Current Events > Is there a person "underneath" mental illness?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've often thought about this as the only normal person in a family of mentally ill people

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i'm an ass, so i chose the second option
plus there's levels to this shit so the question is tough to answer from a 10,000 ft view

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Conflict posted...

Have you ever considered that you're not actually "normal"

Well I don't have anything my family has: anxiety, bipolar, schizophrenia, or narcissistic personality

I'm a regular well adjusted person who handles problems and money like a mature adult and I've never hallucinated or had a panic attack or a fit of paranoia. I have empathy for others and make friends easily, am calm under pressure and have a positive life outlook

What do you think I could have?

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The Trent posted...

i'm an ass, so i chose the second option
plus there's levels to this shit so the question is tough to answer from a 10,000 ft view

That's true, there are levels to it but maybe a counterpoint would be: at a low level, it's a smaller part of that person, but still inseparable

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Conflict posted...

Yeah that right there is proof you're not normal. You sound like a narcissist with no self-awareness

You don't know what narcissistic personality disorder is

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Conflict posted...

Yeah that right there is proof you're not normal. You sound like a narcissist with no self-awareness

you need to chill the fuck out guvnah

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Conflict posted...

Yeah that right there is proof you're not normal. You sound like a narcissist with no self-awareness

Sounds like I hit a chord too, I'm only looking for a discussion on this. Sorry if you have mental illness

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Depends on the severity.

But generally speaking yes, there is a person underneath it all. And even if there wasn't I'd say we just accept that there is before someone comes along and is like "they're not people, they're not human, we should get rid of them"

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Unless it's like a paranoid shichzo with bipolar, personality disorder, 3 verified demons from hell, etc. etc. all at once, there's a person under it.


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it's not always easy to answer. obviously somebody with bpd isn't crazy and is otherwise "normal" outside of episodes, but sometimes people are really far gone, without any hope of coming back

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viewmaster_pi posted...

it's not always easy to answer. obviously somebody with bpd isn't crazy and is otherwise "normal" outside of episodes, but sometimes people are really far gone, without any hope of coming back

I dunno I'd argue most bipolar people have no intermediate phase. Mania is when they're "normal"

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Not sure I understand the question. Is autism considered a mental illness? I just see it as my mind working a little differently and providing certain challenges. But we all have our weaknesses.

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This is something I've struggled with recently as I've gotten "through" my lifelong depression and, to a much lesser but still significant extent, the anxiety that accompanied it. Tackle on overcoming morbid obesity that weighed me down for three quarters of my life and thirteen years of alcoholism that have defined my adulthood so far, I'm terribly in the dark about who I am as a person and how I relate to others.

Trying to find out has been a mixed bag but it's undoubtedly streets ahead from where I used to be, so at least there's that.


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Colorahdo posted...

I dunno I'd argue most bipolar people have no intermediate phase. Mania is when they're "normal"

i'm not an expert but this sounds ignorant as fuck

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I guess if you think of people in terms of their properties, no one is really a person and everyone is just their properties.

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Theres definitely a person underneath but that person I think is the actual self once they come to terms with what they have to deal with

My bi-polarness is a ingrained part of myself, to deny its existence is to have a real part of me that Im locking myself out of


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WrkHrdPlayHrdr posted...

3 verified demons from hell

wesley willis had to battle his 3 demons on those war hell rides :(.
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They aren't always for the best, but my anxiety and my autism are a part of my "person". We are all a sum of our parts. The OP comes off as dehumanizing and no one would say that kind of shit to someone about physical limitations.

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viewmaster_pi posted...

i'm not an expert but this sounds ignorant as fuck

I literally grew up in a family of bipolar people...

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Colorahdo posted...

I literally grew up in a family of bipolar people...

It becomes such an ingrained part of you that your actions and feelings become completely normal because you dont know of any other way that you would be yourself without feeling what you actually feel

Nobody is defined by their disease just like you wouldnt be defined by missing a leg or not being able to walk

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RedJackson posted...

It becomes such an ingrained part of you that your actions and feelings become completely normal because you dont know of any other way that you would be yourself without feeling what you actually feel

Nobody is defined by their disease just like you wouldnt be defined by missing a leg or not being able to walk

Hey that's a really great point, you've given me something to think about

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No there's not a person underneath their illness, but they aren't their illness either

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Colorahdo posted...

Hey that's a really great point, you've given me something to think about

That being said you are completely valid in the way you feel, hope the situation betters.. whatever youre dealing with

The best thing people can do, especially if its wild swings, is to recognize how much their state of mind affects others around them and that can be incredible difficult to realize

Much more difficult to accept it because feelings of so have I really lived my own life?, so many years have gone by and I wasted it, its my fault these things have happened (and then sink even lower), etc.

If youre the normal one its difficult to make adjustments that put you in a state that makes you want to accept sometimes crappy behavior.. you really gotta find that calm center and thats a lot to ask of someone tbh


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They're people by any definition. Just cause someone is different or impaired doesn't make them not a person. This doesn't seem too well thought out

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dr_strangelove posted...

but you still hold an uneducated view of bipolar and other mental illness. maybe your family members arent getting good enough treatment. theres support groups for family members and loved ones of those with mental illness . you might want to check them out- they are online and free.

