2 ms·

> The clinical diagnosis for a mental illness is that it impacts your life in a negative way. His attention deficit does not impact his life in a negative way,

> The clinical diagnosis for a mental illness is that it impacts your life in a negative way. His attention deficit does not impact his life in a negative way, therefore it’s not a disorder. In my experience, I noticed most the negative impacts caused by the disorder were actually due to how I was treated by others for the negative impact my disorder caused in their lives (real or perceived).

atian 5y ago
> The DSM-5 defines a mental disorder as a syndrome that causes significant disturbance in behavior, emotion, and cognition. These disorders are also usually accompanied by significant distress that affects a person's work, school, and social relationships.
- SpicyLemonZest 5y ago
  I'm not sure there's a contradiction here. Tourette's seems like a clear example of a disorder that both represents an obvious disturbance in behavior and matters primarily because of how others react.
- hirvi74 5y ago
  > causes significant disturbance in behavior, emotion, and cognition According to other people. What if I think my behavior or emotions are appropriate or justified? The people that are not like me get to tell me how I should be? Seems kind of sick to me. What about the opposite? Are the people that lack disturbances in behavior, emotion, and cognition really that much better off? Regardless, they are definitely accepted easier (assuming they have no other divergent issues causing them to not fit the mold). To me, it seems like ADHD is basically a diagnosis in which one lacks the proper neurological components of being a good little worker-drone in a capitalistic machine. Can't focus? Can't sit still for 8 hours straight? Take longer to complete tasks? That's no good. Take these pills, shut up, sit still, and produce! Who cares about the longterm effects of taking amphetamines everyday. It's not /their/ problem, it's /my problem/. I mean, that is all us dairy cows are good for right? And what good is a dairy cow that produces no milk?
  - unmole 5y ago
    > Are the people that lack disturbances in behavior, emotion, and cognition really that much better off? Yes.
    - hirvi74 5y ago
      I'll never know, but I have always been of the mentality that everyone has "something." Whether it has a diagnostic label or not. I guess, in a more terse sense -- life ain't easy for anyone.
      - themacguffinman 5y ago
        If you have ADHD, you can know with medication. It's my understanding that modern ADHD medication is remarkably effective and well studied.
      - kanbara 5y ago
        "life is hard for everyone" for you means that we shouldn't give people mental health? if people have recognised diagnoses they are entirely entitled to treatment. whether it's "i can't sleep enough" to "i'm gay and feel like my relationship with my family has struggled" to "i have a fear of airplanes" to "i can't focus and sit still". even if there is no true neurotypical brain, the fact is that an overwhelming number (hundreds of millions of people) don't ever question their mental state or life and have no problem doing ANYTHING they want. and then there are people who struggle and ask for help. it's pretty demeaning to belittle mental conditions as "just something everyone has" tbh
        hirvi74 5y ago
        Perhaps I should have elaborated more. By "something" I meant everyone has /something/ wrong with them to some degree i.e. no one is perfect and there is no such thing as normal. That 'something' could be mental or physical. If a person does not have something wrong at the moment, then time will eventually catch up. Not to mention there are people that can have conditions to sub-clinical levels. One could technically have some of the criteria of a mental disorder without fully qualifying for a diagnosis. That doesn't mean they live life on easy mode just because they do not carry a diagnosis. Sure, they might have a /easier/ time in life, but I have never been one to think of suffering as some competition amongst others.

atian 5y ago

> The DSM-5 defines a mental disorder as a syndrome that causes significant disturbance in behavior, emotion, and cognition. These disorders are also usually accompanied by significant distress that affects a person's work, school, and social relationships.

SpicyLemonZest 5y ago
I'm not sure there's a contradiction here. Tourette's seems like a clear example of a disorder that both represents an obvious disturbance in behavior and matters primarily because of how others react.
hirvi74 5y ago
> causes significant disturbance in behavior, emotion, and cognition According to other people. What if I think my behavior or emotions are appropriate or justified? The people that are not like me get to tell me how I should be? Seems kind of sick to me. What about the opposite? Are the people that lack disturbances in behavior, emotion, and cognition really that much better off? Regardless, they are definitely accepted easier (assuming they have no other divergent issues causing them to not fit the mold). To me, it seems like ADHD is basically a diagnosis in which one lacks the proper neurological components of being a good little worker-drone in a capitalistic machine. Can't focus? Can't sit still for 8 hours straight? Take longer to complete tasks? That's no good. Take these pills, shut up, sit still, and produce! Who cares about the longterm effects of taking amphetamines everyday. It's not /their/ problem, it's /my problem/. I mean, that is all us dairy cows are good for right? And what good is a dairy cow that produces no milk?
- unmole 5y ago
  > Are the people that lack disturbances in behavior, emotion, and cognition really that much better off? Yes.
  - hirvi74 5y ago
    I'll never know, but I have always been of the mentality that everyone has "something." Whether it has a diagnostic label or not. I guess, in a more terse sense -- life ain't easy for anyone.
    - themacguffinman 5y ago
      If you have ADHD, you can know with medication. It's my understanding that modern ADHD medication is remarkably effective and well studied.
    - kanbara 5y ago
      "life is hard for everyone" for you means that we shouldn't give people mental health? if people have recognised diagnoses they are entirely entitled to treatment. whether it's "i can't sleep enough" to "i'm gay and feel like my relationship with my family has struggled" to "i have a fear of airplanes" to "i can't focus and sit still". even if there is no true neurotypical brain, the fact is that an overwhelming number (hundreds of millions of people) don't ever question their mental state or life and have no problem doing ANYTHING they want. and then there are people who struggle and ask for help. it's pretty demeaning to belittle mental conditions as "just something everyone has" tbh
      - hirvi74 5y ago
        Perhaps I should have elaborated more. By "something" I meant everyone has /something/ wrong with them to some degree i.e. no one is perfect and there is no such thing as normal. That 'something' could be mental or physical. If a person does not have something wrong at the moment, then time will eventually catch up. Not to mention there are people that can have conditions to sub-clinical levels. One could technically have some of the criteria of a mental disorder without fully qualifying for a diagnosis. That doesn't mean they live life on easy mode just because they do not carry a diagnosis. Sure, they might have a /easier/ time in life, but I have never been one to think of suffering as some competition amongst others.