One of the ways that I try to fight misinformation and stigma around mental illness is by answering questions on Quora.com. For anyone who’s not familiar with it, Quora is a sort of free-for-all where anyone can ask or answer questions on any topic under the sun. Some of the questions are blatantly absurd, but there are many that are really reflective of the lack of understanding in the world at large about mental illness.
One think I’ve noticed is that people seem very eager to attribute asshole behaviour to personality disorders they “diagnose” in others, in particular narcissistic personality disorder. There seems to be a lack of awareness that while people with narcissistic personality disorder may exhibit asshole behaviour, by no means do all assholes have narcissistic (or any other) PD. There is also much discussion about the psychoanalytic concept of narcissistic supply from these various wannabe Freuds.
Weird and wild Quora questions
- “Are patients of psychiatrists considered to be legal persons just as much as anyone else?”
- “Is criminal behaviour a byproduct of mental illness?”
- “Do psychiatric drugs cause chemical castration?”
- “Is hate a mental illness?”
- “Would mental health checks once every 5 years for gun owners help prevent the mass shootings epidemic?”
- “Should we not allow those with mental health histories to drive, since they may run over someone?”
Mood disorders
- “Why do some people like being depressed?”
- “Is it normal for a depressed person to not want to feel better, and to actively make themselves worse?”
- “Can 2 people with bipolar disorder be around each other?”
- “How is a bipolar manipulative behavior treated?”
- “Does depression lead to materialism?”
- “Is depression just sad narcissism?”
- “People with no real problems to tackle usually get depressed. Is depression a disease whose first symptom is laziness?”
Borderline personality disorder
- “Do people with BPD believe their own lies?”
- “How do you beat a person with BPD at their own game?”
- “Is it possible someone with BPD will fake mental illnesses like depression to get attention from anyone?”
Schizophrenia
- “When a person who’s schizophrenic looks in a mirror can they sometimes see the other other personalities? How different do they actually look?”
- “Can depression, if left untreated, lead to schizophrenia?”
- “Why are schizophrenics so reluctant to take their medicine when doing so would make them ‘normal’?”
- “Are schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder a side effect of demonic possessions?”
- “It seems like a lot of untreated people with severe schizophrenia eat out of the garbage, are unclean, and lacking sleep, but do not get sick like well people probably would. Do people with schizophrenia have stronger immune systems than most people?”
Out there answers
To a question about the maximum number of psychiatric diagnoses a person can have: “When a person enters mental psychosis I’m pretty sure their mind is so fragmented that they’ve pretty much got it all: ocd, npd, psychopath, sociopathy, bpd, anxiety, depression, split personality (definitely) and whatever else you could think of they have a little hint of. But a number? I’d say 17.”
Q: “Do you think it’s cowardice to think that people with borderline personality disorders are all evil?”
A (the most frightening one out of several): “Do you understand that the Personality Disordered person is the coward?These people refuse to take responsibility for their own actions and constantly manipulate others to exploit them for their resources, precisely because they are COWARDS. The PD’ed person uses all sorts of tools, techniques to avoid the effort it takes to exhibit and exercise conscience towards others and themselves in the home and in society.”
Hello, stigma
Seems like we’ve got a long way to go in educating people about mental illness and challenging stigma. I try to answer those questions I can find on Quora that contain a glimmer of reasonableness, but sometimes those are few and far between. The truly ignorant I’m inclined to think are a bit of a lost cause. I just hope that the lack of awareness on Quora is not actually reflective of the world at large, because that would mean we have a LOT of work to do.
You may also be interested in the post A Display of Public Ignorance About Depression.
My latest book, A Brief History of Stigma, looks at the nature of stigma, the contexts in which it occurs, and how to challenge it most effectively.
You can find it on Amazon and Google Play.
There’s more on stigma on Mental Health @ Home’s Stop the Stigma page.
Those questions were quite scary. To be fair, a lot of the internet is full of ignorance and hate about everything. But it is scary to assume that anyone you can’t get along with has a mental health issue or that people genuinely diagnosed with mental health issues are faking it to get attention.
