myth of mental illness

it was first an essay then a book by the late dr.thomas szasz. the idea is that mental illness is...well...a myth. not illness, not disease. people aren't really insane. i dunno...

what do y'all think? the book is a classic. it was on the trash heap for couple decades, but now antipsychiatry is slowly coming back, so szasz is back on the table.

Szasz would let those of us on disability starve to death...parasites in a capitalist society. Ouch. Then again, he rightly points out that psychiatry is used by the state to keep people in line, especially low status people. I've been poor, and now I'm supported by my somewhat affluent parents. He makes some valid points. The psychiatry I saw as a poor person is nothing like the psychiatry I see with "well-to-do" people behind me. The psychiatry any of us see as voluntary outpatients is different from what someone on involuntary treatment sees, is different from what someone in prison sees...or is it? What if its just different facets of the same force?

I dunno. I'm thankful for disability, that's for sure. I think Szasz doesn't look enough at social aspects of mental illness, like how modern, capitalist societies complain about people on disability, but then help keep us unemployed and "sick." What's that about?

So...yeah. what do y'all think? Is mental illness a myth, real but not real the way the shrinks sell it, or is it exactly what your work-a-day shrink presents it as?

i personally think it is just another way to label or put in a box the people who are different in society i also think there is a lot of money to be made in psychiatry as an industry. i think mental illness as a whole is very overdiagnosed these days but that is just my opinion.

if you search the CCHR they have some very interesting anti psychiatry articles as well.

My wife would beg to differ with Dr. Szasz

I believe mental illnesses exist alongside physical, emotional and spiritual illnesses, but while agreeing "mental illness" is often the far-too-convenient diagnosis made by people who either cannot or will not distinguish mental illness from emotional and/or spiritual illness...and I have drawn that personal conclusion as a member of A.A. where today's AA seems to me to know so very little about emotional and spiritual illness as it should and then ends up wrongly tagging people as "mentally ill" while saying AA (only as it is today, I say) cannot help them.

I don't deny that mental illness is real. I can't. I don't think most of us could honestly do that because we experience it... even though we may have or doubts in times of stability.

I have, however, had my a doubts about psychiatry. Google the accepted definition of a delusion and read the parentheses. The fact that psychiatry allows societal norms as opposed to harder science to dictate what is and is not considered psychotic is one reason why I have my occasional doubts. Though I suppose that is more of an issue with the research psychiatrists who define these things than with regular doctors we see on a regular basis. I do think that your average run if the mill psychiatrist is actually interested in helping us, for the most part.

As for the anti-psychiatry stuff, I'm not surprised. There seems to be a sort of anti-intellectual virus spreading around parts of the western world these days, esp. here in the states. People are denying facts in favor of superstition. To these people, we're not sick... we're POSSESSED! We're lazy. Many of these people also have this idea that we're merely parasites, as you mentioned Szasz seemed to believe, still_crazy. I'd say that, if anything, this is the myth of mental illness. If psychiatric care and meds were easier to get and more thorough than a quick check in, maybe we'd be making more contributions to society and enjoying our lives more. Alas, these services are hard to find for a lot of people, and the powers that be show no signs of making it any easier. Harder, maybe, but easier, no.

That's about all I'm gonna say for now. I certainly have some opinions on psychiatry as a weapon on the state and all that, but I'm short on time right now.

myth is probabily not the best term ... they are based on long standing truths ... religions are myths ... believe in god is a myth ... even our form of government is based on myth ... it is ideas that have stood the test of time that relates directly to the human experience ... the human struggle ... born out of centuries and mellinums of time...

no , IMO , mental illnes is defined as outside of the cultural norm ... in many ancient cultures they were accepted and even revered as shammn or mystical practisoners .... those endowed with (all) the human essence ... wider and more sensitive emotions and moods ... hearing voices that only spoke to them ... seeing what only they could ... traveling thur the universe while leaving their bodies behind ... and many sought them out to answer questions no one else could answer ...

we have a culture that does not allow thinking outside the box ... even here I bet many are disagreeing with my definition of a myth ... ect ...

if we can not accept the differences we all have , that we believe differently and that we express ourselves differently , then how can we expect them too .... how can we ever expect it to change. ... Tigger

ps: I am labeled as MI , I do take meds , they do limit my (full humanity) ... I will never be "everything" I could be left totally untreated ... and my family is thankful for that ...

I have no idea why but I felt compelled to write this ... I just had too ... I am not sure why ... it is and was not my intention to upset anyone here ... I really do love you guys ... one and all ...

Maybe I'm over simplifying it but yes absolutely i believe in mental illness. It's articles and books like that that keep the stigma alive. My ex-husband didn't believe in mental illness (that's why I left) and I can assure you my illness was no myth.

Can you elaborate on spiritual and emotional illness. I don't know what you mean.

I look at it as two dots on a line. Within the dots is considered acceptable behavior, outside the dots is unacceptable behavior. The confusion for me is that it seems the position of the dots can change depending on who is looking at them. What is and what isn't?

I've been labeled for seeing things. George Carlin said that half the population believes there are winged creatures standing on street corners called, angels. What side of the dot do they fall on? Is it acceptable or unacceptable?

Mental illness or mental "dys-ease" is a real thing and many people suffer due to the mental "dys-ease." Myself included.


WC

I spent the first thirty years of my life knowing I was somehow different than other people, and in my late twenties I had begun seeing a therapist after having been diagnosed as "manic-depressive with psychotic tendencies". Meds had made no significant difference, so I relied upon the effect of alcohol to help keep myself from "going over the edge" into some kind of greatly-feared place of no return. Today I still have the same diagnosis and even more, but I am no longer an abusive, madman monster drinking himself to death in order to try to remain somewhat functional while ever teetering at the edge of insanity. Much of anything I might say here is greatly dependent upon a wide variety of things -- no cookie-cutter analysis -- but trying to treat mental illness without dealing with the spiritual and emotional matters than can often drive it was like spitting into the wind and then wondering why my face kept getting wet. Spiritual illness amounts to matters of ego, fear, pride and/or ignorance in relation to our Maker, and emotional illness is typically a manifestation of same as evidenced by Mr./Ms. Feelings continually hollering from the back of the bus.

To be clear here: I am *not* saying religion somehow resolves mental illness. I am simply saying many people are looking in the wrong direction while believing that is the primary issue. Self-reliance and self-judgment are spiritually insane, for example, and then the conditions of the intellect and emotions can only worsen when the mind can find no relief. But if-and-when a sufferer is willing to abandon self-reliance and self-judgment, some mental and emotional healing can also begin.

Good God. Anyone who has mental illness will tell you of course it's not a myth. Treatment in the States is unfortunately right back where it was in the 1870's though--with so many of our nation's seriously mentally ill in prisons. And that's the truth.

Can you tell me more about what you meant about how Capitalist societies keep people on disability unemployed and "sick." I didn't have time to read the assignment.

And thank you for bringing this up! Fascinating!