Mental Illness
by Deborah // May 7 2009
Over the past few years, we’ve been subjected to ads on TV trying to normalise mental illnesses. Their campaign is aimed at reducing the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness and saying that it’s OK to be mentally ill. To me, all they are doing is increasing the stigma.
First off, it’s not OK to have a mental illness, by definition. If it were, then you wouldn’t need to be cured. The textbook definition of a mental illness is a psychological dysfunction associated with distress or impairment in functioning and a response that is not typically or culturally expected. This means the way you interact with the world is either culturally or fundamentally faulty.
If someone you are friends with or work with tells you they have a mental illness, they are demanding to be treated differently, not the same. According to the ads:
“One of the biggest barriers to recovery is discrimination. That’s why stopping discrimination and championing respect, rights and equality for people with mental illness is just as important as providing the best treatments and therapies”
I can’t discriminate against someone if I don’t know they have a mental illness. If I don’t know someone has got a mental illness, then I am going to treat them exactly the same as everyone else. So for a friend, it’s how fun they are to be with and for a workmate, if they do their job properly and aren’t a dick or bitch about it. The ads go on about how their mates still treat them exactly the same after they found out. They’re just trying to PC it up. If someone comes out with a mental illness does this mean I now have to accept any behaviour they do? Turning mental illness into an excuse like this is not helpful for anyone. Especially because people like me might make up having a mental illness to explain away behaviour people don’t like.
There is a guy in my shared office that has no social skills. He is really annoying and everyone hates him. No one wants to work or play with this guy. And I treat him with the respect he deserves, aka none. But what if he comes out and says that he has been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome or some proper mental illness? His annoying anti-social behaviour is not acceptable. By blaming it all on some illness, does that mean I have to put up with it? Hell no.
I also question their use of celebrities in the campaign. It shows how John Kirwan and Susan Devoy have inspirationally conquered depression. How is this supposed to inspire anyone? These people are living legends, well above average at most things. So you’re supposed to think “Man, I admit I’m depressed, but those famous and highly talented people got over it, so why can’t I? Oh yea, I’m not highly talented. Fuck my life.”
Educating people about mental illnesses is a great idea, because then the public can begin to understand the true causes, symptoms and differences between mental illnesses. But the current campaign just says accept the behaviour of someone with a mental illness no matter what it is. These ads are just too simple to work. It’s obvious the people who made the ads have no understanding of mental illnesses. And don’t believe anything you hear about this from a psyc student. Every honours/postgrad psyc student I’ve ever met has had serious mental issues.
So, if you have a mental illness, then by all means, seek professional help. But don’t take the advice of the media campaigns and tell everyone you interact with about your condition. Also, it is well documented that there is a genetic precursor for many mental disorders. You don’t want your kids to have the same problems you have, do you? Make sure you adopt, rather than making kids yourself. Predisposing children to mental disorders is just cruel. Alternatively, google will direct you to many sites with step-by-step guides on how to tie a noose.
Tom
13. May, 2009
I didn’t say that a disclaimer excused it…I just said you can’t be surprised when you’re offended by something with a disclaimer it’s there for a reason, just like the sign on that chainsaw that reads ‘don’t stop chainsaw with hand or genitals’ you can’t be surprised that something bad happens when you do. I also agree there is no disclaimer on this page, however, there was in the canta.
Personally I would find Deborah’s comments out of line if Deborah was being serious.
As for me hassling people with Autism, I didn’t write the article, I have no problem with people with Autism Spectrum disorder, I feel sorry for them, life must be a lot harder than it is for me. This isn’t a black and white world, and this is no zero-sum game. Just because i’m arguing with you doesn’t mean i’m not on yourside, and just because i’m supporting Deborah doesn’t mean I agree with everything that Deborah says.
Also John is on the spectrum, as am I, as is every person…it’s why it’s called a spectrum. ]
Socrates: I didn’t take offense to that. For a number of reasons. Firstly, I know you’re trying to provoke me, secondly I know you’re trying to prove a point, and thirdly, saying that you had sex with my mom is an insult that was used at High School. Even if you said that my entire race was made up of cheats and lairs and we were a sub class of people I probably wouldn’t be offended, i’d just feel sorry for you ^^.
