Discussing Mental Illness

>>I think it's rational to acknowledge the fact that we are emotional animals, that we can be fooled and misled, that we can all benefit from scientific skepticism. <<

I agree. Also, emotional and spiritual aspects can be beneficial. We are not minds alone.

>>It's irrational to accept excuses for the suffering of others; we'd all benefit if everyone gets the help that he or she needs.<<

Too true. It frustrates and baffles me that people don't see the connections there -- how widespread suffering and illness harm everyone.

>>For ex., how many victims of PTSD are referred to their chaplains because it's "cheaper" to treat suffering with make-believe than solutions that work? "cheaper" to blame the victims and delegate responsibility to our imaginary friends?<<

I'm not in favor of picking treatment based on how cheap it is, but rather on how effective it is. Sometimes a chaplain can help with PTSD, other times not (and it depends on the chaplain's skill, too). PTSD often entails spiritual trauma; frex, a person whose faith commands "thou shalt not kill" may suffer spiritual injury from killing another human being. If they thinks that their soul is now marred by that killing, no amount of medication is going to fix that, although it may dull awareness of the problem. For spiritual injuries, clerical care is usually required. On the other hoof, someone whose PTSD involves neurochemical damage that makes them shaky and insomniac is unlikely to be helped by spiritual means; a quiet environment and soothing physical activity are required, and possibly chemical assistance.

PTSD is a messy, complicated nightmare of a condition -- for bystanders as well as sufferers. There are no easy assessments and no quick fixes. It's so ugly and scary that it makes people want to sweep it under the rug. That is often fatal for the sufferer. It keeps happening because, for the bystanders, that does make the problem not theirs anymore, unless someone sues them for negligent death.

The military tries very hard to modify people's ethics. It does not always succeed; other times, it succeeds too well. After all, their understanding of the human mind and brain is no more advanced than the health care industry's understanding. And their overall understanding of the human soul is ... rather lacking, which is what the chaplains are there for.

Once someone has learned that certain things are "wrong," those things are difficult or impossible to change. People may do them anyway, particularly with the sort of terrific justifications that the military provides for the wholesale slaughter of other human beings -- but deep down inside, most sane people still believe that killing is wrong. So they tend to be distressed and damaged if they do it; this is a known factor in PTSD. In fact it's on the test for that.

The fact that killing people tends to be injurious to the soul is one reason why so many higher powers have told humans not to do it. Don't stick a fork in the light socket, you'll hurt yourself.

>>I think religion offers a kind of Catch-22, with the "higher" or hired powers jerking people around.<<

That is true of some religions, though not all of the ones I have encountered.

>>You'd think that the omnipotent would be able to pass his/her wisdom down in a way that cannot be mistaken or corrupted by mere mortals.<<

Dude. I think you just identified something that the Omnipotent God can't do. Or at least, demonstrably has not yet figured out how to do.

Or simply let people die for lack of food, water, or medical care.