(December 29, 2013 at 5:57 pm)Rev. Rye Wrote:Yep. Guy hears music that nobody else can while walking down street, writes it down, inspires millions-- genius. Guy hears dog talking to him, follows its advice, kills dozens-- ill.(December 23, 2013 at 1:47 pm)teaearlgreyhot Wrote: How should mental illness be defined? How do you decide when somebody's abnormal behavior is an illness that needs to be cured or just an interesting personality trait? Is a trait something to be corrected when it causes "harm"? How do you define "harm" then?
Technically, the general definition used by psychologists is that it becomes illness when it has a negative impact on the person in question's life.
@OP
Harm is an arbitrary concept, but collectively, we are perfectly at ease with making that arbitration. Usually, "harm" comes down to the inability to sleep normal hours, to function at work well enough to keep a job, or to avoid saying things that annoy or disturb guests at a Sunday luncheon.
