We're ALL Sick

I must acknowledge at the outset the possibility that some will find this blog post to be offensive. To those people, I am sorry - for whatever preemptive apologies are worth. I don't know how to express these musings in a way that avoids any chance of upsetting people, and I am aware that by posting this, I might be putting my foot in my mouth. The best I can do is this offer little disclaimer. 

Artwork: Mind Bend, by Mike Dringenberg

We're ALL Sick

Over the past three weeks I have stumbled upon three different online discussions about three different "mental/psychological conditions" (for lack of a better term) - the type of condition that affects a minority percentage of the population. In each of these discussions, one party spoke of the condition as an illness, and the other party was offended and responded by saying something to the effect of, "How DARE you speak of this condition as though it were an illness! Keep your bigotry to yourself!" (I'm not going to identify which conditions were discussed, since that would likely sidetrack us with the same type of argument.)

Witnessing these online altercations led me to think about how mental illness is regarded in our present day American society. I am happy about the recent movement to destigmatize mental illness. People have become increasingly open to talking about mental illness, there is a greater awareness of how many lives are affected by it, and - most importantly - people are beginning to realize that there is no shame in seeking help when confronted by these issues. In this sense, things are moving in a good direction.

But when it comes to talking about mental illness, things become complicated.

On the one hand, insofar as terms like "illness," "sickness," and "disease" are heavily stigmatized, I can sympathize with the efforts of those who want to rid our vocabulary these words, since their usage can be harmful and hurtful. There is definitely merit in finding the most positive or neutral terms possible (e.g. "she has a developmental disability" vs. "she's mentally retarded,"  or "he is struggling with addiction" vs. "he's a junkie").

On the other hand, one must be careful not to go too far in the opposite direction. Treating terms like "illness," "sickness," and "disease" as horribly taboo can contribute to the stigma, instead of diminishing it. To react to the phrase "mental disorder" with "How DARE you!" and "Don't SAY that!" is to treat mental illness as a reprehensible thing that shouldn't even be uttered. There is a similar risk with those types of euphemisms mentioned in the preceding paragraph: when they are pushed to the point where they become contrived, phony, or see-through, they can backfire (e.g. I am sure that there are kids with Down Syndrome who do not want to be called "special," just as there are kids in wheelchairs who dislike being called "differently-abled").

Terminology is a tricky balancing act, to say the least, as is the case with most things that fall into the zone of potentially offensive speech. 

These musings led me to ponder what Judaism would have to say - not on the topic of what mental illness is, but on how to deal with the stigma of mental illness in the way we talk about it. My thoughts went to the words of the Rambam at the beginning of Hilchos Deos, Chapter 2:

Those who are physically ill taste the bitter as sweet and the sweet as bitter. Some of these sick individuals desire and crave as food things which are inedible, such as dirt and coal, and detest healthy foods, such as bread and meat – all according to the severity of the illness. 

So too, there are people whose souls are sick; they desire and love bad character traits, and they hate the good path and are lazy to follow it, and it is very burdensome upon them, based on their sickness. Thus, Yeshayahu says about such people: “Woe onto those who proclaim the bad as good and the good as bad, who treat darkness as light and light as darkness, who regard the bitter as sweet and the sweet as bitter” (Yeshayahu 5:20). Concerning these individuals it is said: “They abandon the paths of uprightness to walk in the paths of darkness” (Mishlei 2:13).

It was at this moment that I an "aha!" moment: we are ALL sick. Well, maybe not ALL of us, but certainly most of us. How many people can say that they don't want to engage in the behaviors associated with a bad character trait, or feel some resentment towards some aspect of the good path, or experience some degree of laziness and/or burden in following the good path? I don't know about you, but I am certainly guilty of regarding "the bad as good and the good as bad" in some areas of my life. 

To be clear: I am NOT categorically equating "DSM-5 classified" mental disorders with the "sicknesses of the soul" that the Rambam is discussing in Hilchos Deos. There may be some overlap, but that is not my intention in this comparison here. 

Rather, my point is that according to the Rambam, "sickness of the soul" is part of the human condition - just as much as "sickness of the body." In fact, these sicknesses are universal and congenital. We all begin life with this kind of sickness (with the exception of the mythical "perfect child" whose value system lines up perfectly with the True Good) and we must grow out of it as we develop our minds and our ability to properly exercise our free will.

Based on this, I would like to suggest the following approach: instead of trying to pretend that mental disorders are NOT disorders and excising all pathological terminology from our vocabulary, perhaps we would be better off broadening our concept of mental disorder to include those sicknesses of the soul that plague the general populace. 

I believe that awareness of the ubiquity of these types of illness can help us to further destigmatize mental illness. By recognizing that we all suffer from some form of sickness - whether physical, mental, or moral - it makes it that much easier to have empathy for our fellow human beings, even if the particular form of sickness they suffer differs from our own.

... or maybe I'm wrong, and this is yet another instance of me calling something good when really it's bad. Let me know what you think!