When is something a mental illness and when does it stop being one?

[Darsithis]

Just hypothetically... if we as a society decided that a certain religion (lets say Islam as that is the most prevalent these days) was decided to be damaging to the fabric of society... would all Muslims be considered mentally ill?

Probably.

Ive seen alot of "harmfull to one self" responses. What about society? Dont alot of these things have a negative impact on society? And shoulnd they therefor be labeled as one?

A lot of conditions are harmful. Psychotics or sociopaths are known to abuse or murder. Depression prevents people from forming proper home and work relationships and can lead to things like suicide. Schizophrenia can lead to public disturbances and physical altercations.

Those would be mental illnesses. Their cause could be completely psychological or brought on by a physiological change.

[-aiko-]

This makes no sense, but maybe your quotes denote that phrase being used in a sinister way? They should still be considered mental illness - just validated on physical grounds.

Don't want to get too much into what i meant, as it approaches the forbidden topic area, but if a 'mental illness' has a physical reason/cause and is not detrimental to oneself/society then it shouldn't be classified as a mental illness. At least, not in the sense that it should be something shunned and treated to be 'cured'.

[Underverse]

When society decides that the behavior is no longer damaging to the fabric of said society.

Which puts this definition into the realm of cultural subjectivity. That seems dangerous to me, but it might be the best we can do.

[Darsithis]

Which puts this definition into the realm of cultural subjectivity. That seems dangerous to me, but it might be the best we can do.

A small portion of mental illness is subject to cultural norms. Homosexuality, for instance, was considered a treatable mental illness just 40 years ago. It still is in places around the world. There are even older examples if you take the time to search for them.

[Underverse]

A small portion of mental illness is subject to cultural norms. Homosexuality, for instance, was considered a treatable mental illness just 40 years ago. It still is in places around the world. There are even older examples if you take the time to search for them.

Yeah. Well, it was in the past at least. But an objectivist might say that homosexuality was never really a mental disorder, rather the culture was simply wrong. How do we distinguish between the culture being wrong, and true mental disorders? I think that's the question being asked here.

[Forgettable]

Just observing. Its a bit cold but its just rational thinking. It makes 0 sense for some things to be mental disorders and others not.
Kind of a short sighted response: "I FEEL OFFENDED."

Answer me this then:
Why is one thing called a mental ilness while exactly the same thing just slightly different isnt?
Whats the difference?

If you can u can be offended.

It's an oxymoron to call something "exactly the same thing just slightly different"

The difference has already been spelled out by all the other posters in this thread.

So while you might call me "offended," I'm actually just revealing your ignorance. So please take this opportunity to learn that you can open a discussion without immediately belittling the people who might be able to give you insight into the topic you want to know about.

[BuckSparkles]

Stealth bashing opening post.

But mental illness seems to relate to damaging ones ability to function properly or interact with others. Depression, certain personality disorders, they negatively impact the persons ability to exist. Other defects interfere with ones ability to interact with other.

Some culture involved as well. It also has questions regarding the ability to tell right from wrong in certain circumstances.

[zenkai]

For instance:
- Someone hearing voices is bad. Having imaginary friends borders schizophrenia. But 5 billion people having collective believe in a sky-creature its called religion.

Seriously? And shame on the mods for ignoring this

[Kraenen]

Don't want to get too much into what i meant, as it approaches the forbidden topic area, but if a 'mental illness' has a physical reason/cause and is not detrimental to oneself/society then it shouldn't be classified as a mental illness. At least, not in the sense that it should be something shunned and treated to be 'cured'.

Yeah I vaguely mentioned that earlier about a necessary criterion being significant harm to oneself or others. I think I almost know what you're talking about, so I think I understand.

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Seriously? And shame on the mods for ignoring this

It's a valid question. If those people really did believe they heard voices of god, they'd be one tick closer to schizophrenia. I don't think the vast majority of them do hear anything though.

[BuckSparkles]

Seriously? And shame on the mods for ignoring this

Just do what I do. Don't have expectations.

Happier life.

[zenkai]

Yeah I vaguely mentioned that earlier about a necessary criterion being significant harm to oneself or others. I think I almost know what you're talking about, so I think I understand.

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It's a valid question. If those people really did believe they heard voices of god, they'd be one tick closer to schizophrenia. I don't think the vast majority of them do hear anything though.

If you can't tell the difference between a physical disorder that makes you hear things, vs a belief of something greater than you, then you probably wouldn't understand the answer to begin with. They are nothing alike, its just an attempt to bash people who are spiritual.

Does a child who believes in Santa have a mental disorder? I had no fucking clue it was the same as someone who hears voices in their head

[Revi]

If you can't tell the difference between a physical disorder that makes you hear things, vs a belief of something greater than you, then you probably wouldn't understand the answer to begin with. They are nothing alike, its just an attempt to bash people who are spiritual.

Does a child who believes in Santa have a mental disorder? I had no fucking clue it was the same as someone who hears voices in their head

Some people say they talk to god and hears god. "God told me..."

It's those people they're talking about. If they truly hear a voice, regardless of they call it god or something else, that's an indication of mental illness.

[Arch0s]

One of the easiest ways to classify something as a disorder is when it is statistically infrequent.

Using this method however becomes quite interesting when we consider ADHD for example as it's diagnosis is becoming increasingly prevalent, can it still be considered to be statistically infrequent?

Another method is to look at pathology perhaps of the brain for example, this certainly can help to identify and diagnose disorders which typically present with non-typical physiology. Again this is all to do with those whose physiology is different to most.

[zenkai]

Some people say they talk to god and hears god. "God told me..."

It's those people they're talking about. If they truly hear a voice, regardless of they call it god or something else, that's an indication of mental illness.

You do realize people who say they hear God, do not mean it in a literal sense?

[Revi]

You do realize people who say they hear God, do not mean it in a literal sense?

I'll take your word for it, on behalf of billions of people.

[zenkai]

I'll take your word for it, on behalf of billions of people.

Being that Atheist are a minority, I think most will believe me

[Frogguh]

Being that Atheist are a minority, I think most will believe me

I believe it might be worth investigating whether the inability of Internet atheists to refrain from bashing religion any chance they get might constitute a form of mental illness.

[Elegiac]

If you can't tell the difference between a physical disorder that makes you hear things, vs a belief of something greater than you, then you probably wouldn't understand the answer to begin with. They are nothing alike, its just an attempt to bash people who are spiritual.

Does a child who believes in Santa have a mental disorder? I had no fucking clue it was the same as someone who hears voices in their head

Unfortunately doublethink is not classifiable as a mental disorder.

That aside, 'atypical' behaviours are generally only classified as disorderly when they pose an undue barrier to accomplishing tasks necessary for living.

[matters]

When people say they're "higher functioning". It's has to be a problem to be a mental illness in my opinion. "illness" connotes a problem.

I think that this is about as accurate as you can get without taking the microscope out and really breaking it down to the point of confusion. I would agree and say that it is a MENTAL ILLNESS when it causes problems for people around the said 'ill' person. Just because people believe in an all knowing entity with no proof it exists doesn't really cause any issues. It only would cause issues if you then got to the point of zealotry and wanted everyone around you to believe in the same thing and took extreme measures to ensure that happened (similar to how EXTREME religious groups work, think Muslim terrorists and the KKK).

Basically if it is causing problems for others or can potentially harm others then it would be a 'real' mental illness. Even though you and I know millions of people live with depression, we don't label that entire group or call them out because it is a personal issue that doesn't have an effect on anyone else.

[-aiko-]

On closer review, the OP has too many thinly veiled forbidden topics for this to lead to production discussion. CLOSED