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Originally Posted by Neenagirl
I have been getting really angry lately when I hear people or the media casually throwing out the term mentally ill or using the same term to call someone who MUST be mentally ill or...
Specifically the Las Vegas shooter - he must be mentally ill to have shot all those people. Hmm, maybe or maybe not. He was definitely evil, no doubt about that, but we don't know anything about his mental health.
Does anyone else feel this way or get angry when people - whether or not they know you and your mental health, say that so and so must be crazy??
Maybe I am taking it all too personally?
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I disagree, I think "mentally ill"
is an accurate label for someone like the Las Vegas shooter – however a very broad one. I think if someone is called mentally ill if their mental state and actions aren't on the normal, "healthy" spectrum the average person's are on, a serial killer can certainly be called mentally ill (as their thoughts and actions luckily aren't those of the average person).
However, by no means does that mean that
all or even the majority of mentally ill people are dangerous. It's only a tiny fraction.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FallDuskTrain
I am kind of angry to how mental health probs are perceived and treated by the society at large.
As far as specific incidences such as the vegas shooter people, and the media, always say either one of these things: terrorist or mentally ill. A very cheap shot, in my opinion but that what happens.
On the other hand, as the above post suggests, mental health probs can make one commit evil acts.
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Exactly, that's the real problem. Because "mentally ill" is such a broad term, throwing everyone with a mental illness into a basket with the worst outliers really damages the image society has of people with mental problems. I think this problem is caused more by how uninformed most people are about mental illness than by the portrayal of the media though.