People who deny the existence of mental ilness

I'm having real trouble keeping my cool when "skeptics" claim there is no such thing as Bipolar disorder, and that a whole lot of "new illnesses" have been invented by pharmaceutical companies in order to profit from society's "ignorance".

My partner has Bipolar and I feel very strongly about this, but he insists there is no point in trying to reason with these people because you'll just end up frustrated, they just won't change their point of view!

One close friend of mine believes in the non-existence of Bipolar, but I don't want to end the friendship.

Any suggestions?

Hi ExplodingShrimp,

Welcome to the forum. Hope you find it worthwhile.

Firstly some suggestions about friendship:

• Stay cool. Being angry is counter-productive. Calmness is a good and mature approach.
  
• Realise that everybody is entitled to their opinion even those that go against your view. Tolerance is the key.
  
• Always keep in mind that it is easier to maintain a friendly relationship with someone if you look at all of their aspects rather than just the ones that you would like them to change.

Now some questions and comments about your friend's ideas.

If your friends is saying that pharmaceutical companies are making massive profits by falsely claiming there is a tremendous demand for their products and their products are effectively doing nothing or, even worse, harming those that are using their products then what specific evidence are they basing their views? If they cannot provide any sound evidence then it is simply a reflection of poor reasoning. No need to get upset about that. If anything just feel a little pity for them. They are just like the global warming deniers.

Is your friend saying that pharmaceutical companies should not produce the various products at all; or are they saying that the use of the products should be more regulated. The companies cannot be blamed for a regulation problem.

When you say your friend claims there is no such thing as bipolar disorder do you mean are they saying that it's ok to be diagnosed as bipolar but it shouldn't be looked on as a disorder; or is your friend saying that there is no such thing as bipolar at all in which case how does your friend describe such people?

Bipolarism and other types personality only become a disorder when it has an adverse effect on their lives or the lives of people around them. Take alcoholism for example. A person might be able to manage their lives drinking, say, 10 drinks a day but another person can't manage their lives on, say, one drink a day. It depends on the person and their lives.

A person with a bipolar personality might find limitless energies and motivation a good thing and the quieter times a great time to relax and re-charge. Many great achievements can be credited to people with a bipolar personality. Here is a list.

Scamp

Thanks for the friendship tips - he has many good qualities which I do focus on automatically, I just wish for less time nodding and saying nothing when he gets on this bandwagon.

It is definitely a reflection of poor reasoning - I think it all stems from one documentary he saw once upon a time (must have made an impression), and he thinks medication should not exist outside physical health.

He thinks there really is no such thing as bipolar disorder, and that people start off as having an excess of energy, then after they take medication and come off it they get worse?

His point of view is very difficult to convey, let alone understand!

Which makes it all the more difficult to communicate a sound rebuttal and convince him otherwise, but sadly I have little hope for changing his mind.

Thanks for the link

Hi ExplodingShrimp,

I've been thinking about various things to talk about in reply but I'm not certain of your wants and desires.

What would you like to achieve?

What would you like to see happen?

Are you just letting off steam?

Scamp

I picked this stream for it's title - The Ventilation Chamber, and I was just doing that - venting

Hi ExplodingShrimp,

Fair enough.

One of my problems is that I take people literally and tend to over-analyse. I've recently been advised that there are generally two types of people: those that want answers and those that just want someone to hear them out. Seems like you're the latter type.

Let us know how you get on with your friend.

Scamp

i LOVE people who know what they need

much loves,
x

oh bipolar is real all right, very real! 'manic depression' as it used to be refered to, its been a diagnoses for a very long time, its just in recent times that they have started to get greedy and make up new illnesses for drug companies to come up with drugs to make more coin. now we live in a chemical world. the diagnostic manual is no longer even based on statistics, its over 800 pages long and still growing, infact there is a new one out this year, wonder what else theyll come up with, they are coming up with illnesses for everything its insane, just pure greed and arse hole psychiatrists out for them selfs 'status quo'. the world has gone to the dogs
read this and you will know what i mean


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu7NDUc5TD4

Hi Snow White,

Your point is backed up by various (some leading) psychiatrists like George Henry, a long-time head of the Black Dog Institute in Australia. Here is a link to a 10 minute interview where he talks about medicalisation and the DSM-V.

Dr Henry says things like:

• normal life has become a sickness
  
• once you label something then by default it is considered an illness
  
• something labeled as an illness is at risk of being subjected to medication
  

Scamp