Originally Posted by
MbalmR
Brace for a sermon or move on to the next post.
I don't believe there is any correlation between being a death hag and having a mood disorder/mental illness. I do think that it's perfectly understandable that living human beings would have a natural curiosity about death, since humans are capable of realizing that it's going to happen to all of them. Human curiosity is what sustains human life. If certain questions were never asked or studied, where would we be? I realize that having a fascination with death won't prevent death from happening, but on some level, I believe that curiosity about death is a survival mechanism in the human race.
Having said all that, I have an anxiety disorder for which I've recently sought help. It would be fabulous if I could rely on therapy, a self-help book, and/or meditation alone to "fix" my problem, but the hard reality is that I cannot. My brain is obviously messed up in some way. For this I feel no shame. It's not like I asked for it. If I was diabetic, I would not be ashamed to be taking insulin and watching my diet. If I suffered from high blood pressure, I'd have no shame in taking medication for it. If I had hayfever, I'd stay away from grassy fields. If I was lactose intolerant, I'd forego cheese. Why must mental illness be reduced to a character flaw when it's clearly chemical in nature?
The answer is that mental illness manifests itself in behavior that others find offensive, repulsive, or criminal. You don't hear news reports of a person suffering from artheroschlerosis going on a killing spree, even if the person who did it HAD the condition. Sometimes human behavior IS reprehensible, but there are plenty of people out there who wish they didn't act or feel the way they do, and don't know what to do about it.
I know there are a lot of people out there who think mental illness is a myth, and it's good to know that they have more knowledge than the scientists and doctors who have spent decades researching this illness. I bow to your superior knowledge, as does the world-wide medical profession, and the day you have a cure that doesn't include medication, let us all know. You'll be in line for a Nobel Prize.