Maybe you guys should try feeling sorry for Deborah if you really think this is so out of line. No one will be swayed by Deborah’s Article, no one that didn’t already hate Autism will hate it.
In short, stop being dumb about this entire subject. Get over yourselves ^^
Stan
13. May, 2009
Hey John Best, your comments to Leith are wrong on all counts.
Even a teeny weeny amount of research will show you that.
Bit too lazy to use actual facts in your arguments, are you?
Today, at uni, I thought it was about time I let my classmates know that I had Asperger Syndrome. And you know what, nobody had any concerns either way about it.
Isn’t that the ultimate evidence of tolerance? Is everybody called john worst and deborah the male taking notice? That’s T-O-L-E-R-A-N-C-E, a strange new word for some, I know. But try it sometime, you could get to like it.
Why don’t we meet on campus for a coffee? Then I could challenge you to an IQ test and a MENSA test. Fancy your chances against me? You’re not scared that nutty me will show you up, are you?
After that, I will happily listen to your expressions of contrition and take you under my wing and introduce you to all the help which is freely available to folks like YOU AND ME.
I can almost hear your grateful thanks now, my new friends.
Stan
13. May, 2009
Hey Tom, you are absolutely right, in my opinion.
How do like my own sooo witty approach to the issues. Brilliant, isn’t it?
Proves that so-called nuts like me have amazing brain power, doesn’t it?
When deborah the male leaves her/his job at Canta, I will take over and then you just look at the great improvement in articles I will write which will stimulate thought but without the offensiveness.
In case you are wondering, this nut is a professional published author.
Now Tom, let’s you and me grab some of those nooses off deborah the male and then corner her/him and john worst and then ….. No, wait, that’s called eugenics and we are not allowed to do that any more (sigh…)
mimi
14. May, 2009
Deborah, seems to want to be funny and witty and cutting edge. Alas this person seems to use the most base aspects of humor, perhaps she or whatever should be the first to look up noose tying; after getting neutered (just for safety’s sake) By the way she may also want to get a dictionary and copy some of the words down, and learn how to spell and write before she posts another editorial.
You are just the type of person that has no business breeding, because the only person you like is you, maybe your shared office staff actually dislike you
Chris
15. May, 2009
Well, thank you, thank you thank you. What an amazingly well thought out, enlightening and incandescent (or do I mean inflamatory? Forgive me, I’m new to this writing lark) piece of prose. I’d like to thank Canta (yes, I will have a pleasant day, thank you) for demonstrating to me that the University of Canterbury is an institution of toweringly free openmindedness, and for dispelling the obvoiusly erroneous stereotype of Kiwis being small-minded, bigotted and parochial. Glad to have that one dispelled. Keep that vitriolically academic aorta pumping!
And now to “Deborah”, a commentator of truly prodigious effluent (I apologise if that’s not the word I was not looking for - I’m trying in vain to gain a command of all of the eff- words) Thank you “Deborah”, or Debs if I may, for opening my eyes! I did not know that one could “do” a “behaviour”. You also opened my eyes to my own misapprehension that the greatest threat to our modern society was the bigotry and sectarianism passed down to children by adluts insecure in their own social status. I stand (although currently sitting) corrected! I never realised that genes were to be our downfall. I will, of course, be passing on you advice regarding procreation (or rather the foregoing thereof) to my acquaintances (thanks to your teachings, I will no longer call them friends) with no social skills. I also feel your creedo might well be expanded to those of less-than-average stature, and I will make a point of passing it on to those carrying genes for the lower grade genes which seem to be the root cause of dark hair and dark eyes (I’m sure the locks you so dashingly display in your photograph are dyed). For surely only this way can we ensure the purity of the human race. For the life of me, I cannot think of why no one came up with this kind of idea, say, 70 years ago or so. I’m sure that such wisdom from your noble archipelago would have caught on in landmasses such as mainland Europe, for example.
So thank you once again, Debs, for showing me what kind of a ‘person’ you are - and I use inverted commas here because you have truly set yourself apart from the drudge of the human race with this tour de force. I’m sure there will be a well-paid position (probably from behind) for such talent as yours in one of the Murdoch rags, once you grow up - sorry, my mistake - graduate, of course.
