[Burnout]

Originally Posted by Sezzy

I don't know how much you know about mental illness...but I certainly wouldn't say most, or even some.

The brain is a complex piece of machinery, and sometimes those messages get scrambled (fact). Schitzophrenia tends to be a genetic trait, as is manic depression and even depression. Diminished mental capacity is a possibility for anyone - including you.

I know a lot of people with mental illness', myself included, and I don't know one that has ever used their illness as an excuse for the way they behave. They have been honest about their illness and in most instances that I have come across, their illness is a direct result of a severely traumatising event, and usually from their childhood or early teens.

I wouldn't say these people are evil, although there are those out there who intentionally set out to hurt someone, these people have a different sort of mental illness - one where the ability to rationalise is there, they just don't care about the consequences.

Excellent Post!

Social psychopaths are far removed from people with mental issues like depression. Clinical schizophrenics appear on the surface to be very similar to those with drug induced psychosis, the main similarity being they both hear voices.
Of course there are those with any one of these afflictions who use it to their advantage when interacting with others, in some cases it is a part of the condition and I found they try this tactic on people they know.
Trouble is you can over simplify a complex problem.
Many wonder why mental illness seems on the increase, it most certainly is in the case of drug induced psychosis. However the perceived increase in other forms of mental illness could be a better informed society, or the fact that almost all mentally ill people now live in the community. some suggest that mental illness is on the increase due to environmental factors or processed foods, etc.. Tough to think your favorite processed sausage could send you mad.........