Post by Mea on Jan 7, 2016 4:52:38 GMT
Anonymous asked: Isn't a behavior a part of a symptom though, kind of? Sorry... You lost me at symptoms and behaviors. :( And...I heard that 99% of the population is neurotypical?? So confused...
Answer: I don’t know where you heard 99% of the population is neurotypical, but it’s definitely not true. About 18% of adults have a mental illness of some kind, though I suspect a lot of people go undiagnosed, so the percentage is probably higher in reality.
When I say behavior vs symptom, I mean that symptoms are neurological effects while behaviors are social effects. It’s true that symptoms can lead to certain behaviors. For example, a symptom of a short temper may lead to the behavior of throwing things. A symptom of fear of abandonment may lead to the behavior of becoming clingy. How we react to our symptoms depends on our individuality. Your fear of abandonment may inspire a behavior in you it doesn’t inspire in me. You may call someone six time in one day, but I’ll cut off all contact and keep to myself. Like honestly it makes no sense to make a diagnosis based on a behavior, because behaviors vary so significantly based on different social effects, like a white man is not going to respond to a symptom the same way a black woman is because the two people are socialized differently because society treats them very differently? So to diagnose based on behaviors is literally just erasure of minorities because I’m sorry but my behaviors are very much shaped by how I’ve been socialized and how I’ve had to develop in this world as a white non-binary queer person with a list of mental illnesses. Behaviors also depend on how I was raised as a child by my parents and how I’ve interacted with the world since then. Behaviors depend on so many factors that have nothing to do with my BPD and to treat them as viable diagnostic material is irresponsible.
-Mea
Edit: I reread this and realized I may have come off as irritated, but I’m not irritated at all, anon!! It was a good question, and I hope this answer is helpful x
Answer: I don’t know where you heard 99% of the population is neurotypical, but it’s definitely not true. About 18% of adults have a mental illness of some kind, though I suspect a lot of people go undiagnosed, so the percentage is probably higher in reality.
When I say behavior vs symptom, I mean that symptoms are neurological effects while behaviors are social effects. It’s true that symptoms can lead to certain behaviors. For example, a symptom of a short temper may lead to the behavior of throwing things. A symptom of fear of abandonment may lead to the behavior of becoming clingy. How we react to our symptoms depends on our individuality. Your fear of abandonment may inspire a behavior in you it doesn’t inspire in me. You may call someone six time in one day, but I’ll cut off all contact and keep to myself. Like honestly it makes no sense to make a diagnosis based on a behavior, because behaviors vary so significantly based on different social effects, like a white man is not going to respond to a symptom the same way a black woman is because the two people are socialized differently because society treats them very differently? So to diagnose based on behaviors is literally just erasure of minorities because I’m sorry but my behaviors are very much shaped by how I’ve been socialized and how I’ve had to develop in this world as a white non-binary queer person with a list of mental illnesses. Behaviors also depend on how I was raised as a child by my parents and how I’ve interacted with the world since then. Behaviors depend on so many factors that have nothing to do with my BPD and to treat them as viable diagnostic material is irresponsible.
-Mea
Edit: I reread this and realized I may have come off as irritated, but I’m not irritated at all, anon!! It was a good question, and I hope this answer is helpful x
