[xmascarol]

I have seen and hear this before,why is it people tend to think if you have a mental illness they assume we are crazy?It is a chemical imbalance in our brains. Don't you think that people needed to get more educated about mental illness's?

I blame the media.

as soon as their's a death, or a shooting spre, they are like

" it's reported this person has mental illness"

mental illness never seems to be talked about in a good way in the media- and then of course so many people are narrow minded, they'll believe what they here- rather than finding out for themselves

seriously, when have you heard the news announcer say,

" and now the last story of the night is about someone with mental illness who really took the world by storm"

it just doesn't happen, and it's ashame because in reality we're not all that bad

I also blame the miss use of terms

someone flips out and they are labeled bipolar, for instance

[katydid777]

Originally Posted by raging vortex

I blame the media.

as soon as their's a death, or a shooting spre, they are like

" it's reported this person has mental illness"

mental illness never seems to be talked about in a good way in the media- and then of course so many people are narrow minded, they'll believe what they here- rather than finding out for themselves

seriously, when have you heard the news announcer say,

" and now the last story of the night is about someone with mental illness who really took the world by storm"

it just doesn't happen, and it's ashame because in reality we're not all that bad

I agree, in today's world, every mass shooting, or mass killing, the person, or persons that comit it is deemed to have MI by the media. But before all of that stareed MI was taboo. It is like any type of family abuse, rape, and peoples "dirty laundry". Still to this day these things are frowned on to even talk about, let alone having or going through. (((((((HUGS TO ALL)))))))

[xmascarol]

Originally Posted by raging vortex

I blame the media.

as soon as their's a death, or a shooting spre, they are like

" it's reported this person has mental illness"

mental illness never seems to be talked about in a good way in the media- and then of course so many people are narrow minded, they'll believe what they here- rather than finding out for themselves

seriously, when have you heard the news announcer say,

" and now the last story of the night is about someone with mental illness who really took the world by storm"

it just doesn't happen, and it's ashame because in reality we're not all that bad

I know what you mean everytime some commits a murder that person also has a mental illness.I hate ,it makes me so mad too,I wish they would go and read a book about mental illness and the name calling is bad too.

[xmascarol]

Originally Posted by raging vortex

I also blame the miss use of terms

someone flips out and they are labeled bipolar, for instance

I have bipolar and sometimes people look at me like I am crazy.

[astoldbyginger]

Originally Posted by xmascarol

I have seen and hear this before,why is it people tend to think if you have a mental illness they assume we are crazy?It is a chemical imbalance in our brains. Don't you think that people needed to get more educated about mental illness's?

I think it's a lack of knowledge and info. Once you share with people that it's a chemical imbalance they tend to understand things a bit better.

[eskielover]

Lets see....the dictionary's definition of crazy is:

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crazy adjective
cra·​zy | \ˈkrā-zē \
crazier; craziest
Definition of crazy (Entry 1 of 3)
1a : full of cracks or flaws : UNSOUND
… they were very crazy, wretched cabins …
— Charles Dickens
b : CROOKED, ASKEW
2a : not mentally sound : marked by thought or action that lacks reason : INSANE sense 1b
yelling like a crazy man
—not used technically
b(1) : IMPRACTICAL
a crazy plan

(2) : ERRATIC
crazy drivers

c : being out of the ordinary : UNUSUAL
a taste for crazy hats
3a : distracted with desire or excitement
a thrill-crazy mob
The fans went crazy when their team won the championship.
b : absurdly fond : INFATUATED
He's crazy about the girl.
c : passionately preoccupied : OBSESSED
crazy about boats

It doesn't matter the cause it is the behavior that is defined. So if a MI person or someone without a MI comes across as thinking or acting in a way that lacks reason.....it fits the definition so that is exactly why the term is used. A lot of people fit the definition & many MI behavior & thinking manifest themselves in a way that fits the definition too.

I have been there even with my depression & I admit that my thinking & actions were crazy. I don't see the problem that when something fits a definition that the definition should not be used?

