Anyways, all problems that requires medical help be it physical or mental is seen as a weakness. I’ve seen people refusing to see a doctor despite struggling to breath because they smoked a pack of cigarettes (or more) a day since they were fourteen.
The stigma is not so much about being “crazy” the stigma is that we are expected to brush everything off with the words “she’ll be right mate” and pretend we are not in pain.

And madness is the first accusation levelled at anyone who questions a fundamental paradigm in a way the established order cannot counter. I see Alec talking about “A Beautiful Mind”. You’ll find accusations of madness in other films featuring the same actor.

It’s easier just to throw links to the original texts than waffle on in comment boxes.

Maxine, I have always said I’m a wog and always will. To me it just means your parents were born overseas. I don’t see it as derogatory unless it is said in a derogatory way. I know some wogs find the word offensive, I use it in affectionate way. Crazy on the other hand implies insanity and like I said before, I think there needs to be more focus on mental illness as a scientific illness rather than an attack on a personality.

Alec I agree that we shouldn’t be putting people with anxiety and depression under the same umbrella as people with schizophrenia. They are so different and maybe that is part of the problem, that when people think “mental illness” they think pych ward not someone with a diagnosed depression or anxiety disorder since they were 12, that has had treatment and can manage their illness and lives a rather sane life. Most mental illness is anxiety and depression.

By the way, I’m really glad to be having this discussion with all of you.

I suspect the cliche doesn’t help anybody, I’ve even seen a few instances where it’s dangerous – young aspiring artists emulating the drinking/drug taking habits of someone with a real problem because they think it’ll make them appear more “artsy” or improve their art.

And then you have the whole sector of arts therapy for non-artists, strengthening the connection between art and mental illness.

Maxine, also quite right. The anxiety involved with constant rejections, having no money, entering alternate worlds on paper you’ve created on a regular basis, the whole notion of “the muse”, writers block, peaking early, thinking constantly… Writing can be an emotional roller-coaster.

Tara, I think there is a whole new element to ‘crazy’ and ‘creative’ link as the world puts less emphasis on art and it’s creation: perhaps in our current world to dedicate so much time to something so underappreciated (and mostly unpaid) is a little mentally unbalanced in all cases, regardless of formal diagnosis.

Anyways, In my experience people do not see people with schizophrenia as “crazy people” they see them as schizophrenics. The same goes with bipolar, they do not see them as “crazy people” they see them as people with bipolar.
This is because these people are aware the word “crazy” does absolutley nothing to explain the persons situation and so does nothing more than impede the assistance that should be given to them.
Does that articulate my point a little better? I’ve gotten rid of some of the rambling fuzz, but the ramble is inevitable when I’m talking.

And one major reason people turn to drugs and alcohol or suicide instead of medical assistance is pride. Some people don’t care if they’re called crazy, if they were they’d most likely wear it as a badge of honour. It’s the saying “toughen up princess” which is holding them back.
This problem is worse amongst males, if they come across any problems, no matter what they may be. From stress to amputation, chemical imbalance to kidney failure, (I do exagerate slightly to get my point across) they’re expected to suck it in and “get over it”.
Seeking help is a sign of weakness and a resignation of ones masculinity.
That’s one of many reasons.

Terminology aside, I’m still interested in the creativity-link.

“Crazy” is as derogatory as “gay”, in my books: neither of these terms have negative implications whatsoever, and should be reclaimed for their literal definitions instead of perpetuating incorrect, insulting usages.

A few side notes, also…

Your comment about personality being separate from mental illness neglects the whole realm of personality disorders in mental illness. I’m sure you didn’t mean to imply that people with personality disorders are bad-crazy.

Mental illness is not restricted to chemical imbalances, it includes various post traumatic stress disorders.

Psych disorders are diagnosed based on criteria set out in manuals, the criteria are often quite broad and overlap each other, which is why it commonly takes many years to correctly diagnose a mental illness. This is a key point of contrast between mental illness and physical illnesses which can be diagnosed and proved in absolute terms most of the time. I think this particular point is what the joke about diagnoses/doctors was referring to, that we don’t have the means yet to diagnose many mental illnesses in absolute terms – not that the mental illness or the patient is laughable.

Whether we like to admit it or not, the way things are today, saying you have a mental illness is sort of like admitting you’re insane. And this is a problem. I’d like to think that one day when someone admits they have a mental illness people will understand that it is just their brain that is ill, not the person. We need to separate the personality from the illness. The word crazy implies the personality is crazy, not that they have an ill mind.

Marc, mental illness is an illness of the brain, a chemical imbalance of the brain. It is a science. It is not about personal issues, it’s about how the brain deals with those issues. If your brain is “ill” you can’t deal with issues like someone with a healthy mind.

All I’m saying is that we don’t look humorously on people with ill hearts and kidneys. I don’t think it’s funny. I’ve seen people debilitated by the illness and refusing to get help. I’ve seen some great psychiatrists help people with mental illness live fulfilling lives and they should be commended. It’s harder for the doctors to help these people because of the stigma. So, no, it’s not funny.

That joke about ‘being diagnosed with a mental illness is a way of telling how much your doctor likes you’ strikes me as being very much to the point because of the perils of diagnosis and the difficulty of defining and categorising mental illness – it sounds to me like fun is being made of the medical profession.

Either way, if I didn’t learn to find humour in any and every situation I would have been dead long ago.