Man Commits Suicide at DLH

[Strangler Lewis]

If you look at the DSM--and who wouldn't want to--most of the disorders, especially the milder ones, are defined with respect to the outer boundaries of a perceived norm and/or to the extent they inhibit day to day functioning. In this respect, mental illness is a weakness, the same way my asthma is a weakness, but that certainly doesn't make it blameworthy.

I think the stigma attaches because if we acknowledge that our mental disturbances and responses to them can be attributed to our genetic structure, we have to acknowledge that our finer personality traits are beyond our control as well.