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Do a large number of bronies have a mental illness?


Vlazamal

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I've seen a mention of ASD. While that is a disorder that is in the DSM-V, we should be cery careful with tossing that one around with personality traits and personality disorders since ASD is not a personality disorder. It is neurological with a wholly different pathology. Any salient information on why 'x' is attracted to MLP should separate neurological disorders, especially ones that may be congenital.

This.^ ASD affects functions other than cognition, though if things like lack of social skills result in a lack of friends or mistreatment by others then other disorders can arise by consequence, especially clinical depression. However, ASD in and of itself is not a mental disorder, just a neurological one. The term neurological may be ambiguous, but though it refers to a disorder of the brain, the brain has multiple parts to it that affect different things such as motor skills.

 

I'm an aspie who's on the tail end of the spectrum, and I've learned to deal with certain things such as being able to look people in the eye while talking to them, being able to follow a conversational pattern where both parties get to talk and listen to one another, and now even have proper hand shakes. Oh, I also managed to complete a BA. I still deal with issues such as being quite indecisive about where my future is headed, having not one but two special interests including ponies, and occasionally pacing around when I'm at home without realizing I'm doing it (the latter of which always seemed to annoy my sister growing up). My mom thinks I've beaten my disorder and though I disagree as I still deal with things related to being an aspie and probably always will, I have managed to jump a few hurdles and don't intend to let any of that stop me from getting ahead in life.

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I had ADHD when I was younger.

a few years ago I was diagnosed with schizoid personality disorder but I don't consider this to be a big problem at all

Edited by zerox
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A lot of mental disorders are made up. I bet anyone could go to a psychiatrist and they would diagnose them with some kind of mental disorder, requiring expensive drugs and treatment. EVERYONE these days has ADHD (made up) or Asperger (nothing). You can disagree with me but I'm entitled to my opinion, and I bet a lot of people agree with me to some extent.

 

It is a sad fact that certain (particularly) online communities *cough(tumblr)cough* have gone to the extent of making mental illness trendy.  People will claim mental illnesses that they don't have, or talk up minor conditions into something more serious in order to fit in.  I'm sure that many people who have not been diagnosed professionally will claim to suffer from depression when what they are experiencing is merely a bout 'feeling a bit down' or perhaps claiming anxiety to explain them being a bit shy, or lacking social skills.  Those people that do make false claims probably don't stop to think that by trivialising conditions they make it harder for people who are genuinely suffering to be taken seriously.

 

Any person that goes onto a website that will spit out a 'diagnosis' when you type in a few symptoms will undoubtedly find that they are apparently afflicted with something, especially where those people don't have the relevant training or education to understand the sometimes subtle differences between a personality trait and a symptom.  Mental health is not a narrow line, it is broad, and good and bad mental health overlap each other right across the spectrum.  There are many people who may exhibit extreme personality traits who are in fact in perfect mental health, and many people who may exhibit a far milder instance of the same trait but who are genuinely suffering because of it.

 

It goes without saying though that on a forum such as this you should never make assumptions about someone without being in possession of the full facts.  There can be little more upsetting for a person who is genuinely struggling with their mental health than to have to deal with criticism or disbelief from people who may not understand what that person is going through.

 

Even if you don't believe a person's claim, just keep that to yourself and avoid the subject altogether if necessary, because regardless of how unlikely or improbable you consider a person's claim may be, there is no way that you can know for sure what that person may or may not be going through.

Edited by Concerned Bystander
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A bit more to add.  I was diagnosed with a non verbal learning disability a while back so I guess I am one of those people with a mental issues, although it does not really effect my social skills.  The only thing it has effected socially is my spelling and grammar which might cause people to judge me in a bad way.  I started to watch MLP when my life was full of stress when I started to work full time in factory work so MLP defiantly served as escapism at that point in my life.  So I can for sure see that people with mental disorders can be attracted to a show like MLP for escapism since life can be such a mess for people with some disorders.

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Well I was diagnosed with milled autism when I was only 2 years old. But still I have advantaged in a way from it as I've noticed how clever I am with tons of things. Even I'm now able to identify my own thinking system like if it's computer command based. :)

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It is likely that people with disorders more commonly join in, as they are careless what others think or it makes them feel better watching it and being in the community. I have something that would fit into this, so I do have "issues," but I am able to function in society, though it may be uncomfortable.

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