Hi, just thought I would voice some of my views on mental illness...

Traditionally diseases are required to have a biological abnormality. Mental Illnesses have no such biological abnormality, and were defined based on similarities between patterns of behaviour put into groups and labelled as mental illnesses. They are mental illnesses as they are deemed to cause suffering to the afflicted.

If you look at the mental illnesses which exist today, not in relation to the individuals suffering, but to the structure of society as a whole, you will notice that mental illnesses generally include all behaviours which are considered undesirable and unwanted in a 'normal civil society'. I would argue it would be possible to put all mental illnesses in this category to some extent.

But then I hear you say;

'but each disease causes suffering to the patient, so it is a disease'

But why is there such a strong relationship between what are considered undesirable and unwanted behaviours in a normal society, and individuals with mental illness. I find this link very interesting. Is much of the distress from mental illness caused by failed social interactions, a faux pas, and the way in which the patient is interacting with others. And the way in which others perceive the patients behaviours due to cultural values and the morals of a normal civil society. And if this is the case does the stigma of mental illness not just reinforce that the behaviours and ways people are acting are wrong and cause more suffering to the patient, through its existence?

All mental diseases unlike many diseases of biological origin have no 'cure', only 'treatment' which can reduce symptoms, but often cause many unwanted side effects. This leaving people with life long 'diseases', in need of life long 'treatment' to augment there patterns of behaviour.

And how will mental diseases change in future, as they have in the past such as homosexuality in recent history, and going back further Drapetomania. Both of which are now no longer considered diseases as to do so would go against 'normal civil society', where as at the time they were considered diseases as they represented behavior which was not socially acceptable to the masses.