This. Im bipolar and

Colorahdo posted...

I dunno I'd argue most bipolar people have no intermediate phase. Mania is when they're "normal"

No bud. Now how it works. Thats literally painfully ignorant. You sure you dont just choose to blame it on their mental everytime you have a disagreement with em? You dont seem particularly self aware or to have a very good perspective on the issue.

This topic comes across like trc patting himself on the back for not suffering from a mental illness. And the title is so fucking bad its hilarious. Apply that to physical disabilities or diseases.

"Is that a person? Nah it's just a schizophrenic."

Great take.

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Fuck is this topic

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Doesn't everyone have either a mental illness or a personality disorder?
All except ONE.
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Case-by-case. In general, a mental illness is a part of who a person is insofar as they wouldnt be the same person without it but that doesnt mean theyre not a different person when theyre affected by their illness vs when theyre not.

That said, there are people who are so far gone that theyre constantly affected by their illness. In cases like these, its become an inseparable part of who they are.

Cluster B and Cluster A personality disorders are more common than people think.

Schizophrenia is not necessarily caused by trauma. It could be inherited; i don't know.

^None of this is aimed at any one poster.
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Depends.

To be perfectly frank, I would argue that all adult humans are mentally ill to some extent. In that, our soul crushing society causes us all to become mentally unhealthy. It's what leads to suicidal thoughts. It's what leads to crippling depression. Which of course a lot of us have in the age of Donald Trump. So there's clearly people that are ill and not just everyone being their illness.

HOWEVER.

Having arguing with lolicons for around a decade, I guarantee you they are the disease. They pretty much all act the same. Make the same dumb arguments. Participate in the same scummy behavior of accusing the people rightfully calling them out on their sick desires as "the real pedos". (As in, they insist that Nowi's outfit is completely innocent and only a pedophile would be bothered by it. Yes. Let that one sink in.)

And whatever illness leads to people becoming alt-righters..... I mean, remember that stupid "NPC" meme and how they all pretty much adopted it at the same time? Making it one of the most hypocritical displays in human history? These fucks are definitely the disease and not people.
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Endgame posted...

To be perfectly frank, I would argue that all adult humans are mentally ill to some extent. In that, our soul crushing society

/r/im14andthisisdeep

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NO reason to spoil the chance to talk about personal development. Someone on this board could be a Psychiatrist for all i know, or the son or daughter of one.
@Phynaster

So who thinks PsychologyToday is as bad as Scientology?

*raises own hand
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Personality is not immutable. Even the mentally healthy are constantly evolving, changing, and maturing throughout their lifetime.

Mental illness has the ability to exist as a personality, as an influence on personality, or independent of personality. Everyone is different. Everyone deals with their life in different ways, and some people are better equipped, for one reason or another, to have a say in how much influence an illness has over them.

the takeaway being; there is no single one size fits all explanation to this question. Just approach and treat people as people, with their own individual needs

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Some of them, sure, but diseases and conditions that reduce the mind simply reduce the person. A person with bad Alzheimers isn't having memory "blocked", there's nothing "under" it because those memories have been destroyed with their brain. It's awful.

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Yeah you can go ahead and choke on a fat one

This topic strongly suggests you look down on the mentally ill.

You think it's fucking fun dealing with anxiety? Depression? Suicidal ideation and obsession?

No. But I'm still fucking here and you're goddamn right I'm a fucking person.

Fuck you.

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Dreepapult posted...

Yeah you can go ahead and choke on a fat one

This topic strongly suggests you look down on the mentally ill.

You think it's fucking fun dealing with anxiety? Depression? Suicidal ideation and obsession?

No. But I'm still fucking here and you're goddamn right I'm a fucking person.

Fuck you.

This is projection, yo.

And reported.

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Well @Colorahdo

What do you say bud?

And yeah I am mad bro

You're a fucking asshole

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Evening_Dragon posted...

This is projection, yo.

And reported.

Yeah you can go fuck yourself too

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Watch Dreepapult get modded but not TC for this people with mental illness arent people topic.

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Shablagoo posted...

Watch Dreepapult get modded but not TC for this people with mental illness arent people topic.

I'm fully expecting it. Don't give a shit.

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This is becoming like LJ. I'm out.
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Colorahdo posted...

Well I don't have anything my family has: anxiety, bipolar, schizophrenia, or narcissistic personality

I'm a regular well adjusted person who handles problems and money like a mature adult and I've never hallucinated or had a panic attack or a fit of paranoia. I have empathy for others and make friends easily, am calm under pressure and have a positive life outlook

What do you think I could have?

Clearly not much empathy if youre honestly wondering whether there is a person underneath mental illness.

Quite frankly, youre coming across as a someone who depersonalises and stigmatises people with mental illness.


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