Me too. I've read various articles and other exhortations from that crowd, urging "mad" people to embrace our conditions, celebrate them, enjoy them, consider them unique qualities to be proud of, etc. And all I could think was that whatever sorts of mental illness the authors had, it probably wasn't depression, any kind of anxiety disorder, or anything else that's seriously non-enjoyable. It's hard to be happy and proud about finding life intolerable and regularly wanting to die, you know?
There certainly are some forms of mental "difference" that come with features as well as bugs. ADHD, for sure, and I've heard people say the same about at least some forms of autism. And I will freely admit to enjoying the hell out of hypomania and wishing I could order it up on demand. But not every mental illness/difference/condition is like that, and to suggest that they're all things people should enjoy and be proud of having is a gross overgeneralization, and really disrespectful to people who are struggling with conditions that make their lives hell.
There's this persistent idea of psychiatrists as these evil predators pouncing on people and medicating them into zombies and taking away all their creativity. It doesn't seem to make allowances for the idea that people may not like feeling on the verge of a panic attack all the time for no discernible reason, or so crushingly unhappy they can't get out of bed.
It reminds me a little of those endless arguments that swirl around discussions on using painkillers or C-sections during childbirth, where one assumption I see a lot is that women who get painkillers or C-sections are coerced into them by evil doctors. What about if they wanted the medication themselves?
Yes. In both cases, it's an overgeneralization based on some individuals' experiences. It's quite true that some people pressured into psychiatric treatment and/r childbirth interventions that they don't need or want, and experience trauma or other negative effects as a result of this. But that does not mean that that's the case for everyone, or that those treatments/interventions are never appropriate or helpful for anyone.
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Date: 2012-06-25 07:07 pm (UTC)There certainly are some forms of mental "difference" that come with features as well as bugs. ADHD, for sure, and I've heard people say the same about at least some forms of autism. And I will freely admit to enjoying the hell out of hypomania and wishing I could order it up on demand. But not every mental illness/difference/condition is like that, and to suggest that they're all things people should enjoy and be proud of having is a gross overgeneralization, and really disrespectful to people who are struggling with conditions that make their lives hell.
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Date: 2012-06-25 08:13 pm (UTC)It reminds me a little of those endless arguments that swirl around discussions on using painkillers or C-sections during childbirth, where one assumption I see a lot is that women who get painkillers or C-sections are coerced into them by evil doctors. What about if they wanted the medication themselves?
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Date: 2012-06-25 08:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-25 09:38 pm (UTC)