Yours sardonically,
Chris
xx
Alyson Bradley
16. May, 2009
Chris I enjoyed your post and while I hardly wish to continue I feel the need to help maybe explain the damage people such as the writing and editor cause:
For many of us on the autism spectrum life can be like standing at a crossroads and not knowing which way to turn, its all to easy for us to over question and re-question everything and anything, I like many of you grew up so wanting for others to believe in me, but for years no one did, so no surprise after a while so many of us start to self doubt, not knowing which way to turn, wanting validation, as we grown instead we get bullied for our misunderstood differences.. no wonder we questions even self.. the cross roads to me is often the way we want to go and be, but because of the way society treats us we far to often take the wrong direction, as our confidence and self belief gets shuttered at every turn… no surprise some of us are pushed to the extremes of life itself and reality often is easy to block out and see life from a far as fiction, fantasy but who can blame anyone except society itself when far to often our realities are blocked have ever hard we try and just be!
I guess thats the reason for my web site Aspergers Parallel Planet a place where we can just be and understood as every individual has a right to be without being bullied!
sarah c
16. May, 2009
I am really encouraged by this. Maybe not so much by the troll article, but in fact its good. Remember this guy is not really bad, he is just trying to evoke a reaction, but by engaging an issue that is significant in a rather throw away manner, he has identified a major problem at the heart of our society. Deborah plays on what we believe, and I am really encouraged by some of the excellent responses that identify the problem with the lack of respect and understanding disabled people are given in our society (see the Hippy’s article for a bit of a discussion on that).
But please don’t talk about engaging the author in any kind of harm or integrate these fatuous, sardonic replies. That is silly and rather idiotic, he has created this opportunity and whatever emotions he has played with, he has done it very well. I mean she. Think about it for a minute, would this discussion be happening without deborah. I think we should all give him a standing ovation. And next time please comment on a thread that actually deserves criticism, this had one or two throwaway comments, he has plenty worse.
Chris
17. May, 2009
Dear Sarah C,
I agree wholeheartedly with you that the generation of debate and kicking of the apathetic collective consciousness into gear on this topic is a good thing. However, there is a line, not a fine line but a very distinct fat black line, between awareness raising and incitement. The sorry fact is that, while there are people out there who will read an article, digest it, weigh it against their own value set and make a considered judgement, the vast majority of people out there do not look beyond the surface. The masses set more store by tubthumping bombast than by considered critical argument… the former being visceral, the latter requireing an intellectual investment, and the path of least resistance is the favourite of the majority. Tell me what to think, because that doesn’t mean I have to think about it myself. This is how the tabloid press works across the world.
You seem to count yourself in the minorty who thinks about what they read, which is a great thing, but for every one of you there are 100 others who will be happy to recount this article as gospel to their friends. And they are the ones who will not bother writing responses to articles… the debate happening here and now on this page pretty much between people who feel the same way so what’s the point of it if the majority stop reading at the end of the article.
If the author’s motive was actually to raise awareness, I feel they have sorely missed the mark. Does one raise awareness about world poverty by encouraging people to go out an buy sweatshop-produced goods? Is the way to get people thinking about racial equality to call on all shop keepers to bar mixed race customers from their shops? If I want people to think about domestic violence, should I encourage all of my friends to go home tonight and beat their spouses? The number of people stirred into positive action by such extreme views is insignificant compared to the number of people out there who will not look beyond even the most blatant irony.
