If Physical Problems Were Handled Like Mental Problems

teamcharlie

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Oh, you lost a leg? I'm sorry to hear that. Take this pill every day for the rest of your life and you wont feel like you're missing said leg. Still wont be able to walk without crutches though. Enjoy!
 

lacktheknack

Je suis joined jewels.
Jan 19, 2009
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Look, I know you have Alzheimer's disease, but I REALLY NEED that phone number. Can't you just... like... think harder?"

I think this one gets bonus points for bridging the two.

(And no, Alzheimer's is not a mental issue. It's giant holes in your brain, that's a pretty physical problem.)
 

norashepard

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"I mean, it's fine that your leg was just bitten off by a shark, but keep it to yourself. You don't need to bring others down with you, you know."
 

broca

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The sad thing is that there has been a vocal minority of psychiatrists/psychologists who have stressed that mental illnesses are actually physical illnesses in the sense that they are a illness of the brain, which (for whatever reason) hasn't reduced prejudged against mental illnesses at all. So the mental/physical problem distinction does not seem to be the problem. Also i could make some informed guesses, i really don't know what the "problem" is or how to "solve" it.
 

soren7550

Overly Proud New Yorker
Dec 18, 2008
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"Oh come on, a burst stomach is hardly an excuse, stop being lazy!"

"You tore your leg muscle? I don't see anything wrong, so quit your bitching."
 

Loonyyy

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SimpleThunda said:
There are a lot of people in this thread who are feeling very sorry for themselves.
"Haven't you just tried using basic cognitive faculties and empathy? Really, can't you just try harder?"

There, one for you too!
 

Korolev

No Time Like the Present
Jul 4, 2008
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Actually, in modern medicine, we are trained to offer, as first line treatment of mild to moderate depression or anxiety, CBT - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. These are mental exercises and therapy sessions that are designed to help the patient utilize their own rational thought processes to combat anxiety or depression. And it does work. Of course, it is much more complicated than "Just Think Better!" - it's actually a rather intense process that helps teach the sufferer cognitive tricks to help break out of depression and anxiety. And it DOES work, for many patients with Mild to Moderate Depression.

Of course, it does not work for everyone, and the courses are expensive if you don't live in a country that has free public health care (Yay for Australia!) and it doesn't work for severely depressed patients who simply won't respond to CBT (it requires engagement on the part of the patient, and if you are severely depressed you have trouble engaging with anything). But the point remains that we are trained to offer courses that are, largely, designed to help people THINK better, and THINK happier. You can combat Depression and Anxiety with therapy designed to help the patient feel better about themselves and adopt a more positive attitude. It's not a simple process - the depressed patient can't just "Feel" better magically. But they can often be taught how to think in a more positive light. Drugs are not always necessary to treat depression - sure, they are good for many patients and they are a very useful tool for helping people, but they aren't the only tool and if you have mild depression you may want to try CBT instead of Anti-depressants. If CBT doesn't work, you will have to use Anti-Depressants, but medication shouldn't be thought of as the first and only solution to mental problems.

So, yes, it isn't nice to say "Just Not-Be-Depressed". Rather, patients should "undertake months of therapy designed to slowly teach them to think in ways which will lead them from depression".
 

TWRule

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Dec 3, 2010
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Not a fan of the implicit prescription here that we always treat problems from a physicalist perspective.

Sure we shouldn't be dismissive of problems like 'depression', etc., nor should we assume that they are unrelated or uninfluenced by 'common world' factors.

Irresponsibly passing out drugs to everyone who says they are depressed, however, is just as dismissive.

So yeah, in any case, this web comic is probably not the most appropriate way to begin a responsible discussion about the state of 'mental health' treatment.
 

barbzilla

He who speaks words from mouth!
Dec 6, 2010
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Korolev said:
Actually, in modern medicine, we are trained to offer, as first line treatment of mild to moderate depression or anxiety, CBT - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. These are mental exercises and therapy sessions that are designed to help the patient utilize their own rational thought processes to combat anxiety or depression. And it does work. Of course, it is much more complicated than "Just Think Better!" - it's actually a rather intense process that helps teach the sufferer cognitive tricks to help break out of depression and anxiety. And it DOES work, for many patients with Mild to Moderate Depression.

Of course, it does not work for everyone, and the courses are expensive if you don't live in a country that has free public health care (Yay for Australia!) and it doesn't work for severely depressed patients who simply won't respond to CBT (it requires engagement on the part of the patient, and if you are severely depressed you have trouble engaging with anything). But the point remains that we are trained to offer courses that are, largely, designed to help people THINK better, and THINK happier. You can combat Depression and Anxiety with therapy designed to help the patient feel better about themselves and adopt a more positive attitude. It's not a simple process - the depressed patient can't just "Feel" better magically. But they can often be taught how to think in a more positive light. Drugs are not always necessary to treat depression - sure, they are good for many patients and they are a very useful tool for helping people, but they aren't the only tool and if you have mild depression you may want to try CBT instead of Anti-depressants. If CBT doesn't work, you will have to use Anti-Depressants, but medication shouldn't be thought of as the first and only solution to mental problems.

