Quote:
Originally Posted by Maven
I watched part of the TV show, The Doctors, yesterday and someone posted a question as to whether someone with OCD should be able to adopt children. The person has a friend with "severe OCD" who really wants a child. But I'm not posing this question.
The Doctors (I think it was two doctors, one psychologist and Jillian Michaels, from The Biggest Loser, and who is now a regular on this show) said OCD is not a mental illness; rather, it's a disorder. I agree, it's a disorder, and a disability, but I don't know what to think now. Am I mentally ill? Most people around me think so. I also have panic disorder, but that's a disorder so I guess it's not a mental illness? Don't get me wrong: I don't want to be mentally ill, but I'm confused as to how to explain my disorders to other people, especially those who judge mental illness unfairly.
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mentally ill is one of those terms that have many ways of being used and explained and what is considered to be mentally ill.
here where I work and live mentally ill is a cover all term for when someone has any of the mental disorders that are listed in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual IV TR. example a person suffering with major depression is said to be mentally ill.
the term disorder here means anything that is not normal, this term is used in many ways for many things example a messy room can be called in a state of disorder, a person that has problems with how they think, act and things they do can also be called a person with a disorder. what that disorder is depends on what their problem is.
some places like here in New York USA the terms disorder and mentally ill are used together and to mean the same thing example here in NY saying A person suffering from major depression is the same as saying that person has the mental illness of major depressive disorder, or the same as saying that person has the mental illness of clinical depression.
Every content, country, city, state, town, treatment providers, ... they all have their own way of describing mental illness and what it considered to be mental illness/mental disordered.
when trying to understand psychological terms its best to go by what ever terms and and meanings that your own treatment providers use and have diagnosed you with. That way you wont get confused by all these terms and how they are used one way by tv people and another way by your own treatment providers.
