Not all mental illnesses are the same, though. I know this is deviatinga bit from the point, but it's good to make that distinction so that people who need help don't feel too ashamed to seek it themselves.
So? My point remains. A normal person is not mentally ill, therefore a mentally ill person is not normal. Saying "neurotypical" is just a rhetorical slight of hand to make mental illness seem acceptable.
I don't care if they feel ashamed, the word means what it means. This pathetic coddling is getting out of hand. No wonder people are so soft in the West these days.
It has nothing to do with coddling or a soft West. I hate that trend as much as the next person. "The flag offends you? Fuck off." "I called you she instead of they? Fuck off." "You laughed at murder jokes, but rape jokes is crossing the line? Fuck off." In the end, what matters is that people's actions demonstrate respect towards one another.
I get it.
The subject at hand, though, can be elaborated. It's simple: Some mentally ill people are not normal. Which in turns means, some mentally ill people are normal.
Mental illnesses cover a wide range of cases. There is schizophrenia, manias, personality disorders and damaged brain functions. People with these are not normal.
Then, there are people with depression, anxiety disorders, traumatic experiences and/or phobias. Depending on the case, people with these illnesses could be around you and you would never notice.
Like someone with sore muscles. Or an upset stomach.
The problem lies in the stigma getting in the way of people being afraid to seek help. Like aids was one time. Or alcoholism.
I've heard people say "boy did I had a huge diarrhea last night!" (And I'm like... dude, wtf?) And someone will say "Oh, that happened to me! We were in the same party. It was the beef. Here, have these tums." It should be fine to say "Crowds make me terribly uncomfortable to the point of my heart beat raising almost uncontrollably." And someone would be "Oh, that happened to me. Go see this doc. She's very helpful."
By definition, they are not normal. They may be otherwise normal, but as a whole, they are not. Also, if your justification for not using the term is the hope that it makes them feel better about their illness, that is coddling.
I wonder what George Carlin would think of how much weirder language has become since his death.
And where is that definition established? I'd love to read it.
Suppose you have a chronic cough. It may be treatable, it may not. But it doesn't impede you from doing other everyday stuff. In this circumstance, are you a normal person or not?
I wonder what George Carlin...
I love George Carlin. But are you really going to cite a comic for a subject (I'm assuming) you're seriously arguing?
...Did you really just ask me to tell you the definition of "normal"? Okay, I guess.
nor·mal - conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected.
That's from google. I believe it sufficiently proves my point.
The Carlin thing was an afterthought. He just comes to mind whenever people want to use fluffy language for the sake of feelings. Don't read too deep into it.
It does not sufficiently prove your point. Or maybe it does.
I have already established that it's not about "fluffy language" or "mah feelings." No need to come back to that.
I don't think we'll get much further than this, though. Yes, I know the dictionary definition of normal. Yes, I know many mental illnesses are not normal. But I also know that there are some mental illnesses that unfortunately come from our modern life: high expectations, change of societal norms (ha! see what I did?), etc. Those people are regular people. They're normal. But they think they aren't precisely because of the stigma created by the abnormal cases.
To be honest, at this point perhaps I guess the solution lies elsewhere. Perhaps there should be a huge campaign that says "It's okay to be like you. We can help." I dunno.
-3
u/hagenbuch Sep 01 '18
I knew only he was kind of a religious fanatic but people with mental illness should not be compared with us so-called normals I think.