[mote.of.soul]

Originally Posted by xmascarol

I have seen and hear this before,why is it people tend to think if you have a mental illness they assume we are crazy?It is a chemical imbalance in our brains. Don't you think that people needed to get more educated about mental illness's?

Yes, I do think people need to get more educated. It would probably help their own mental health in the longer term too, because there's too much judgment and discrimination out there about, well, nearly everything, xmascarol.

It's like the case of the Thousand Oaks mass shooting in California recently - my condolences to the friends and families - where the media bagan to bring into the picture the idea that the gunman 'may have' been suffering from PTSD because he was an army veteran. It's so shortsighted and narrow minded to even begin stigmatizing mental health issues in that way when obviously thousands of people suffer with PTSD and are not violent offenders. So, how do you even explain why the media - people - would even go down that path in the face of the obvious reality about PTSD?

And then you look at cases like the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer who underwent psychiatric evaluation and was found to be completely sane! What!?

In many ways, the whole thing's got me stumped but I think at the end of the day, you're right, there needs to be more education and understanding, as others have pointed out here as well.

[MickeyCheeky]

((((xmascarol)))) Yes, there's a lot of stigma around mental illnesses. I really hope this thing will change...

[WishfulThinker66]

Well, considering my behaviour during my last manic phase I can understand this term coming to the minds of bystanders. It certainly fit the bill of the definition above. Even I will admit my actions were rather 'out there'.

No one has accused me to my face as being crazy but I do hear the term being used indiscriminantly. I make sure though to speak up about it being poitically incorrect and that I take it personally.

People just don't understand about mental illness and misuse terms all the time, not just "crazy" but "depression" "OCD" etc

[shovelhead]

THANK YOU! For your post! I thought the World is more politically correct in 2018! It's almost 2019! I'm SO sick of being called crazy. It makes me angry, now. I'm done with people & now I have social anxiety because I'm worried I will be called crazy. Just like usual. Whatever.

[eskielover]

I think it would be more appropriate to call a behavior crazy than the person themselves.....there are definitely some crazy behaviors that come our of mental illness symptoms.....but then there are crazy behaviors that come out of people without MI too & it is often times called out too. When the definition fits the thinking or behavior why do we have such a difficult time accepting that? Though YES, it woukd be accurate & appropriate to say the thinking or behavior is what is crazy & not the person.....just like when someone does something wrong/bad....we should say the behavior was wrong/bad nit the person but how many parents are guilty of doing that? Same thing....it is the behavior or thinking that is the issue....NOT the person.

Originally Posted by xmascarol

I have seen and hear this before,why is it people tend to think if you have a mental illness they assume we are crazy?It is a chemical imbalance in our brains. Don't you think that people needed to get more educated about mental illness's?

Best post ever. I agree.

[Carolinee13]

Originally Posted by xmascarol

I have seen and hear this before,why is it people tend to think if you have a mental illness they assume we are crazy?It is a chemical imbalance in our brains. Don't you think that people needed to get more educated about mental illness's?

Sometimes bad behavior shows the lack of education of that person

[sadsack85]

This will not be a popular opinion. While I generally take issue with being called "crazy," I figure most people have legitimate reasons for thinking the way they do. There are so many different types of mental illnesses that your average person can't really distinguish which are the "safe" ones and which aren't. They see erratic behavior and it scares them. It's perhaps easier (or lazier) to just generalize everyone with a mental illness as crazy because they can't understand us all as individuals or think we are all equally unpredictable. Fear of what we don't understand is a driving force behind making sweeping and harmful generalizations.

I have a mental illness and I was also raised by a mother with a mental illness. My family is riddled with "crazies." Our illnesses are extremely different and I can objectively say I am far less erratic and dangerous than my mom is. I have my issues but I can keep them private and I wouldn't hurt a fly. I'm a bit unusual and quirky but otherwise I'm widely viewed as harmless. My mom can't hide her emotional un-wellness and while she doesn't go around physically assaulting people, she has damaged quite a few relationships and really isn't doing the rest of us any favors, PR-wise.

