mental illness?

[rayheinrich]

I prefer mental illness to ____ disabled because an illness is sometimes
something that can be cured whereas 'disabled' has the ring of
permanent. I sometimes say I'm 'mentally defective' just to piss
certain people off. Though, when you think about it, it's a very apt
term. Its problem is in the history of its usage. One term I really
dislike is 'bipolar'. It's way too euphemistic. 'Manic-depressive' is
descriptive and much more honest. Of course, I shouldn't complain,
I've yet to be termed 'behaviorally exceptional'.

BTW: Some drugs work and some don't. Just because a drug is
over-prescribed for profit (or fad) doesn't mean it does or doesn't
work. Some day there will be accurate tests for mental illness that
can be directly linked to specific chemical malfunctions and hence
to specific drugs. But at the moment most mental illness is typed
by symptom, NOT by actual cause; and the only way to find a
useful drug, if it exists, is through experimentation. Most of the
time this requires patience, consistency, and money. These are
not things most mentally ill people possess. Sigh.



This 'plan' was fully implemented years ago. Though by now, a few
more categories have been added...