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Post by Gideon on Oct 12, 2006 16:59:59 GMT -5
Does anyone?
I mean, really, we're all special, so obviously that includes mentally ill people. But I sometimes view some of them as almost...I'm not sure...more special than the ordinary person?
Does anyone else ever feel like taking some mentally ill people home and looking after them? I sometimes feel like doing that, although I think I'd probably be ill-equipped for looking after them.
When I'm older, I want to go to a mental hospital on Christmas Day and give the patients a party. I'll play 1970s disco music and they can dance and have fun and I can get presents for them.
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Post by Mac on Oct 13, 2006 2:44:50 GMT -5
Special, as in they have problems that need extra care. If you're asking if I think they're special like "Wow, they're so magical in how different their thought processes are!", then no. They're just like us, but with deeper problems.
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Post by Gideon on Oct 13, 2006 8:11:50 GMT -5
If you're asking if I think they're special like "Wow, they're so magical in how different their thought processes are!", then no. I suppose that was more the kind of "special" that I meant, although I can't explain why I feel that way. I mean, I do know that you're right - no one is more special than another person, whether they're sane or whether have an illness. But I sometimes look upon them that way, and I'm not really sure why.
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Post by {88Keys} on Oct 13, 2006 12:52:08 GMT -5
I don't think they're special; I think they're, well, ill. I do think they need special care. I also think it takes a special kind of person to want to work with and care for the mentally ill. Maybe you should look into that; you seem to already have a lot of empathy for them.
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Post by adam on Oct 13, 2006 13:05:26 GMT -5
Does anyone? I mean, really, we're all special, so obviously that includes mentally ill people. But I sometimes view some of them as almost...I'm not sure...more special than the ordinary person? Does anyone else ever feel like taking some mentally ill people home and looking after them? I sometimes feel like doing that, although I think I'd probably be ill-equipped for looking after them. When I'm older, I want to go to a mental hospital on Christmas Day and give the patients a party. I'll play 1970s disco music and they can dance and have fun and I can get presents for them. I sort of feel an empathy for them and a urge to help them. I feel they are definat;y different but not in a bad way and that they have a 'special' intereesting view of the world.
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Post by Gideon on Oct 13, 2006 13:59:13 GMT -5
Maybe you should look into that; you seem to already have a lot of empathy for them. I think they'd need someone saner than me. I'm too unstable.
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Post by Islander on Oct 13, 2006 14:00:46 GMT -5
I'd have to agree with 88Keys here - I don't see that they're any more special than any of us. They are ill, and require care.
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Post by Gouki on Oct 13, 2006 18:10:16 GMT -5
No, not at all.
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Post by HailStorm on Oct 13, 2006 18:47:32 GMT -5
Interesting, yes. Special? Not exactly. A lot of mentally ill people probably wouldn't like to be thought of as special, as such. Sure, some would, but so would some non mentally ill people. They deserve to have access to appropriate treatment and support, obviously. But I think a lot of them would just like to be treated like fellow human beings. And I'm sure that the same rule applies to them as to all people. It doesn't matter if you're mentally ill, if you're working a low paid but honest job, if you're working to help other people or you're on the side of the law... you still have just as much chance of being a complete w****r as anybody else.
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Post by Gideon on Oct 13, 2006 19:39:36 GMT -5
The patients were great in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, though - especially Billy.
I think I'm somewhat influenced in my thinking by the romantic image of the vulnerable, mad artistic genius (you know what I mean, right?) I imagine them as great, amazing people with incredible minds that are unfortunately marred by madness. I see them as being scared, frightened, lonely and lost. I see them as inherently beautiful.
Why do some people think mental illnesses aren't real illnesses? I've heard some people say depression isn't a real illness, but it most certainly is.
Although all of you don't think they're special, do you all sympahise with their plight?
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Post by Mac on Oct 14, 2006 5:33:44 GMT -5
you still have just as much chance of being a complete w****r as anybody else. Is waiter a dirty word? I think I'm somewhat influenced in my thinking by the romantic image of the vulnerable, mad artistic genius (you know what I mean, right?) I imagine them as great, amazing people with incredible minds that are unfortunately marred by madness. I see them as being scared, frightened, lonely and lost. I see them as inherently beautiful. That's exactly the point. You're romantasizing and fantasizing it. Maybe even falsafying it. The rest of us realize that there is nothing enviable about being mentally ill. Its something I hope never happens to any of us. If you ask me, I think that you believe you are mentally ill, either conciously or unconciously, and glorify them so you dont feel bad about yourself. So instead of glorifying illness, how about raising your own self esteem?
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Post by Gideon on Oct 14, 2006 6:12:31 GMT -5
So instead of glorifying illness, how about raising your own self esteem? I'm not good enough to have higher self esteem. That's why people hate everyone and everything that I like and why I don't deserve to have my ego improved in the first place.
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Post by Mac on Oct 14, 2006 6:23:12 GMT -5
I'm not good enough to have higher self esteem. That's why people hate everyone and everything that I like and why I don't deserve to have my ego improved in the first place. You have weird tastes. But that doesnt make you inferior. I dont hate what you like, I just dont like it myself. I dont think you enjoy some of the harder science I do, but that doesnt hurt my self esteem. You need thicker skin, because you think when people dont like your tastes, they dont like you. That isnt true.
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Post by Islander on Oct 14, 2006 7:35:27 GMT -5
Why do some people think mental illnesses aren't real illnesses? I've heard some people say depression isn't a real illness, but it most certainly is. The answer to that comes in labling. There are many, many mental problems that are illnesses, such as dipolar. Unfortuantly, there are others which I see as just being used as an excuse (most of the time). ADHD, for example. Yes, I'm sure there are many real cases of ADHD, but I refuse to believe that they all are. Many are just idiotic brats, with parents looking for a lable to stop their parenting skills being questioned.
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Post by Gideon on Oct 14, 2006 8:35:38 GMT -5
You have weird tastes. But that doesnt make you inferior. I dont hate what you like, I just dont like it myself. I dont think you enjoy some of the harder science I do, but that doesnt hurt my self esteem. You need thicker skin, because you think when people dont like your tastes, they dont like you. That isnt true. I don't mean you specifically, I mean quite a lot of people in general. I might enjoy some of the science you do. I don't think I'd be very good at it, but I do have some interest in scientific matters - not as much as other things I enjoy, but some. But it's not just that. I don't see myself as likeable anyway. If people do like me, it's because they've got a false impression of me. Islander, you're right about there being some cases of supposed mental health problems that are probably no such thing. But it's the more serious ones that I'm talking about. I've heard people give the view that people with depression are just lazy people who are complaining.
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