Nerd is my Gender
What's yours?
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People are more than their mental illnesses, they are people.
Too bad some of us aren’t willing to see that (warning, link contains neurotypical superiority): http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jHSxYuFVNWk/TaoJD2G9eEI/AAAAAAAAOo8/QlkWMS3HPcU/s400/cage.jpg
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Before You Dismiss Breivik as Crazy...
I heartily agree:
The second reason to avoid making such claims until all the evidence is in is that they serve to reinforce the already present stigma against people with mental illness. Despite considerable research showing that persons suffering from mental illness are, on average, less likely to be commit acts of violence than the rest of us, damaging public misconceptions and stereotypes abound. If it turns out to be true that Breivik was mentally ill, there will be plenty of time to discuss it. But why strengthen the stigma without first having the evidence?
What people with mental illness are actually more likely to be is homeless and in poverty, lacking the resources to make better lives for themselves as the government cuts services.
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Ultimately, we’re getting to the point where virtually everyone will have some kind of psychiatric disorder. At this point, it is no longer meaningful to talk about disorders. Instead, we need to shift paradigms and speak, instead, of diversities – specifically of neurodiversity.
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Violence and Mental Illness: The Facts
Americans are hesitant to interact with people who have mental illnesses: 38 percent are unwilling to be friends with someone having mental health difficulties, 64 percent do not want someone who has schizophrenia as a close coworker, and more than 68 percent are unwilling to have someone with depression marry into their family.
But the fact is, people with mental illnesses are NOT more dangerous than the rest of the population. End the discrimination!
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![[Image comparing a “crazy person” talking about alien mind control with a “moral piller of society” talking about Christianity, both validating their beliefs with faith over evidence.]
Text: This isn’t the truth. You wish it were, but it’s not. Stop deluding yourself. You know the “crazy person” [as depicted] lives in poverty to the point he can’t afford a sandwich, let alone proper healthcare. “The crazy person” lives in fear of the police and faces brutal treatment from most because they think he’s “lazy” and just doesn’t want to work. He’s treated like scum. “The Moral Pillar of Society” is just some jackass who wants to feel superior, just like the jackass who uses the misunderstood medical conditions of those who can’t defend themselves as an insult against those he doesn’t like and/or agree with. Grow the fuck up.
(via Schizophrenic Queen on Facebook)](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6rux1AHID1qgm6edo1_250.jpg)
[Image comparing a “crazy person” talking about alien mind control with a “moral piller of society” talking about Christianity, both validating their beliefs with faith over evidence.]
Text: This isn’t the truth. You wish it were, but it’s not. Stop deluding yourself. You know the “crazy person” [as depicted] lives in poverty to the point he can’t afford a sandwich, let alone proper healthcare. “The crazy person” lives in fear of the police and faces brutal treatment from most because they think he’s “lazy” and just doesn’t want to work. He’s treated like scum. “The Moral Pillar of Society” is just some jackass who wants to feel superior, just like the jackass who uses the misunderstood medical conditions of those who can’t defend themselves as an insult against those he doesn’t like and/or agree with. Grow the fuck up.
(via Schizophrenic Queen on Facebook)
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Standing Up for Free Speech at the Alaska Psychiatric Institute. (by Jim Gottstein)
The sign of a great society is how it takes care of its weakest members.
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Narcissistic, Sociopathic Or Just Plain Abusive? | Verbal Abuse in Relationships
I have occasionally run into people who are preoccupied with narcissism/sociopathy. They insist that they can spot the tell-tale signs a mile away, and that the only acceptable response is to turn the diagnosed into a pariah.
I have several problems with this. For one, it reinforces the concept of sane privilege, which sets people who struggle with mental health as inferior to those with a mental health status accepted by society as “normal”. It also introduces the idea that laypersons should be airmchair diagnosing other members of society with mental illness, under the guise of self-preservation. Perhaps there could be a point on the side of such people if mental illness actually were associated with increased rates of abusive behavior, but the facts simply don’t support such an assertion.
The end result of this sort of false correlation is a mental illness stigma on those who would seek help. This not only discourages people from getting help who need it, lest they be labeled as a dangerous person; it also diverts mental health resources away from those who don’t fit our stereotypes of someone who needs help, when “needs help” is actually code for “is dangerous”.
Genderqueer with a touch of happy humanism.
