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Bitterness To Be Classified As a Mental Illness

Some psychiatrists are trying to get excessive bitterness identified as a mental illness named post-traumatic embitterment disorder. Of course this has some people who live perfect little lives, and always get what they want, questioning the new classification. The so called "disorder" is modeled after post-traumatic stress disorder because it too is a response to a trauma that endures. "They feel the world has treated them unfairly. It's one step more complex than anger. They're angry plus helpless," says Dr. Michael Linden, the psychiatrist who put a name to how the world works.

93 of 511 comments (clear)

  1. Makes sense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'd be bitter too if I had four fingers and no torso.

    1. Re:Makes sense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      No, red potato men have smiles on their foreheads, you bigot.

    2. Re:Makes sense by internerdj · · Score: 5, Funny

      How can you tell he is bitter? He is missing the proper digit to express it to the world?

    3. Re:Makes sense by Jurily · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So, what's next on the list of mental illnesses? Hope? Happiness? Not being a properly brainwashed consumer?

      We already have boredom on there.

    4. Re:Makes sense by Mystra_x64 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Having a brain is a sure sign of possible mental illness in the future.

      --
      Quick way to get 30% Funny 70% Troll: defend Opera browser on /.
    5. Re:Makes sense by commodoresloat · · Score: 3, Funny

      yes but they still do taste quite bitter.

    6. Re:Makes sense by unlametheweak · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I can't help but feel that this is just a marketing ploy for the profession that will encourage more FDA approved "happy pills" and psychiatrists visits. Putting medical labels on different emotional states is logically dubious. I'd prefer to live with my depressive realism in peace and without the psychological burden and stigma of being labeled "mentally ill".

      I don't want people to think that I am against psychiatry however (I'll leave any antagonisms for the Scientologists to dish out). There is certainly a continuum of emotional and mental states, most of which are totally illogical (i.e. people often "fall in love" with incompatible mates, which is illogical and perhaps should be labeled a mental illness?). Everybody hallucinates, it's just that most people do it when they are asleep and forget about it unless their REM sleep is interrupted. The "mentally ill" merely fall outside of the normal bell curve for such states.

      There is quackery in all professions unfortunately, and all are in the business of making money.

    7. Re:Makes sense by The+Archon+V2.0 · · Score: 2, Funny

      It looks awfully like one of the original Mr. Men characters, though I cannot find the exact one.

      Funny.... I read that series when I was little and I really don't remember #44. Was that the ultra-limited-edition hardcover, mayhap?

    8. Re:Makes sense by Duradin · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "There is quackery in all professions unfortunately, and all are in the business of making money."

      As a wise man once said, "Life is pain. Anyone who says differently is selling something."

    9. Re:Makes sense by Sylver+Dragon · · Score: 2, Informative

      I can't help but feel that this is just a marketing ploy for the profession that will encourage more FDA approved "happy pills" and psychiatrists visits.

      I think I've read this book before...Ah yes, A Brave New World.

      --
      Necessity is the mother of invention.
      Laziness is the father.
    10. Re:Makes sense by gmack · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The worst part is that the happy pills often don't work as well as other means.

      A friend of mine who went to the doctor years ago complaining of depression. The doctor gave him Zoloft and he went completely delusional. I went with his mother to drag him back to the doctor and had him explain how he was going to get rich by joining one of the groups that rule the world.

      Doctor's answer? "well maybe we should treat this with diet instead of Zoloft" Turns out some forms of depression can be caused by nutrient imbalance and removing him from the pills at least fixed the delusions.

      Guy lost all but two of his friends because some quack decided that the quick fix was better than the non pill version.

    11. Re:Makes sense by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 3, Funny

      The cure for post-traumatic bitterness disorder is ketchup?

    12. Re:Makes sense by fractoid · · Score: 4, Funny

      Only until you boil 'em, mash 'em or stick 'em in a stew.

      --
      Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
    13. Re:Makes sense by fractoid · · Score: 2, Funny

      You may also have noticed that research causes cancer in rats.