This article has generated quite vociferous outrage from a number of parties (and in doing so I can imagine it has served to damage the reputation of Canta and even the University of Canterbury by association). However, I am more concerned by the idea of hundreds of people reading the article, then silently clicking away, thinking nothing more than, “Yeah, loonies shouldn’t have kids. I wonder what’s on TV tonight…”
Yours,
Chris
Socrates
16. May, 2009
sarah c,
i would have to take drugs to write like you.
i mean, i would have to take drugs, to think like you.
you did think before writing, didn’t you?
have you been reading goffman?
are you a sociology undergraduate?
what would goffman have to say about you exhibiting your gusset in the forum?
i know what nietzche would say - public opinions, private lazyness.
xxx
Bron
19. May, 2009
I would ask Canta to think twice and preferably three or four times before printing anything encouraging suicide
James
19. May, 2009
As a person who has Autism, I thought I’d stop by to say hello and to call Deborah a fucking idiot. Dumb shit articles like this only serve to waste good paper. What kind of arrogance does this bitch think Autistic people like me can handle? Because if I ever find out who she is, she will find an answer.
travis
26. Dec, 2009
u r too cool Id love to c u find her
but all to true opionin as it is granted to everyone who breathes it is up to them who voice wht they have to say we r not to b those who pass judgement for we r no better in our own ways
Mo
19. May, 2009
Deborah, sympathisers and disclaimer bullshit artists (you know who I am talking about). Last year I had to put up with all of you social retards. I am so relieved that I have finished my studies. Actually I would find suicide a sweeter option than being around people like you. I don’t think you can actually comprehend the feelings of other people and it is a sad regrettable fact that you exist at all. You people make my degree look like a complete joke and I wish I studied somewhere else.
Josh
27. May, 2009
Deborah,
I agree with everyone who said for you to quite journalism…its a very good idea. You obviously have no idea what your talking about and your closed minded way of viewing those who are considered mentally ill mainly because people like you have no tolerance to see that there may be more to them than you can imagine is pathetic. I hope you never try to get a job in journalism in New York because your pretty much already blackballed…YEA I WORK FOR THE NY TIMES.
-Josh
DrDodgy
27. May, 2009
Yeah, nice one dick.
Like anyone with a brain is going to believe that the New York Times would hire someone who can’t spell simple word or tell the difference between your and you’re. Or are they suddenly taking advice from their janitorial staff?
Anyone who really knew who Deborah is would know she hasn’t ever been blackballed… Blueballed maybe, but that’s a story for another day.
Tom Selleck
27. May, 2009
Haha! Josh’s post is the funniest yet…
diggeress
07. Jun, 2009
DrDodgy, nice name. You wouldn’t be hired either, “..spell simple word..” Do you mean spell a simple word? or perhaps you just forgot to add the s to make words? Find yourself a ladder and get off your fucking high horse.
energy
09. Jun, 2009
I actually agree with Deborah on this one, at least partially. While we should treat people wiht mental illnesses with respect, and try to help them, they probably shouldn’t have kids. If you have a mental illness, or a relative with one, and fell offended, think-would I want another person to have what I have? Or would it be better to adopt, and help a child in danger of suffering a vicious cycle of abuse get some hope? If you’d rather be responsible for anothr person having what you have, either you’re lynig that you have it or it’s so serious that you can’t think rationally.
Karen
15. Jun, 2009
Hey, Deborah….maybe you should dye your hair blonde to suit your bimbo picture and your obvious ‘peanut brain’. Nice try at being intellectual but maybe you should stick to ‘beauty therapy’ or whatever subject you happen to be struggling with (I pity your peers!) Good luck at strenghening the apparent gap between people who actually care and ignorant gets. 10/10
Karen
p.s I have an amazing daughter with Aspergers who I have no doubt could kick your ass on any CANTA editorial write up. Remind me never to study at Canterbury!
Buster
16. Jun, 2009
OH MY GOD…………….I wish you never have mental illness. If you think it is as simple as what you think it is, I will really have to question the integrity and respect that you have as a journalist.
The Demon's Wail
03. Jul, 2009
I think sociopathic deviants like you Deborah should take your own advice. You’re a plague upon humanity, a morally-bankrupt, contradictive, pathologically lying, remorseless, conscienceless, delusional sociopathic clown, a true blue fool, a gigantic walking contradiction. The fact of the matter is, nobody likes YOU! People only pretend to like your anti-social psychopathological false-self, because they are either trying to be nice (trying to spare your feelings, something you don’t get), or they fear you. I on the other hand do not fear clowns and I have no empathy for the conscienceless fools who think only of themselves, you have no empathy for anyone else, so why should I waste my breath on you?
