Is Free-Thought a Mental Disease?

[genkaus]

I don't really believe in mental disease or illness for that very reason.

The brain simply adapts to it's surroundings, for example, if you are born in North Korea, if you are healthy, you will think irrationally as your own self defence, because the punishment for rational thinking is a gulag. In many societies, logic is punished, especially in the past and in back water countries. Irrationality starts at childhood, in a violent and crazy environment, the child has to become irrational otherwise he would receive more beatings and abuse for asking questions that reveals the parents irrational thinking. So the child naturally adapts and learns the language of irrationality, which becomes very hard to shake in adult life. Once you learn a language, it is hard to unlearn.

So, which one of these would be your excuse, then?

[Creed of Heresy]

"I don't believe in mental illness."

Try living with an unmedicated schizophrenic for a year like I've been doing and get back to me about how you don't believe in mental illness, mm-k?

[Koolay]

"I don't believe in mental illness."

Try living with an unmedicated schizophrenic for a year like I've been doing and get back to me about how you don't believe in mental illness, mm-k?

Straw man.

I said mental illness is an incorrect concept, the effects of irrational thinking are very real.

[Faith No More]

Mental illness is not simply irrationality mislabeled.

But please, do show us more of how you are willing to speak about something you know nothing about.

[Creed of Heresy]

"I don't believe in mental illness."

Try living with an unmedicated schizophrenic for a year like I've been doing and get back to me about how you don't believe in mental illness, mm-k?

Straw man.

I said mental illness is an incorrect concept, the effects of irrational thinking are very real.

Straw man my fucking ass!

You said, and I quoted, "I don't believe in mental illness." Mental illness is defined as the following:

"Psychosis (from the Greek ψυχή "psyche", for mind/soul, and -ωσις "-osis", for abnormal condition or derangement) refers to an abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"."

Irrational thinking can be corrected with thought exercises. Shit like schizophrenia cannot. You know what happens when you try to convince a schizophrenic that their thought processes are irrational? They become even MORE irrational. There is literally no way to reason with a schizophrenic, and you know why? Because their brains are fucked up.

But I'm sure you have years of education in psychological education to make an informed statement on correct/incorrect concepts of mental health, right?

I'm noticing a trend on this forum lately; the people who bitch about the "validity" of the "concept" of mental illnesses are usually the ones with the least knowledge about them.

[genkaus]

I'm noticing a trend on this forum lately; the people who bitch about the "validity" of the "concept" of mental illnesses are usually the ones with the least knowledge about them.

Isn't that what you would expect? People with any knowledge about it wouldn't be stupid enough to question its validity. Its not a trend on this forum, its a trend of the world.

[Magnum]

I'm noticing a trend on this forum lately; the people who bitch about the "validity" of the "concept" of mental illnesses are usually the ones with the least knowledge about them.

Isn't that what you would expect? People with any knowledge about it wouldn't be stupid enough to question its validity. Its not a trend on this forum, its a trend of the world.

That's why some of the nonsense found on the Internet is such a joke. I'm not a psychologist but I do realize that a real mental disease is very different to thinking thoughts that sounds like one. A common mistake is to see logic as being a disease.

Reading about a mental disease is one thing but meeting someone in an asylum with the real thing is an eye opener and could be a surprise.

[Fidel_Castronaut]

"I don't believe in mental illness."

Try living with an unmedicated schizophrenic for a year like I've been doing and get back to me about how you don't believe in mental illness, mm-k?

Straw man.

I said mental illness is an incorrect concept, the effects of irrational thinking are very real.

Indeed, self-evident in fact.

[Creed of Heresy]

[Tea Earl Grey Hot]

There's a difference between being a freethinker and being an asshole about it. The psychology entry seems to fit the latter.