      --
      Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
    14. Re:Makes sense by jeric23 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Little Miss Can't Be Wrong.

      It takes a doctor to spin it.

    15. Re:Makes sense by electrons_are_brave · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSMV) is under review, which is why this has popped up - it's someone lobbying for a disorder to be included. There's criticism, of course. In 1952, it had 66 disorders, by 1994 it had 400, and lordy lordy knows how many this edition will end up with. Which leads to the "we are pathologising everything" debate. I have my own dream. Personally, I research boredom and my chances of getting grant money would be much higher if the chronically & severely bored weren't just outliers from the average (i.e. really bored people), but were, in fact, mentally ill. This would benefit them because (at long last) they would have a real illness which could be treated, recognised legally by insurance companies and get researched. Some neurotransmitters are associated with fatigue, lethergy and boredom, so a drug that blocks, increases or inhibits this would be available tout suit. Of course the truth is that some people get really bored really easily. I suspect this is true of bitterness as well.

    16. Re:Makes sense by gr8dude · · Score: 2, Insightful

      (i.e. people often "fall in love" with incompatible mates, which is illogical and perhaps should be labeled a mental illness?).

      This statement has captured my attention, I'd like to ask you some things about it.

      Can you tell me your definition of "fall in love" and "incompatible mates"? I'm genuinely interested, perhaps you can provide some references to materials that try to formalize this? Or elaborate on your point of view?

    17. Re:Makes sense by thesandtiger · · Score: 3, Interesting

      In this case, I would say that one of the differential diagnostic issues would be significant subjective distress before it would be diagnosed. What this means is that you'd have to be bothered enough by it to go and seek help.

      An example of another diagnosis with that same kind of differential would be sexual dysfunction. Some people can't get it up and they don't care. No diagnosable condition. Some people can't get it up and it upsets them greatly. Voila, diagnosable condition.

      Part of the reason for trying to turn certain things into diagnosable conditions is insurance issues. Insurance refuses to pay for therapy for people who aren't "sick" - even though talking about problems with a professional can help stop problems from becoming severe enough to justify a diagnosis (and cost a LOT more money down the road). People saying it's just about making money are generally not correct - while there are some clinicians who make their living basically having chats with the worried well, most would rather spend their time working with clients who actually can benefit from help. For the most part, the bullshit diagnoses are there to help people who would benefit from preventative treatment, before something becomes severe. We treat people for elevated (but not really high) blood pressure, pre-emptively, why not also help save someone years of misery by helping them develop better coping skills before relatively tame problems they face balloon into huge ones?

      Finally, when talking about this, remember, we're not just talking about people who are kind of cynical and sour - we're talking about people who are finding that they are experiencing substantial distress and impaired functioning in many areas of their lives. If you experienced significant pain in your knees that was preventing you from walking without excruciating pain, which was in turn causing you not to exercise, making you miss days at work (or even losing your job), forcing you to stay at home because getting up to go out hurt too much, would anyone say that you going to see a doctor is unreasonable? Same thing here - it's just that because we cannot see the actual cause of the problem people are much more willing to dismiss it.

      --
      Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
    18. Re:Makes sense by ausekilis · · Score: 2, Interesting

      "Devout believers are safe-guarded in a high degree against the risk of certain neurotic illnesses; their acceptance of the universal neurosis spares them the task of building a personal one." - Sigmund Freud

  2. Cynicism by Broken+scope · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So when is Cynicism getting added to an ever expanding list of mental disorders that one more pill can set right?

    --
    You mad
    1. Re:Cynicism by node+3 · · Score: 5, Funny

      So when is Cynicism getting added to an ever expanding list of mental disorders that one more pill can set right?

      While they surely have a pill ready, all you need is an irony supplement.

    2. Re:Cynicism by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The drug companies are the ones who get the money. The doctors only get free golf trips and paperweights with drug logos on them.

    3. Re:Cynicism by Rycross · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Bipolar? Schizophrenia? Obsessive-compulsive disorder? There are plenty of real mental illnesses. Depression (as in, real depression, not the normal blues) is a real mental disorder too. You're throwing the baby out with the bathwater here.

