According to this article, mental illnesses, including anxiety disorders and depression are common and under-treated in many developed and developing countries, with the highest rate found in the United States, according to a study of 14 countries.
Five illnesses I'd really not like to have are:
Some of the most sane-seeming, e.g. the people in charge up there ... well ... least said the better. Sociopaths are easier to spot and there are checklists about on the net. I have an article that most bosses are mentally ill but that might be stretching it a bit.
And those who claim to be thoroughly sane ... methinks they possibly protesteth too much.
Lastly, there does seem, to me, to be an increase in "brittleness" and "strangeness" in little ways with many people across society, this maybe stemming from stress in today's society.
Five illnesses I'd really not like to have are:
1. In Micropsia. objects are perceived by the sufferer as being much smaller than what they actually are in reality. For example, your pet dog appears the size of small mouse.I have a theory that we're all mentally ill to a certain extent, in the same way that there are degrees of homosexuality and heterosexuality in each individual. Most of us might accept the epithet "eccentric" but would take it a bit amiss being labelled "left field".
2. G. M Beard in 1878 observed that, when given a sudden command in a loud enough voice some individuals will carry out that command instantly and without a thought, even if you tell them to hit out a loved one.
3. People may believe that they have lost parts of their bodies or even their souls and some might go as far as to really believe that they are already dead and are indeed a walking corpse.
4. Where one hand appears to take on a personality all of its own and acts in such a way that is completely out of control, the alien hand may unbutton shirts or remove clothing whilst the other hand is trying to button up or get dressed.
5. Some people experience their external genitals shrinking or disappearing, especially when caused by cold water or cold weather, putting it down to wicked gods.
Some of the most sane-seeming, e.g. the people in charge up there ... well ... least said the better. Sociopaths are easier to spot and there are checklists about on the net. I have an article that most bosses are mentally ill but that might be stretching it a bit.
And those who claim to be thoroughly sane ... methinks they possibly protesteth too much.
Lastly, there does seem, to me, to be an increase in "brittleness" and "strangeness" in little ways with many people across society, this maybe stemming from stress in today's society.
Well some of those diseases you mention are neurological rather than mental illnesses but still not desirable.
ReplyDeleteMy big fear has always been losing my sight and not being able to read, but in the book I read and reviewed not long ago, The Man who Forgot how to Read, I found out that you can literally forget how to read as the result of a stroke. Naturally I don't want to have any kind of stroke but one resulting in that would not be one I want to have to deal with.
They all sound very unpleasant, I think I need cheering up now!
ReplyDelete"mental illnesses, including anxiety disorders and depression are common and under-treated in many developed and developing countries"
ReplyDeleteI tend to distrust a statement like that. Did it ever occur to them that in undeveloped countries the disorders are not recognized as such? There are still places that think mental and physical disorders are caused by supernatural means.