Mental illness in New Zealand

[Winston001]

Problem is our parents lived in a time when people looked out for each other more....neighbours where friends you could call on when feeling down...friends had more time for each other and there was not the consatnt barrage of media telling you that you are not normal..

Agreed. Also there were respected people such as your local priest/minister in whom you could confide.

Nevertheless, my father had undiagnosed depression all of his life - as did his own mother. That has had a profound effect on my mother and all of us children. Such things weren't talked about or recognised.

I can only imagine, with sadness, how differently our lives would have turned out if dad had been treated - medication and counselling.

Now, don't get me wrong, I have no complaints, life has been fortunate. But my siblings, and indeed my mother, could have had happier lives than they do.

[Winston001]

i think we tend to move to the Victim Mentality.. our parents didnt need all the Prozac to normal them out..we've become a puppet of the drug companies is all...

It's kind of interesting that quite a few of you say that doctors push or too easily prescribe medication. My own experience is the opposite. Doctors I spoke to much preferred "green" prescriptions meaning diet/exercise/sleep etc as well as probing for deeper problems.

[The Stranger:Me]

Hey I got to ask.
Do you ever wonder if you shoulda taken the prozac?

[Paul in NZ]

It's kind of interesting that quite a few of you say that doctors push or too easily prescribe medication. My own experience is the opposite. Doctors much prefer "green" prescriptions meaning diet/exercise/sleep etc as well as probing for deeper problems.

However GPs are over-run and frankly I don't blame them for taking the pills route to try and help a patient. And don't forget - many people are better off.

Depends on the GP.. Mines a bloody wonderful woman that wants to save the world and is dead against pills! I probably know as much about me as anyone and she bloody listens to me, we debate and end up with a course of action, constantly under review! EXCELLENT!

[Cookie]

Doctors are in a tight spot sometimes with more medico-legal BS than ever before - they have to be seen to be "acting".

One of the reasons for the huge uptake of the SSRI's (such as Prozac) is that for a lot of people they are bloody fantastic.

If they made you feel most people feel they were a zombie (like the some o' dem old time pills) or if they made men grow breasts and women grow beards, then they wouldn't sell as well as they do.

What if someone said: "I choose to take Prozac and I don't give a fuck what anyone else says about it." No victim shit - just "This makes my life better than it was". Yes it makes some American drug company big bucks, but no more so than alcohol and tobacco out of people who "choose" to use those.

I don't have a problem with that.

Just broadening out the perception of "drug of choice" here.

[babyB]

Mental illness/Abnormal behavior is a reality of daily life and it affects everyone, either directly or indirectly. We all have a hand in its creation, determination of who ultimately develops it and as a result has to live with its consequences. This makes it important for us recognize the roles we play as a part of this reality. A step to better comprehending our roles is to understand the relationship that exists between the social factors that shape our lives and mental illness/Abnormal behavior is a reality.

Ok I have been following this thread and I am pleased with the information and goodwill that has occurred. Hence I what I am about to do is not create an argument/opposition. Just my opinion to show a completely different prospective upon society.

Abnormal Behavior, what is it? Who is to say, what is normal and what is not normal? Now, take it a step further. Who determines abnormal behavior verses normal behavior? Who differentiate between the two? Is it us, (the people, who claim to be normal), your parents, your peers, your environment, or is it society? Often times we are quick to pass judgment on individuals who are acting in a manner that is unacceptable, but unacceptable to, whom? We all have been taught the difference between right and wrong, but is that difference so great that it flirts along the lines of what is normal, and what is not normal? Is it normal for a two-year-old child to talk back to his or her parents? Is it normal for a people to speak to one another when they have made eye contact? Is it normal for men to watch motorsport on Sundays, and for women to watch daytime drama shows during the week? Before we can answer any of these questions we need to know what is behavior, and then differentiate between what is normal, and what is abnormal behavior? Behavior is the manner in which a person behaves, whether they can conform to the standards, or whether they cannot conform to the standards.

SOCIETY AS NORMAL?
Who is it that get together in mobs and hunt down, torture and kill people who are different from themselves? Who is it that teaches modesty, courtesy, and generosity but live in a world of rudeness, materialism and greed? Who is it that can come up with the time, energy and money to murder millions and destroy cities, for the sake of a flag, belief or economic system? Not the weirdos, not the kooks or cranks or nuts or ‘unique individuals’. It is the ‘normal’, power wielding people of today’s society who do those things. It is the so-called ‘normal’ people who believe that there is only one ‘real world’ and it is the one they are living in, right now. It is the ‘normal’ people who kill each other over differences in this reality which they themselves have not even had a part in directly constructing. If one person, one individual cannot trick themselves into ignoring the thousands of contradictions, cannot disregard the gaping flaws in that normal world, or are not capable of pretending that they believe in that so called normalcy, their sanity is questioned. Questioned because the ‘normal’ people do not want to see themselves as wrong. Therefore they (the normal) establish labels and differences, normal versus abnormal.

