Venting If things like addiction, suicidality, narcissism etc. are diseases, why are peoplemso judgmental then?

[KillingPain267]

Nobody condemns a cancer patient for being too weak to work or a dementia patient for being forgetful.

 

[weni]

People usually see cancer or dementia as diseases you can't control, but think mental illness is something you can. In other words, people treat those with mental illness like they're weak and lack the willpower to manage themselves.

 

[cookiencream]

Short answer: religion
Longer answer: People think of themselves as more than their biology. They believe they have a "soul". They don't consider the fact that the brain is exactly like every other organ. It can get sick. This is sort of a direct result of religion and spirituality which has caused most people to believe they're something special apart from their brain.

 

[R. A.]

Nobody condemns a cancer patient for being too weak

Yeah actually no, people actively harass and attack cancer patients.
If you're ill or disabled, people treat you like shit.

 

[KillingPain267]

People usually see cancer or dementia as diseases you can't control, but think mental illness is something you can. In other words, people treat those with mental illness like they're weak and lack the willpower to manage themselves.

And they are simply anti-science then, because it's been proven people's brains are different. There is no choice whatsoever.

Short answer: religion
Longer answer: People think of themselves as more than their biology. They believe they have a "soul". They don't consider the fact that the brain is exactly like every other organ. It can get sick. This is sort of a direct result of religion and spirituality which has caused most people to believe they're something special apart from their brain.

Good point. I actually believe in religion, but I have come to believe in physicalism in regards to humans. The idea of a "soul" is actually a misconception or mistranslation. The original Hebrew texts had no such dualism of a soul-body distinction. What's odd is that modern psychology still makes a huge distinction between mind and body, despite rejecting religion.

 

[TBONTB]

Nobody condemns a cancer patient for being too weak to work or a dementia patient for being forgetful.

Definitely agree there's a difference between obvious biological disease (cancer, dementia) and more subtle (mental illness)

In addition, I think people perceive brain diseases (mental illness) as something that can be treated. Like diabetes, perhaps. So they really want us to take our treatment and try to get better and condemn us for not improving.

 

[KillingPain267]

Yeah actually no, people actively harass and attack cancer patients.
If you're ill or disabled, people treat you like shit.

Yeah, okay. That doesn't surprise me at all. It's actually easy to find perceived causalities between diseases and lifestyle choices. Diabetes, heart patients and lung patients are often judged for having caused their diseases through lifestyle. Even if those causalities are not clear. Also, even if basically all diseases are a result of lifestyle, people should still forgive, tolerate and expend a helping hand, instead of judge. But what can I really expect from humans, lol.

 

[Forever Sleep]

I guess it partly depends on how impactful their 'disease' is on others. Is a cancer patient going about lying to everyone to destroy another person's reputation? Are they stealing from people to feed an addiction?

I think there's still an expectation that we should try to moderate what we know is bad behaviour. Especially when it is harmful to others. And I tend to not believe that all that is done unconsciously. It may be a compulsion but- we are able to break compulsions. People do quit addictive things. You can't quit cancer necessarily. So, the very act of knowingly doing harm against another person and then claiming you can't help it doesn't necessarily hold water.

That's not to say all people who have things like NPD or an addiction behave in those ways. The unfortunate thing is- if you've ever encountered a person whom you suspect does have those things and has behaved appallingly, it can leave you with a negative bias.

Some people's experiences are so extreme that a person has literally changed the course of their life. I became suicidal to begin with because of the behaviour of a (suspected) narcissist. I think simply out of self preservation, after such an experience, many 'victims' of these sorts of people are very cautious to avoid them in the future. Plus, be massively suspicious of them. Who wants to be hurt over and over?