Is it normal i do not believe in mental disorders?

While there are a lot of people who like to play psychologist on this site, there are real people with real issues who are just seeking advice. A kindear an open mind to talk to. Sometimes a doctor isn't what they need, sometimes it is. There are also a few fakes who just want attention. Which may be a cry for help, or someone who never learned the lesson of the boy who cried wolf.

Most psychologists do not prescribe drugs, they are not medical doctors. I think you mean psychiatrists. I do think many are too quick to slap a label on someone, but show some sensitivity. The human brain is complex.

I have a stress related hallucinations. Id never had any trauma to my head or taken any psych meds prior to the development of this disorder. I did indeed experience severe emotional trauma which led to depression and anxiety. Then I started seeing and hearing shit. Now I see a psych and am on meds that keep me normal. Nothing did any damage to my brain except for my own inability to deal with emotional trauma. Im pretty sure my brain snapped by itself and if it hadn't been this incident it probably would have been another. Minds are complex and shit happens.

I have debilitating anxiety and am on the autism spectrum because I have Asperger like traits. Unless you suffering from a mental disorder, it's easy to dismiss them under a blanket statement that "you don't believe in them." You don't have to believe in them, they're real. I would have to leave class and hide in the bathroom when I was in school because the sound of people tapping their feet or their pencils felt like knives stabbing into my brain. I would have a panic attack if I had to go into a convenience store to buy something or ask for directions because I was afraid of people. I'd get such bad anxiety during the day that by the time night came, my head was just a congested mess of sights and sounds and it would make me throw up all night because my mind couldn't shut down and let me sleep. I refused to take medication for years and years until I finally had to go see a psychologist.

She was entirely anti-medication and wanted to focus on Cognitive Behavior Therapy. After 2 sessions with her she said I should get medication. I am now taking 20mg of Cipralex a day and its like dark clouds have lifted from my mind and allowed me to actually live my life free from all the things that used to hinder me.

I don't care what you or anyone else without a mental disorder says; they exist. Are they over diagnosed in some cases? Perhaps. Are parents and doctors quick to prescribe medication instead of focus on behavior therapy? Maybe. That doesn't change the fact that there is a problem to begin with that's making people seek out medical attention.

Really? You don't think schizophrenia exists? What about eating disorders? Insomnia? Dyslexia? No?

"Most people who do have something physically wrong with their brains have either physical brain damage or have been prescribed medicine that they never needed that lead to brain damage." Do you have any evidence for that?

Pretty big leap to go from hating people who insist you need to see a therapist when you don't to say you don't believe in mental disorders at all.

I think it's best to define a mental disorder as any thought or behaviour which causes someone the inability to function within society. You can't argue that that doesn't exist, you just can't. But you also can't argue that such a person always needs therapy or medication. People like to think that mental illness has hard, defined edges like biological illness does, but it doesn't. It's absolutely subjective to different psychiatrists, and there is not always a discernible root cause as there is for biological illness. You have to look at them in a different way. Most significantly, mental disorders are diagnosed based on the impact they have on your life, unlike biological illness.

No-one ever said mental disorders were a bad thing. I'm diagnosed with a mental disorder but I don't see it as a bad thing; I'm proud to be different. I find it difficult to function in society... but so what?

While I would agree that mental disorders are over diagnosed it is stupid to think they dont exist. What about people who are obviouslly so mentally retarded that they can't do basic functions, or someone so psychotic they hallucinate constantly. The human mind is capable of anything. Saying mental disorders arent real is like saying everyones mind functions the same. most diagnosed mental disorders are mild variations of something but it still effects their functioning.

I have to agree. However I think hallucinations are very dangerous and need to dealt with to some degree. However most other illnesses I think are a scam. They came out with this thing called "Restless leg syndrome" where if your legs are in one place to long you get restless. I do not understand how being sad because your grandmother sad is wrong yet they will prescribe depression medication. Why do they not help you grieve and be done with it apposed to drugging you. That is about as useful as getting drunk out of your mind over it. Your little billy does not pay attention and like cartoons. No being a normal child is wrong. Since apparently parents are now to easy to take care of a child. Child are usually very hyper and do not pay attention. If you do not want a kid do not have one do not drug them up for Add/Adhd. They never medicated people in the past for losing a loved one. They let them be sad for awhile and they got over it.

Um there have been studies that have shown that certain people have chemical imbalances in their brains that can alter their behaviour. Even hormonal imbalances can alter behaviour thats why so many women go nuts right before their periods and when they are pregnant or after giving birth. Even what you eat can have an adverse effect on the brain and how it functions therefore affecting behaviour.