Please the below is my opinion and not intended to hurt anyone!

Mental illness/Abnormal behavior. Since the beginning of civilization it has been apparent that man is not perfect. Not only is man not perfect, but there are no such things as perfect men. Sure, some are more perfect than others, but none are without flaw. However, finding out what causes some men to be more or less perfect than others has been an arduous task to say the least. Every culture from every generation has had its finest institutions working from the earliest point of history to tell us what makes us good or bad. For thousands of years (and even in the present) it was the job of religion to tell us what was wrong with humanity; and after countless stake burnings, witch hangings, bloodlettings, and crucifixions, it is science’s turn.

Society tells us we are abnormal to have invisible friends or to see other beings no one else sees. So why is it considered normal to worship something that is unseen for generations......We are all different, people need to accept/adjust to that...

We are all normal in our own realm.

[C_A]

fuck i almost had a hernia reading that........... purple font is terrible, i would have had more fun running down the street with a cheesegrater down my pants...

good read tho. panadol coming my way after the eye strain though

[Winston001]

Mental illness/Abnormal behavior is a reality of daily life and it affects everyone, either directly or indirectly. We all have a hand in its creation, determination of who ultimately develops it and as a result has to live with its consequences. etc etc

We are all normal in our own realm.

[/SIZE]

With all due respect - navel gazing overlooks some fundamental aspects of human behaviour. We all need food, shelter and clothing in that order. Next we need to procreate to pass on our genes.

Everything else after that is an overlay that makes these fundamental behaviours easier.

So if you can't face leaving the cave to find food - either cos you're depressed or there are aliens out there or the voice in your head forbids it - then you ain't going far. End of that evolutionary niche. You'll die.

So I think its perfectly reasonable to say that such self-destructive behaviour is not normal, and that it is mental illness.

[babyB]

fuck i almost had a hernia reading that........... purple font is terrible, i would have had more fun running down the street with a cheesegrater down my pants...

good read tho. panadol coming my way after the eye strain though

no pun intended, purple is fine in my realm. but passes you said panadol

[oldrider]

Agreed. Also there were respected people such as your local priest/minister in whom you could confide.

Oh yes Winston, how we can rely upon the pillars of society in our hours of need.
We left our handicapped son in the professional care of one of these pillars of society!
At the first opportunity he seized the moment and tried to bumscuttle him.
Our wonderful justice system and jury found him not guilty of the crime because our son (in their learned opinion) found that he was too handicapped to be able to remember what had happened to him.(so must have not been too handicapped to just dream it up)
At least they found him guilty of his offences against the boys who were not so handicapped that "they" understood what had happened to them.
The fabric of society in this country is fucking sick and is chock full of fucking sickos masquerading as PC do gooders. If I could have my way I would stack the bastards in a heap and burn the bloody lot of them. John.

[Winston001]

Oh yes Winston, how we can rely upon the pillars of society in our hours of need.
We left our handicapped son in the professional care of one of these pillars of society!
At the first opportunity he seized the moment and tried to bumscuttle him.
Our wonderful justice system and jury found him not guilty of the crime because our son (in their learned opinion) found that he was too handicapped to be able to remember what had happened to him.(so must have not been too handicapped to just dream it up)
At least they found him guilty of his offences against the boys who were not so handicapped that "they" understood what had happened to them.
The fabric of society in this country is fucking sick and is chock full of fucking sickos masquerading as PC do gooders. If I could have my way I would stack the bastards in a heap and burn the bloody lot of them. John.

John - that is just appalling. Words fail me. I can only say that I believe the vast majority of Christian, Islamic, Bhuddist, and humanist people are decent human beings. Why these abberrant types exist, let alone prey on vulnerable children is beyond comprehension.

[babyB]

yes there are somethings that cannot be condoned. especaly when it comes to our children

[Hitcher]

Better drugs. Is that the answer?

[terbang]

Worried about what the long-term effects of this job and shift work does to my head - time will tell but with a bit of luck there'll be zero effect.

Well apart from a little residual cynicism..

[terbang]

For thousands of years (and even in the present) it was the job of religion to tell us what was wrong with humanity; and after countless stake burnings, witch hangings, bloodlettings, and crucifixions, it is science’s turn.
..

Thank god for change because I am a Southpaw and prefer Blue...