The fact of the matter is, the only thing you have is glib, dominance, and the control factor (manipulation), underneath it you are nothing more than a weakling. You are only allowed to exist because of the kindness and morals of others, it is not humanity who is weak Deborah, it is you!
Tie your own rope first and maybe I’ll follow…..
Anonymous
20. Jul, 2009
It’s not up to cognitive deficient / demented people like you to make such judgments or even admit to opinion , markers of said mental illness are present throughout your so called article which isn’t written in any novel way on the other hand it recycles the same concept from one sided and ignorant examples over and over not to mention the completely deluded off any kind of reality ending paragraph which is pretty much a code phrase of ” I don’t care go f off if you disagree you are all stupid!!!1″
So yeah , you should honestly set an example and sign up an appointment to a physician to discuss vasectomy since stupid people (well you might not be in the left end of the bell curve but I judge you by your claims) should maybe indeed reproduce less … according to their means which in a world set on moral rails could be a good standard of all that stuff.
tl;dr your dumb stop writing.
Angelina
31. Jul, 2009
From the comments I’ve read so far, it’s possible that “Deborah” is being ironic. It’s hard to tell, to be honest - it sounds like something The Daily Mail would publish in all seriousness (a right-wing, UK paper if you’re not aware of it. It contains articles which claim things such as “Illegal immigrants are here to kill you and everyone in your family!”. That kind of stuff).
Oryx
25. Aug, 2009
You know who else though people with mental illnesses should die? Nazis.
Let’s take a walk through history, shall we? Maybe Deborah will learn something. Oh -and Deborah…look up the word ‘ignorant’ while you’re at it. You’ll be hearing it a lot.
During WWII there was something called Action T4. Parents started writing in to the Nazi party to ask if they could ‘put down’ their disabled children.
Hitler agreed.
And so the Nazi’s killed thousands of people (children and adults alike) -all of which they thought weren’t deserving of life. The doctors signing their death papers never even met the patient.
Ever wonder if you’re the one with the problem Ma’am? What would happen if the tables were reversed? You see, 1 in 5 people, at some time in their life, will be touched by a mental illness -that means you too.
Anything from Depression to schizophrenia to Down syndrome and dementia. We are everywhere, we are everyone. I could be your brother, your aunt, your cousin, the taxi driver who just drove you home.
It’s a pretty lonely world Deborah, and it only gets lonelier when you say ‘this group of people doesn’t deserve life’ or ‘this group of people should die’.
I have Autism -Aspergers to be exact -and we too were some of those people Hitler decided didn’t deserve to live.
I don’t see how you are the perfect model of ‘Normal’ -and why would I want to be ‘normal’ if you are? Perhaps you are the disabled one.
Perhaps you are ‘mentally ill’ and I am the one who can see clearly. After all, I don’t see you coming out with an Autism-English dictionary any time soon.
It’s hilarious that I’m ‘disabled’ or ‘confused’ as opposed to people like you who refuse to admit that you are the confused ones.
Perhaps you are the one who shouldn’t reproduce -after all, people like me are often geniuses, artists, the builders of great technology which you’re useing even now, but you don’t seem too smart. What’s your job title again?
People like you aren’t original -you’re ignorant. You’re pathetic. You weigh down society with your narrow-mindedness.
Look up ‘narrow-mindedness’.
And most of all you’re alone. I mean, let’s face it, who really wants to hang around the lady who tells people that they should die? Talk about buzz-kill.
And it’s sad.
I mean, I’ll get to see a tottaly different side of life -I can taste colour and see sound! It’s awsome. You on the other hand…you’ll never know anything past the end of your nose.
And it’s sad.
Because at the end of the day everyone on this planet -black, white, straight, gay, disabled, able-bodied -all of us have one thing in common (amongst others). None of us are getting out of this alive.
But, people are totally going to remember Beethoven.
They’ll remember Ernestine, and Glenn Gould, Michelangelo, Mozart and Andy Warhol.
People will remember them -not because of their disabilities, but because of what they left behind.
Which is a shame, because I don’t think anyone is going to remember you when all you leave behind it this.
Joe
25. Aug, 2009
Wow, that was a pretty quick Godwin there Oryx, can I really be bothered to read the rest of that rant?