Now that you mention it, I do recall reading that, and it's a good post.
Yes, that and the way mental illness is seen as something only certain deficient people have. Maybe that's arguably true of The Permanent Crazy, but understanding mental illness like that is like not having a concept of catching a cold. Yes, most people catch colds at some point, but I was under the impression that psychiatry was supposed to be about mental well-being rather than conformity. (Why I would be under that impression when it's so obviously false, I do not know.) We may tell people to stop whining and keep working because everyone gets colds, but we don't deny that they're sick! And further, why is the idea that something is a natural reaction to circumstance opposed to the idea that something is a mental illness? A broken leg is a natural reaction to falling off a cliff, but that doesn't make it healthy.
You may wish to get me off of this topic. I'll be less ranty if we go back to discussing Avatar.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2013-03-23 04:24 am (UTC)Yes, that and the way mental illness is seen as something only certain deficient people have. Maybe that's arguably true of The Permanent Crazy, but understanding mental illness like that is like not having a concept of catching a cold. Yes, most people catch colds at some point, but I was under the impression that psychiatry was supposed to be about mental well-being rather than conformity. (Why I would be under that impression when it's so obviously false, I do not know.) We may tell people to stop whining and keep working because everyone gets colds, but we don't deny that they're sick! And further, why is the idea that something is a natural reaction to circumstance opposed to the idea that something is a mental illness? A broken leg is a natural reaction to falling off a cliff, but that doesn't make it healthy.
You may wish to get me off of this topic. I'll be less ranty if we go back to discussing Avatar.