think it is a reasonable assumption and one that any well-paid lawyer with little or no ethics for his profession would employ to save his client from the reality of their actions.  America has lost its stomach for accountability.  Too many of us want all that life has to offer and we are willing to do whatever it takes to get it even if it means crimes against others or our own self-destruction in the process.  Then, when we get caught, we hire someone to claim that we were temporarily insane and not enough in control of our own faculties to be accountable for our actions. Charlie Sheen offers a fine example of such behavior and in some circles actually has a loyal following cheering him on in his efforts at what amounts to purely self-destruction in the making.  How many times can Lindsay Lohan be shuffled off for a one day remedial rehab program before she takes accountability for her actions? Here is a young woman literally daring the justice system to hold her accountable and a nation watching the process unfold.  In the end, those who are willing to let her go send a message to our younger generations that it is okay to act in such a manner.  We are rapidly creating a society held together by seams sewn with rotten thread. WB

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      Laura Schneiderposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      You make good points, I still disagree with the basic premise of this question. There is a difference between being accountable for one's actions and not; and it is a lawyer's sworn duty to defend her/his client if such a diagnosis has been made.

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   angie ashbourneposted 13 years ago

   It can be found among people of all ages, race, ethic groups .....Estimated 1% of the population has mental illness .The ones who have mental illness..... it is very serious!
   Symptoms of Manic Depression:
   extreme irritability
   racing thoughts
   excessive energy
   poor judgment
   loss of interest in hobbies, work, people
   
   suicidal thoughts
   
   It is a good question ........i just gave some facts.

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8. 68

   onegoodwomanposted 13 years ago

   Mental illness........in the forms of retardation ( an un politucally correct term) addictions, disilliusiion, abandonment issues, etc, and etc do indeed exist......
   
   Using them for legal loopholes is.......well, quite frankly, chicken shit.
   
   It takes away from those  who truly suffer when we abuse the 'system' for personal benefit and gain.
   
   
   Many of us had terrible childhoods.......yet, we do not rape, murder, maim or rob.  We grow up and do things differently.  It is called.............growing up and moving on.

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9. 84

   Laura Schneiderposted 10 years ago

   Medical science believes that addiction is, in fact, a mental illness according to the DSM V, which was published I believe in early 2013. (This is the book that medical science uses as their "bible" for diagnosing mental illness, so therefore it is the medical community's official word on the subject.)
   
   Mental illnesses can be measured concretely and irrefutably by scientific tools such as microscopes (upon autopsy), PET scans, EEGs, DNA (blood) tests, and other physical measures. So, the question is not whether the illness exists but whether a person pretends to have an illness or not. They could just as easily pretend to be deaf or blind: it would take a LOT of hard work to fake a mental illness.
   
   I think that the rise in diagnosis of mental illnesses is simply the reduction in the stigma of having one: people aren't so afraid to seek help for their problems, and the drugs these days actually work, unlike in the old days (the 20th century) where they thought that electroshock therapy could "cure" anyone of mental illness (it just causes brain damage, from all the research I've done).

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