So, yes, it isn't nice to say "Just Not-Be-Depressed". Rather, patients should "undertake months of therapy designed to slowly teach them to think in ways which will lead them from depression".
Very true, but many of these issues have underlying physiological causes (such as poor communication between the Cortex and the Ganglia), that may or may not be helped by therapy or drugs. There are times to treat the illness, times to treat the symptoms, and times to help the person adjust to the issue at hand and move forward with life. There is no clear cut line when it comes to mental issues as there are a plethora of different sources.
 

sweetylnumb

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I think the problem is that almost everybody seems to have "depression" or something similar these days. Its either becoming way more common as society degrades (entirely likely) or people are getting to sensitive. I think this demot focuses on the second thing, which is a common opinion. We should probably look to fixing the cause of all this depression and anxiety rather than individual (minor/medium) cases now days.
 

Loonyyy

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Jul 10, 2009
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SimpleThunda said:
Loonyyy said:
SimpleThunda said:
There are a lot of people in this thread who are feeling very sorry for themselves.
"Haven't you just tried using basic cognitive faculties and empathy? Really, can't you just try harder?"

There, one for you too!
Feeling sorry for yourself is the first step to never recovering.

But I'll leave this jolly bunch to their own devices.
Actually, no it's not. Depression, Anxiety, Bipolar disorder, and a whole host of other things are very much real, and very much treatable. And the treatment is pretty much the fucking opposite of "Get over it". There are various medications, and CBT, and more people would seek these out if people like you didn't go around trying to make people feel worse, and stigmatising mental health issues, of which you seem to have your own.

So please, do leave them to their own devices. Leave the discussion. Because you aren't helping. You're just reinforcing ignorance and callousness.
 

Muspelheim

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Apr 7, 2011
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A Tuesday morning at the Belle Ende Hospital:

"Oh, I can't stand seeing all these patients. They are so weird and creepy with their wounds and their pain and diseases. I know! Let's lock them up in a special wing, so real people don't have to see them.
Recreation? Needless, just sedate them and put them by a window. Injured people aren't like you and me, just seeing a parking lot is all the stimulation they could ever need!
"

Loonyyy said:
So please, do leave them to their own devices. Leave the discussion. Because you aren't helping. You're just reinforcing ignorance and callousness.
Oh, but he is being ever so edgy and aloof.
 

bartholen_v1legacy

A dyslexic man walks into a bra.
Jan 24, 2009
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Oh God, this thread'll just be a black hole of puns, won't it?

"Look, I know you lost your sense of touch to that overdose of anaesthetics, but you've just got to tell people about your feelings more."

"Hey, it's sad you lost your other eye, but maybe you should take a wider look at things."

"I know getting shot was really dangerous, but sometimes you've just got to take the shot."

"Hey, having a broken leg is no excuse for being so slow about things."
 

balladbird

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I know this is a comedy thread, but I just gotta point out that there are a lot of venues where people really do treat physical problems with the same lack of understanding or compassion as mental problems. In my experiences in the worlds of high school sports and amateur boxing (especially those trying to break into the pro circuit) it's not at all uncommon for hack coaches/trainers to tell an athlete to "walk it off" or "play through the pain" until they've ruined their careers, if not their lives, with crippling injuries.

it's a bit of a non sequitur, but felt relevant simply because it's hard to laugh at some of these parodies, since I've heard them played straight before. XD
 

Relish in Chaos

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?I know you think you have cancer, but if you pray to God every day, he?ll make it better!?

?Just because someone cut off your head doesn?t mean you can?t still live a fulfilling life with the rest of your senses. I mean, you don?t see chickens or zombies complaining about it, do you??

?Look, I know how hard it is to speak in crowds, or talk to strangers that you don?t know. I?ve been there; everyone?s been there. But if you believe in yourself, you can do anything. This thing about having no tongue? It?s all in your head, so just try expressing yourself a little.?
 

Tom_green_day

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'Oh don't worry that you're [fat/ugly/lazy] you're even better than people who are [good looking/work out/try their hardest to be the best they can] and they're all [uncaring/boringly normal/stupid] but you're way better than them.
 

loc978

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balladbird said:
I know this is a comedy thread, but I just gotta point out that there are a lot of venues where people really do treat physical problems with the same lack of understanding or compassion as mental problems. In my experiences in the worlds of high school sports and amateur boxing (especially those trying to break into the pro circuit) it's not at all uncommon for hack coaches/trainers to tell an athlete to "walk it off" or "play through the pain" until they've ruined their careers, if not their lives, with crippling injuries.

it's a bit of a non sequitur, but felt relevant simply because it's hard to laugh at some of these parodies, since I've heard them played straight before. XD
Same thing happens in the military. In my case it was "Torn tendon in your leg? Run on it more, toughen it up. Have some ibuprofen." and "Burst disc in your back? Have some ibuprofen... now lift that 30mm cannon up to the belly of that aircraft. Now go drive an offroad vehicle on a broken road for 16 hours. You're fine."

At least they treated me when I got shot. I think that's the only major injury I made a complete recovery from. I was half expecting 'em to prescribe ibuprofen and water for that one too.
So yeah, my response to this thread's title is "They often are."