As a person with a mental illness, I am still selectively cautious around other people with certain mental illnesses because they are a potential danger to me and my child. That sounds unfair, I know full well that it is, but I've seen what they can do first hand and they are part of the reason I am the way that I am. But I also have ASD and it hurts when I hear what people generalize about people like me. So I try to avoid doing the same to others. Yet I am an imperfect person. Logic tells me to just go case by case, which is what I try to do day-to-day, but PTSD makes me afraid of everything. It's a conundrum.

Because the majority of people are idiots who automatically believe what the media feeds them and what people tell them.

The media tells people that people shoot up schools because of their mental health issues and people automatically think those with mental health issues are capable of shooting up schools. Society tells people that anybody who is different and cannot or does not want to conform is a threat, and is therefore, "crazy". Many people are incapable of critical thinking because it's easier to automatically assume society, the media, or the government are knowledgeable and truthful.

So I blame the ignorant masses, or what I like to call "sheeple" for all the stigma. Yet, ironically, many of the worst cases of people doing messed up stuff like shooting schools, rape, or murder even, stem from people not willing to accept and help people who are struggling with mental illness.

I mean, one would be surprised as to how something like showing somebody love and compassion instead of treating them like garbage can change a so called "evil" person. Many people become bad because nobody shows them love or any kind of empathy in their life.

To make a long story short, I blame the masses for everything.

[downandlonely]

I have to say that I don't like the blame the victim mentality that shooters kill people that have been mean to them. I was bullied in middle school. Never once did it occur to me to kill all the other kids. It did occur to me to kill myself, which I think is pretty common.

If a woman's husband abuses her, would you blame her? Would you blame children for being abused? Say they "brought it on themselves"? Sadly, some people would. It's the same thing with these mass killings. Not all mentally ill people are dangerous, that is true. But there are sociopaths out there who don't care about other people. Being nice to them will not cure them.

Originally Posted by downandlonely

I have to say that I don't like the blame the victim mentality that shooters kill people that have been mean to them. I was bullied in middle school. Never once did it occur to me to kill all the other kids. It did occur to me to kill myself, which I think is pretty common.

If a woman's husband abuses her, would you blame her? Would you blame children for being abused? Say they "brought it on themselves"? Sadly, some people would. It's the same thing with these mass killings. Not all mentally ill people are dangerous, that is true. But there are sociopaths out there who don't care about other people. Being nice to them will not cure them.

Understandable.

I didn't mean I blame the victim for the behavior of an abuser, shooter, or w/e. I blame society as a whole for not giving a **** about wanting to help people when they need it the most.

Fact is sociopaths, like most other so called "bad" people, are made by their environments. A sociopath in particular (which isn't the same thing as a psychopath as psychopaths are born and sociopaths are made BTW), becomes what they are because of such prolonged abuse and neglect that they lose the ability to care about other people to survive in the world. Obviously there are exceptions to this rule as some people are born nasty. I'm just referring to the overall picture.

I'm not saying I excuse their behavior either nor that they don't deserve to be punished somehow. I just cannot agree with the legal system's way of doing things. Justice needs to evolve to the 21st century because it's lagging behind everything else in the modern world. I think rehabilitation should always take priority over punishment. I think that taking the time to understand why people do bad things and helping them when possible should be the preferred way of dealing with people who do bad things. Harsh punishments like we give out now should be an absolute last resort reserved for the worst of people.

But what do I know. I'm just a crazy person behind a computer. Besides prison corporations gotta make their money too.

[tayo4josh]

At is ignorance on the part of the society and terms given by media

[eskielover]

I don't judge the person as crazy but if the behavior fits the definition..the behavior becomes crazy by definition (the definition I stated in my above post).

Whether a person has a MI or not.....if their behavior fits the definition then that is what the begmhavior is defined as.

I had some pretty crazy behaviors ehen my depression was bad & I will be the first to admit that fact not deny it.

So often it is thevactual behavior that is labled but because of careless wording it comes across as the person themselves as being crazy.