My father has anxiety disorder and needs to be on medication he cannot function without it.

There is no doubt in my mind that doctors over prescribe medication to patients that might not necessarily need it, and there are proven natural ways to fix imbalances in the body either through use of herbal meds or something as simple as a change in diet.

But to say that mental disorders do not exist on the whole is a little silly and you really shouldnt make a blanket statement like that without hard core evidence and sources to back it up.

Nothing psychological can be aptly proven, and there is no reason for you to immediately and readily believe that such things as mental disorders excuse a person from consequences or make up their personality. However, people are fundamentally influenced by their environment of social and other factors, and sometimes the mind produces undesirable responses to these things. It does not always have to be physical, but with things like adhd and schizophrenia, the condition of the brain's neurological structure is definitively different. That HAS been proven with medical technology, and you're kind of an inconsiderate person if you discount people's suffering just because other things like anxiety and depression cannot be proven. They are real things, although easy to imitate, and people are genuinely in emotional and psychological pain.

I'm not saying there aren't some crazy people out there, hell, there are some crazy people on this site. But most people who claim to have some sort of mental disorder, like bipolar disorder, are just trying to get a free ride, want people to feel sorry for them, or they are making an excuse for acting like assholes.

Thank you justsomekidfrom canada. I agree completely. In fact, it's flagrant dismissals of mental disorders that keep me from seeking any sort of psychotherapy, because i am so afraid of being unable to explain and express my plagues that people will just write me off of my legitimacy completely

2012 has certainly been a difficult year for me. It's had it's good moments though.

Although, I do believe that some people are over-diagnosed or too quickly diagnosed when it comes to the mental illness (mostly because doctors are too pill-happy now-a-days) I have to disagree with your theory.

I believe mental illnesses do exist, but not all people diagnosed have them and the other way around.

I think you are confusing what is normal and what is abnormal...most people experience most of the symptoms of practically every mental disorder...but it is not of that degree of extreme...say i caught a cold....it wouldbe normal right...and i really dont need a doctor..or have anything to worry about....now what if you had a cold everyday....how would that impact your life...and if you went to your friend and described your symptoms they would tell you not to worry about it because you are fine and it will go away...same with mental disorders... a little dression, anxiety, obsessions, impulsiveness, etc..is normal..but when it is extreme you need a doctor...

Seriously! You don't think mental illness are real hahah what so you think people are faking? People don't fake or choose to be sick! There are just some peopl that don't understand so don't judge what u don't understand

It's people like you that make me not want to live on this planet anymore. Just go crawl in a hole, please; everyone would be better off.

A few years ago I looked down at my brothers body in the el-cheapo coffin, listening to someone discussing with mother 'how lovely and peaceful he looked'. WTF, he hung himself with bailing twine 2 feet long, deliberately sitting down strangling himself, severing his throat in the process. His suite and shirt collar had to be set up around his jaw to disguise the disfigurement and gruesome brutality of his death. It was kind of surreal because his body was just a lump of meat the same as kangaroo road kill.
Obviously he had deep mental illness', but his biggest problem was his mother's complete denial of him being sick, constantly saying things like, my families side has perfect blood lineage, there cannot possible be anything wrong. Doctors' advice and medicines were discarded and it was always the fault of a long line of ex-girlfriends, or the poor bloke's fault whom he just beat up in the pub, the police's fault or he wasn't drunk, the car had faulty brakes. The reality was the poor guy was very sick with a only a few sunny days between complete emotional and mental turmoil. He didn't deserve the most terrible of all deaths.
Mate, I hope your line of reasoning doesn't contribute to someone's death or an act of violence crime.

I've occasionally suggested a therapist or doctor but I go by the principle that if they're worried enough about it to post it here, it's probably pretty significant.

As for the case of mental disorders, I'll follow dom180's definition and go from there.

I think the main problem is that society changes so much over time and our brains don't. If you look at history, both homosexuality and pedohilia were/are considered mental disorders at one time or another. So, mental disorders I think are just what dom said and the problem is society and not the person.

I agree that many of the disorders are caused by physical problems or drugs. However, the brain is a wonderful thing and can adapt to nearly any situation we put it in, given time and sometimes coaching (psychology).

All that said, there's actually two links I think definitely belong here which I will add as a comment as they take longer to approve.

I know you types of people don't like science or factual information, but I can tell you, mental disorders DO EXIST. Granted a SHIT TON of people are misdiagnosed, and don't have mental disorders at all. Those people give people who genuinely DO have mental disorders a bad name from idiots like you.