tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69242881936530270.post2196445992005896707..comments2014-11-14T03:01:44.959-08:00Comments on A High, Lonely Place: Defining Mental IllnessA Girl Called Treehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16100070318748452490noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69242881936530270.post-31580492792024482712014-11-14T03:01:44.959-08:002014-11-14T03:01:44.959-08:00Mental illness is the title that allows a clear de...Mental illness is the title that allows a clear definition between "us" and "them". It also cements the idea that there is something "wrong" with you. I spent most of my life so focused on the things that were wrong with me that I never really considered much of anything else. It's also a misnomer because mental illness isn't a sickness. It's not a truly medical diagnosis. You can show mental illness on a scan or an xray. No blood test will establish it. Yet, it is allowed to be the final say in so many decisions in a person's life. A Girl Called Treehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16100070318748452490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69242881936530270.post-85936162496259387572014-11-08T19:36:36.388-08:002014-11-08T19:36:36.388-08:00I never liked the term 'mental illness,' o...I never liked the term 'mental illness,' or rather the unfortunate and wholly incorrect connotation it carries with it. Everyone in the world is 'mentally ill,' in some way, in its truest form. We (society) use(s) the term to group people (which, when used for anything beyond data correlation (ie - to make judgments about people) is generally not a good thing) to bunch together people with problems that have interfered with their lives to a degree where functioning in society becomes difficult or cannot be done.<br /><br />Sometimes that's biological, sometimes behavioral, sometimes both. None of that changes the fact that everyone in the world goes through hardships, has problems, days they find it hard to cop e, interact, get out of bed, etc. 'Mental illness' is just the name (imo) given to those people where the problems have become so severe as to impede them from what life they'd like to lead.<br /><br />There is no 'normal.'Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17250464557458545629noreply@blogger.com