Mental Illness and the Left

[LIBrty4all 3,749]

Gotta trust the experts.

 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341609819_Mental_Illness_and_the_Left

 

 

[Lil bear 4,201]

Looking at the 5 questions that subjects were asked .. maybe lefties are more honest and open about mental health issues and self aware ? 

[beloved_dingo 1,976]

9 minutes ago, LIBrty4all said:

Gotta trust the experts.

 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341609819_Mental_Illness_and_the_Left

 

 

"All of these items were weakly associated with left-wing political ideology as measured by self-report."

 

Okay. So left leaning people are slightly more likely to report (or admit) to having some type of mental illness. Doesn't mean much. 

Edited June 22, 2022 by beloved_dingo

[TBoneTX 45,288]

There were some other scholarly reports about this connection in the past couple of years, unless everyone was referring to this one.

[beloved_dingo 1,976]

Plenty of people with mental illness 1) do not admit they have a problem/are in denial about their mental health struggles 2) do not seek help for their issues and/or 3) are never formally diagnosed.

[TBoneTX 45,288]

1 minute ago, beloved_dingo said:

Plenty of people with mental illness 1) do not admit they have a problem/are in denial about their mental health struggles 2) do not seek help for their issues and/or 3) are never formally diagnosed.

Absolutely true.

[LIBrty4all 3,749]

2 minutes ago, beloved_dingo said:

Plenty of people with mental illness 1) do not admit they have a problem/are in denial about their mental health struggles 2) do not seek help for their issues and/or 3) are never formally diagnosed.

And some people seem to want others to tell them that they need help.  

I happen to think that every human alive has some sort of issue that can be construed as a "problem".  But why do we need others (so-called professionals) to tell us that?  Why not just learn to live with it and be our own best self?  

[Lil bear 4,201]

25 minutes ago, LIBrty4all said:

And some people seem to want others to tell them that they need help.  

I happen to think that every human alive has some sort of issue that can be construed as a "problem".  But why do we need others (so-called professionals) to tell us that?  Why not just learn to live with it and be our own best self?  

Because the answers and ways forward are not as simple as JUST “learning to live with it  and being our own best self”. These are certainly two essential truths, yes, but the path to getting there can be very challenging for many .. consider yourself  fortunate if this is your situation. 

[beloved_dingo 1,976]

22 minutes ago, LIBrty4all said:

And some people seem to want others to tell them that they need help.  

I happen to think that every human alive has some sort of issue that can be construed as a "problem".  But why do we need others (so-called professionals) to tell us that?  Why not just learn to live with it and be our own best self?  

I agree that basically every person has some sort of mental struggle, one way or another. 

 

And well, it's not that simple. There are many mental illnesses that are treatable, and it makes sense to get help if you need it and you have access to said help. There are also mental illnesses that are debilitating and life-altering without intervention.

 

If you compare it to physical issues, there are people that go to the doctor over things as simple as the common cold and there are those that refuse to see a doctor even when they are dealing with serious pain/significant health issues. The same thing happens with mental illness. 

 

Some people can "learn to live with it". Some people try to "learn to live with it" and end up self-medicating, developing toxic coping mechanisms, or killing themselves.

[Dashinka 24,494]

1 hour ago, beloved_dingo said:

I agree that basically every person has some sort of mental struggle, one way or another. 

 

And well, it's not that simple. There are many mental illnesses that are treatable, and it makes sense to get help if you need it and you have access to said help. There are also mental illnesses that are debilitating and life-altering without intervention.

 

If you compare it to physical issues, there are people that go to the doctor over things as simple as the common cold and there are those that refuse to see a doctor even when they are dealing with serious pain/significant health issues. The same thing happens with mental illness. 

 

Some people can "learn to live with it". Some people try to "learn to live with it" and end up self-medicating, developing toxic coping mechanisms, or killing themselves.

Some could argue that mental health professionals tend to be a little loose with the drugs.  Whether this is good or bad, is still an unanswered question.  This is particularly troubling when dealing with children and the rush to label them as ADHD.

 

Are Schools Contributing To Skyrocketing ADHD Diagnoses? I’m A Pediatrician, And I Think So

https://thefederalist.com/2022/05/19/are-schools-contributing-to-skyrocketing-adhd-diagnoses-im-a-pediatrician-and-i-think-so/

 

[Dashinka 24,494]

Another interesting connection.

 

37 School Shooters/School Related Violence Committed By Those Under The Influence Of Psychiatric Drugs

https://www.cchrint.org/school-shooters/

 

[Lil bear 4,201]

15 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

Another interesting connection.

 

37 School Shooters/School Related Violence Committed By Those Under The Influence Of Psychiatric Drugs

https://www.cchrint.org/school-shooters/

 

Medication without the really hard and often very challenging personal

work to identify the roots and develop healthier ways of managing life challenges can often lead to very poor outcomes   

[Dashinka 24,494]

1 minute ago, Lil bear said:

Medication without the really hard and often very challenging personal

work to identify the roots and develop healthier ways of managing life challenges can often lead to very poor outcomes   

Yet many of the folks on this list were under the care of a professional.  I realize this is not a left/right thing, and more of observation of the state of the mental health industry here, but it is eye opening.

 

 As to the left/right discussion in the OP, totally anecdotal, but my observations show those that lean left are less happy overall.

[Lil bear 4,201]

Just now, Dashinka said:

Yet many of the folks on this list were under the care of a professional.  I realize this is not a left/right thing, and more of observation of the state of the mental health industry here, but it is eye opening.

 

 As to the left/right discussion in the OP, totally anecdotal, but my observations show those that lean left are less happy overall.

Observations are just that … observations … we rarely get to see a big enough sample .. or get below the surface.. to really understand where and why people are like they are. 

[LIBrty4all 3,749]

1 hour ago, Dashinka said:

Another interesting connection.

 

37 School Shooters/School Related Violence Committed By Those Under The Influence Of Psychiatric Drugs

https://www.cchrint.org/school-shooters/

 

Yes, this is fact.  Interesting observation... check out how the number of school shootings exploded after the approval of fluoxetine in the US in 1987.