Should People With Mental Health Problems Be Given More Leeway?

by Englishman 28 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Odrade

  plus, are we talking about criminal activities or also including in everyday life?

  for instance: I have a good friend who is going through relationship issues. He's got an ex-gf that he loves dearly and they are in that quasi-broken up relationship stage where she is constantly calling him--keeping him hanging on, but won't come back--dating other guys. Meanwhile he is sinking lower and lower into depression and anger. He says she broke his heart in little pieces, but all the little pieces still love her just as much. So that's the backstory. His depression is making him treat everyone around him like dirt. He has a big black thundercloud hanging off him, and the hostility stands around him like a blanket.

  So the question is, how much tolerance do his friends allow for this kind of behaviour? It's been going on for months. Personally I've decided that if he needs to talk, needs help, whatever, I'll be there, but I'm no longer going to make allowances for him to take out his anger at her on me.

  I think there's a trickle down with this sort of thing. Maybe we give leeway because somehow we think that we will be given leeway. Or maybe it hurts our heart to tell the other person that they have to take responsibility for their actions, no matter what their mental state.

  How many of us are conflicted about the things our JW upbringing caused in our lives? I would love to be able to pin blame on someone other than my parents for all the beatings I got as a kid... "they were mind-controlled... they were confused... they thought they were doing the right thing... the WTS taught them to discipline that way..." Ultimately though, my parents were the ones that raised the belt. It's just easier emotionally to make allowances and say they weren't in control of reasonable thought.

  Odrade
• 

  Ariell

  Pedophelia is considered a mental illness, according to the American Psychiatric Association. There are different treatments to different illnesses. Its a crime to commit murder, whether you are sane or not. Criminals are still punished according to their crimes, whether they were sane or not.

  Not all mentally ill people are put into prison. Some are put into mental institutions and later let out. But most pedophiles are sentenced to prison. People can plead temporary insanity as well. Few may get away with it, but it happens.
• 

  truthseeker1

  True, its an imperfect system, but its the best one we can make.
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  Ariell

  True, its an imperfect system, but its the best one we can make

  I agee, but I wasn't necessarily talking about the system, just people in general. Pedophiles are usually viewed as evil. We rarely, if ever, symphathize with them, or think they should be given leeway. I think it depends on the crime. That's why I say it's all relative.
• 

  BluesBrother

  Like somebody said, "it all depends....."

  I recall a JW Kingdom Ministry School (For elders) saying that if someone was fit enough to live without direct supervision, then they should be viewed ,at Judicial Committee, the same as anyone else and depression etc was no defence. I view that as harsh.

  I would not wish to allow a criminal go free because of mental health, society still needs to be protected, even if he does not have full control of his faculties

  Perhaps the question needs to be more specific.
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  Englishman

  Supposing a poster alternated between being caring and considerate one day and then became vicious, foul and so abusive that it made some people feel physically sick with the sheer awfulness of what was posted?

  Then suppose you discovered that the poster concerned was actually taking medication for schizophrenia?

  What are we supposed to do? Forget the bad days because the person concerned probably can't actually help the way that they're acting?

  I'm not trying to make a point here. Some ex's do have serious mental health issues. Do we have some sort of obligation to assist them?

  Emglishman.
• 

  frankiespeakin

  Eman,,

  I think it all depends on how disruptive this person gets. We have a pretty tollerant group here,,but there come a time when there is nothing this forum can do for them and they need other types of help. I think if someone became very disruptive you could deativate them,,with a clean conscience. I have no one in mind when I wrote this BTW.
• 

  truthseeker1

  Do we have some sort of obligation to assist them?

  Nope, this is a public forum and we don't have an oblicagation to help them. We can if we feel up to it, out of the kindness of our heart. We could, if we wanted to, have sympathy for them, but thats up to us too.
• 

  Corvin

  Psychotic people think that the problems they encounter are everyone elses fault and don't take responsibilty for their situation.

  JW's, in general, quite possibly fit into this mental district convention. Everything bad that happens to them is attributed to attacks by Satan and/or his demons. I am wondering if they were predisposed to this sort of "shift the blame" behavior and perhaps exaserbated by the brainwashing process, or did it come about as a result of the brainwashing process?

  Each person who suffers from obvious mental defects should be taken on an individual basis.

  Corvin
• 

  garybuss

  
  
  
  Just wondering how a problem with the brain is different than a problem with a leg or an eye. How is it?
  
  In religion in the USA, you can discriminate on almost any basis. In housing, there are classes you can not discriminate against.
  
  I judge healthy as well as sick people by how they treat me and people important to me. GaryB