Then say that, instead of adhering to a stupid term that means "case of the happy-sads," which is what "bipolar" means.
Except that this doesn't happen, because it means acknowledging that the problem isn't an illness that just blows in from the fucking Western winds, but an irregularity in a person's capacity for emotional regulation, which starts to touch the third rail of psychology, which is that people have the ability to affect their own emotional state and resultant reactions.
And we can't have that. Because why? Because fuck-all.
I have a parallel issue with people who say they "have" something. They "have" depression (more often than not, neuroses). They "have" anxiety. No, "you are [depressed]". It's not an alien inside of you. It's you. Sounds petty, and maybe it is irrelevant, but language is important and that type of language helps take a certain responsibility off of them.
Yes, this, very much this. We've been caught in a disturbing, escalating trend, of trying to capture more and more rather bog-standard human diversity of behavior, as pathology. All of this gender-confusion garbage is a wing of this trend. You've got 16-year-olds talking about their "PTSD" like they did 2 tours in Vietnam. As must happen, the creation of all these "problems" has given rise to the increasingly omnipresent administrative medical State.
Bipolar disorder is also uniquely treated with Lithium, which isn't used to treat any other disorder and has a unique and problematic side effect profile.
i think the problem is that a medication "fix" tends to be more like painkillers, they are a temporary alleviation from a problem, not a solution to the problem.
the third rail of psychology, which is that people have the ability to affect their own emotional state and resultant reactions.
100%. Psychological diagnosis isn't inherently useless, it just needs to encourage people deal with their shit instead of enabling it by suggesting they're victims without agency.
Society needs to focus on mental health, not mental illness.
I agree with this, except that the term "mental health" has been hopelessly compromised. I don't think it's possible to do what needs to be done--which is to encourage and teach self-directed control over behavior, if not (but hopefully yes) state of mind. "Mental health" is indelibly now something we treat with quacks, social workers, and pills.
Then say that, instead of adhering to a stupid term that means "case of the happy-sads," which is what "bipolar" means.
Except that this doesn't happen, because it means acknowledging that the problem isn't an illness that just blows in from the fucking Western winds, but an irregularity in a person's capacity for emotional regulation, which starts to touch the third rail of psychology, which is that people have the ability to affect their own emotional state and resultant reactions.
And we can't have that. Because why? Because fuck-all.
I have a parallel issue with people who say they "have" something. They "have" depression (more often than not, neuroses). They "have" anxiety. No, "you are [depressed]". It's not an alien inside of you. It's you. Sounds petty, and maybe it is irrelevant, but language is important and that type of language helps take a certain responsibility off of them.
Yes, this, very much this. We've been caught in a disturbing, escalating trend, of trying to capture more and more rather bog-standard human diversity of behavior, as pathology. All of this gender-confusion garbage is a wing of this trend. You've got 16-year-olds talking about their "PTSD" like they did 2 tours in Vietnam. As must happen, the creation of all these "problems" has given rise to the increasingly omnipresent administrative medical State.
Some people have a genuine condition and it can be treated with medication. But that's what it is, a condition.
debatable, this is like the depression and SSRI argument.
Bipolar meds generally work, unlike SSRIs. But inevitably the medication lapses and they fly off the handle, so these people are always a risk.
Bipolar disorder is also uniquely treated with Lithium, which isn't used to treat any other disorder and has a unique and problematic side effect profile.
i think the problem is that a medication "fix" tends to be more like painkillers, they are a temporary alleviation from a problem, not a solution to the problem.
Yeah, and that goes great--often up to the point where they kill themselves.
100%. Psychological diagnosis isn't inherently useless, it just needs to encourage people deal with their shit instead of enabling it by suggesting they're victims without agency.
Society needs to focus on mental health, not mental illness.
I agree with this, except that the term "mental health" has been hopelessly compromised. I don't think it's possible to do what needs to be done--which is to encourage and teach self-directed control over behavior, if not (but hopefully yes) state of mind. "Mental health" is indelibly now something we treat with quacks, social workers, and pills.
And I'm not speaking to you specifically, but to the trend, the zeitgeist of how these issues are packaged.