Posted by Chris O on July 25, 2014, at 2:43:36
In reply to 'mental illness' or..something else..., posted by Christ_empowered on July 22, 2014, at 14:44:59
For me, it is "mental illness," a profound anxiety disorder (and resultant depression) that I have suffered from since childhood. Granted, my mother had a big environmental part in magnifying what I still suffer from today, but I think all of my frustrations related to not being able to make money, achieve status, and throw off the internal feeling of "loserness" is related to my internal "stuff." Now, the good news is, I have realized after almost thirty years of trying to aggressively treat my condition (since college, in one way or another, god, it's hard to believe), that if I can remove the physical symptoms of my anxiety and depression, my cognitive and functional skills improve greatly while my feelings of "loserness" also dissipate greatly. The bad news is ... I am having trouble finding treatments that make this occur for any significant period of time.
But if I understand your main point, it's the constant rumination that brain biology is not the primary cause of your mental health issues, but societal issues, such as class, race, inheritance, familial patterns, political-economic-social systems, etc.? Is that right? If so, I too struggle greatly with this issue, ruminating on it constantly. I have not come up with a definitive answer globally, but I do feel in my case that if I can successfully alter biological in a strong enough way, I can overcome some of the ensuing social challenges. But I totally get your frustration with this issue, if I summarized it correctly. I am especially sensitive to it when around politically conservative people.
poster:Chris O
thread:1068682
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20140717/msgs/1068762.html