It really is scary.
Yup, I’ve seen similar sentiments online.
I am on Quora too and also noticed very big, maybe even unhealthy a bit, interest in personality disorders and particularly NPD and labelling people with different pd’s and it always makes me wonder when I see it why it is so common on there. And gosh these questions you quoted are really truly ignorant, I’ve seen some, including some of these, too and it always makes me very worried. Is the whole world like this? How much will people have to fight to make mental illnesses at least basically understood by most of ppeople? That’s really sad to see, although some questions just simply make me laugh as they’re just so silly. There will always be this kind of knowledge immune people though, good at least that they ask questions, although if their lack of knowledge is so big, I doubt they’ll ever get how hard it is for an individual to struggle with e.g. bpd, or any other kind of mental illness.
I’m also puzzled by the fixation on NPD and other PDs. I wonder if it’s because people are trying to use it as an excuse to avoid thinking about how they themselves have contributed to the problem.
I’ll have to check out Quora. The questions you listed are disconcerting, but really most of them are not really the asker’s fault. So little quality information is available to the general public about mental illness. I still think many TV shows, movies, and media outlets do a horrible or insufficient job. Stigma is expressed at the highest levels and not challenged sufficiently.
I will check out Quora because it is encouraging that these people at LEAST ask questions. So many people suddenly act like experts with no knowledge at all.
Quora’s an interesting place. Besides the stupid questions there are also some good ones, which is encouraging.
I have a love hate relationship with Quora. The stupidity there is over the top but sometimes people genuinely need to be educated.
It’s the good questions that keep me going back, in the hope that providing information will actually have an impact.
Oh my goodness…
That pretty much sums it up 🙂
I’ve always been quite irked with how easily people just assign labels to others on the basis of one or two stereotypical behaviors that the disorder is “known for.” How many times have I heard people characterized as OCD because they are neat or “borderline” because they are involved in drama? These are a lot of the people I find on things like Quora or yahoo! answers. While I love that the internet is an endless batch of information, and so much can be learned, it also leaves room for people to just say whatever they’re thinking, whether their statement is fact or just blatantly mistaken.
Yup. The level of willful stupidity is astonishing.
These ignorant statements are out in the open but what scares me is to think about all the hidden malicious and stupid beliefs roaming around us.
Yes, that is very frightening.
The illusion that we control our brains still haunts me. I logically know that depression can’t be shaken off, or defeated through disciplined behavior. Yet I think I should. I still blame myself for having this. The general public around me having the same opinion does not help. Thank you for participating in this forum and answering these questions. It shows me also how some people seem bitter or impatient that people with depression do not get completely cured, or how long a bad phase can be. Chronic illness in general deserves more attention to be better understood, but western culture is too busy glorifying the productive and compliant. It is a complete shit storm in a country that pretends to be based on Christian values.
Yes, there is definitely some weird cultural shit going on.
I go on Quora all the time, it’s good you are correcting people understanding of mental illness. Keep up the good job.
Thanks 💕
god! I dunno. stunned, sitting reading this. lol. never heard of that site. xoxo
Yeah, there are some pretty bizarre questions people ask on there.
Oh my goodness, and don’t even get me started on the questions about weight loss. For some reason they are always sent to me in the Quora email newsletter and I laugh at the answers that are given.
I bet.
Hey, hope you are doing well.
I invite you to read a post of mine where I am gathering links of warriors facing mental health challenges 1st hand to educate people, to raise awareness and acceptance.
I need help from you in fighting stigma.
Here is the link to post..
https://stoneronarollercoaster.wordpress.com/2018/04/27/mental-health-awareness/
Your participation can change life of someone.
Thank you 🙂
I’ve joined in!
I am sorry if i am sending invites 2 3 times to the same person. There are so many abd conditions are overlapping.
Thanks alot for joining 🙂
I just deleted my account because of all the negativity I see in some of the posts.