How do you view mental illness?

We are all at risk of being 'spiritualy hurt' - none of us is in control of everything - any of us could become the rambling shambling man on the street, who, when he is lying in the gutter, fails to see the stars that some of us are looking at.

 

Just when conservatives thought it was safe to start identifying themselves as such, MSD of the TFP forums is making the case that the ideology motivating them is actually a mental disorder.

"Based on strikingly irrational beliefs and emotions, modern conservatives relentlessly undermine the most important principles of basic compassion for fellow humans, says MSD, author of this post. "Like spoiled, angry children, they rebel against the idea that anyone's socioeconomic standing could be based on anything but their inherent value as a person. They lash out and label anyone who disagrees with them a socialist, a communist, and a fascist, with no understanding of what those terms actually mean or that they are all mutually exclusive. Rather than engaging in productive debate, they resort to childish namecalling."

While political activists on the other side of the spectrum have made similar observations, MSD boasts common sense and basic human emotions.

MSD says the kind of conservatism being displayed by current Republican candidates can only be understood as a psychological disorder.

"A social scientist who understands human nature will not dismiss the vital roles of empathy, cooperation, and pursuit of the common good," he says. "A political leader who understands human nature will not ignore individual differences in upbringing, cultural and environmental conditioning, and privilege – as conservatives do. And a legislator who understands human nature will not create an environment of rules which disregards factors beyond an individual's control and places the blame for those conditions on the individual, who is more often than not a victim of circumstances – as conservatives do."

MSD says the conservative agenda preys on weakness and feelings of inferiority in the population by:

• creating and reinforcing perceptions of victimization, especially when anything chips away at the white Christian stranglehold on American politics;
• satisfying infantile claims to entitlement, indulgence and compensation, claiming that liberals are taking their hard-earned money and distributing it to mythical "welfare queens";
• augmenting primitive feelings of superiority and encouraging mob mentality;
• rejecting the rights of individuals, subjecting them to the will of the few policymakers and those who finance them.

"The roots of conservatism – and its associated madness – can be clearly identified by understanding how children develop from infancy to adulthood and how distorted development produces the irrational beliefs of the conservative mind," he says. "When the modern conservative mind whines about persecution, rages against liberal boogeymen, and seeks above all else to subjugate the general population, and convince them that the mythical American dream is achievable in a country with among the lowest social mobility in the world, and that this is how it should be, the psychosis of the conservative mind becomes painfully obvious.

 

Willravel thinks MSD is onto something talking in the third person.

What you describe can be attributed to already well-understood psychology, MSD. Willravel hopes a person well educated and experienced in psychology would write a paper on the modern American conservative movement, essentially diagnosing it and recommending certain treatments.

/when me speak in the third person, it make me think Willravel sound like cave man!

 

I remember when I was in college there was a commons area where everyone hung out. Of course, most the workers there were impaired in one way or the other. The colleges get extra money for hiring such challenged people. I always went out of my way to talk to them and get to know them. It often saddened me to see how other college students would pick on them or talk about them behind their back. There was always more than one occassion where I would voice my concerns to those rather immature students. I'll admit Im not the most church going person but the one phrase that always came to mind was "there but for the grace of God goes I (or you or anyone else)" for it could happen to any person. It's not something that is chosen, it happens. OFten beyond anyones control. I hate to say that I feel sorry for them because they dont want or need sympathy. I may be a bit nicer to them and a bit more understanding to them, but I try to see them for as another person making their way through this cruel world the best that they can. They also dont deserve to be cruelly treated or acted like they have some sort of plaque. I embrace each person for just who they are. It truly is the beauty on the inside that counts.

 

I was out begging one day (for animal charity), and a young boy with Downs put some money in the box, and I gave him a magazine - and he came running back and gave me the biggest hug - totaly without guile - it was a precious gift. Also had a friend who got run over and spent months in intensive care with a head injury - when he came out he had to learn everything again - including speech - so you are very right thetemplarswife, there but for the grace of God or the Gods - then theres strokes .... A couple of years ago, we had a man who was special needs, lived with his elderly mum - and he was literaly hounded to death - died of a heart attack - was all too much for his body to take.

 

Mental illness has many levels and is very real. The brain is a complicated organ.
There are endless possibilities that cause mental illness.
Retarded, mentally challenged, drug addiction, brain damage, autism…

So to quench your curiosity on what pops into my head when I see flapping hands, repeating phrases, head banging, bandages on wrist, people talking to themselves. It is sadness at first, and then I hope that they are getting the care that they need. I feel that mental illness is not taken seriously enough. Then my mind starts to wonder off, how high is their IQ? Is it below 70 or are they very intelligent stuck in a body that doesn’t work with their brain, are they violent, can they love, do they hate.

Definitely a difficult field to be in!