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Quote: from sadnessness at 6:43 pm on Nov. 28, 2008

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Quote: from prisoner of hss at 11:41 pm on Nov. 28, 2008

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"it is a disease because its really bad"

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 No, it's a disease because it affects so many people and ruins lives.

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you said the exact same thing i did

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except you think its all in peoples heads.
I disagree, because i actually have depression.

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dont wonder why im not smiling, wonder why you are.

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its not a real "disease" but people like to say that because nobody will take them seriously otherwise

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Disease: a condition of the living animal or plant body or of one of its parts that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms : sickness , malady
3: a harmful development (as in a social institution)

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What about depression or bipolar disorder does that not match?

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emotional depression is the crappy emo version of depression, that everyone immediately thinks you mean when you mention depression, though real depression is loads different...
i'm personally in the process of consulting doctors over what i believe to be a form of depression, as i sleep for easily 12+ hours a day, constantly lose weight, have huge trouble concentrating, constantly feel lethargic and crappy, and other stuff...though to talk to me, people comment on me being one of the cheeriest and smiley people they know...

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I'm not talking about emotional depression, i'm talking about 4 hours sleep a night, lack of appetite, unexplained low moods, no motivation, extremely bad concentration, irritability etc.

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dont wonder why im not smiling, wonder why you are.

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Quote: from prisoner of hss at 5:40 pm on Nov. 28, 2008

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its not a real "disease" but people like to say that because nobody will take them seriously otherwise

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Disease: a condition of the living animal or plant body or of one of its parts that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms : sickness , malady
3: a harmful development (as in a social institution)

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What about depression or bipolar disorder does that not match?

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Quote: from prisoner of hss at 11:44 pm on Nov. 28, 2008

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Quote: from sadnessness at 6:43 pm on Nov. 28, 2008

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Quote: from prisoner of hss at 11:41 pm on Nov. 28, 2008

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"it is a disease because its really bad"

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  No, it's a disease because it affects so many people and ruins lives.

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you said the exact same thing i did

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except you think its all in peoples heads.
I disagree, because i actually have depression.

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Quote: from prisoner of hss at 5:40 pm on Nov. 28, 2008

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its not a real "disease" but people like to say that because nobody will take them seriously otherwise

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Disease: a condition of the living animal or plant body or of one of its parts that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms : sickness , malady  
3: a harmful development (as in a social institution)

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What about depression or bipolar disorder does that not match?  

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plus "normal" functioning implies that there's some kind of objective norm that encompasses all situations and can be judged and measured, plus 'signs and symptoms' typically relate to a hard physical cause

Post edited at 3:50 pm on Nov. 28, 2008 by iconoclast

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join this group only if youre a mod

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this guy is just such an idiot it cracks me up

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He's not an idiot at all.  Just excessively pessimistic about mental health care and the whole field of psychology in general.

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generally its considered a physically caused pathological flaw in the body, not referred to in a broad sense

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Generally considered by who?

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So i've been messaging someone who has been telling me that my social anxiety disorder and depression-turned-bipolar are completely in my head and i only have them because i believe in mental illness.

I find that insulting, since professional psychiatrists are actually trying to help me through it and some kid is telling me basically to get over it.

 
Thoughts? I'm particularly interested in those of you who are currently dealing with or have dealt with mental illness

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It is most certainly not just in your head. It is a real and potentially devastating illness that must be treated properly and cared for. Don't listen to some uneducated imbecile who thinks the world revolves around their pigheaded fool self. -pats you on the back-

People can suck.

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Quote: from prisoner of hss at 5:48 pm on Nov. 28, 2008

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generally its considered a physically caused pathological flaw in the body, not referred to in a broad sense

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Generally considered by who?

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disease has historically applied to physical problems, not emotional problems, but has been twisted into modern 'mental health'

here are some more definitions: an unhealthy condition in a person, animal, or plant which is caused by bacteria or infection

impairment of normal physiological function affecting part or all of an organism

overall, 'disease' refers to a malfunctioning physical part as the cause of the problem, not simply an effect of an emotional change, in which case a changed 'brain' is normal and reflects the person's psychological environment accurately

im not referring to the colloquial definition, im referring to the scientific definition, in the colloquial definition, disease is simply something really bad, like a "disease of society"

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join this group only if youre a mod