    4. Re:Cynicism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Believe it or not, most doctors are motivated by curing or ameliorating the suffering they see so much of. The best psychiatrist I ever had, when I asked him why he chose Psychiatry as his specialty, explained that in surgery and internal medicine rotations most patients came in to the hospital with illnesses that weren't going to improve, really, despite medical intervention Late stage diabetes, cancer, heart disease, etc. In psychiatry rotations, he got to see patients that were feeling so horrible they honestly wished to die become better because of what he as a doctor could do for them, and that was a tremendously positive experience that he wanted to spend his professional life repeating for others.

    5. Re:Cynicism by Rycross · · Score: 4, Informative

      Bipolar disorder is not imaginary.

    6. Re:Cynicism by Rycross · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'm not sure how having different names for the same things means its not real. Otherwise I don't know how I manage to go to the bathroom/toilet/water closet/wash room every day. Care to make an intelligent argument?

      P.S. That Wikipedia article cites scientific research/medical information.
      P.P.S Insisting that it isn't real, without supporting your assertions, doesn't make it not real. Sorry.

    7. Re:Cynicism by gishzida · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I'm not cynical... I'm optimistically challenged!

    8. Re:Cynicism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Easy there, don't get manic about it. Sounds like you need some PharmAmorin.

      As for your question, there's always Despondex for those abnormal people who are too upbeat and happy to be suffering from a disorder.

      For everyone else, there's always Zoloft for everything or perhaps you need some Placebo, now available in liquid form.

    9. Re:Cynicism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Anything you have four different equivalent scientific terms for is not real. Sorry.

      dihydrogen monoxide, hydric acid, hydrogen hydroxide, oxidane

    10. Re:Cynicism by twidarkling · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So feeling bad is now a medical issue? Then why are all drugs that make you feel really good, illegal?

      The fact that this summary makes it seem ridiculous, the issue isn't "feeling bad." It's feeling "excessively bad to the detriment of your life and well being." Contrary to popular belief, just because you're really sad doesn't make you depressed, and just because you think you deserved that raise instead of that twerp down the hall doesn't mean you have this new one either.

      As for the "feel good drugs" being illegal, most of it's politics, coupled with some actually having pretty fucking nasty side-effects if use isn't monitored by a medical professional, hence so many pharmacologicals being illegal to distribute without being a pharmacist.

      --
      Canada: The US's more awesome sibling.
    11. Re:Cynicism by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Ironically, I don't think my Cynicism balance is that far out of whack to require a supplement. :P

    12. Re:Cynicism by kandela · · Score: 4, Funny

      Bipolar? You just named another imaginary one.

      You've got it wrong, it's monopolars that aren't real.

      --
      Conservation of angular momentum makes the world go round.
    13. Re:Cynicism by Alexandra+Erenhart · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The problem with some of the mental "suffering" you can find in people, is that sometimes is provoked by the environment, i.e. shitty society we live in (leaving aside REAL mental problems). Then you have to fix the society, and you'd cure many many people. But that's a much harder task to do, sadly.

    14. Re:Cynicism by Hatta · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'd just love to see Conformity declared a mental illness.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    15. Re:Cynicism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      What are all these dangerous chemicals of which you speak???

    16. Re:Cynicism by somersault · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Wow, so people suffering from post traumatic stress disorder after having to watch people ripped apart by bullets, or those who have phobias from traumatic experiences as kids, or weird chemical issues causing manic/bipolar or just 'regular' depression, OCD, epilepsy etc etc are simply just morons because they need pills to try to live 'normal' lives like you? A lot of people do live in their normal little worlds where they are neither overly happy nor sad all the time and their brains have no significant defects - but as with all things in life, some people lie at the extremes. Some of this will be due to life experience, other parts will be due to genetic factors or perhaps damage in the womb from an accident or a mother who liked to drink, yada yada yada, you get the picture. Yes sometimes people just need to grow the fuck up, and they eventually they usually do, but some people have serious problems. Sometimes it's a mixture of both. I would suggest that you are much more of a moron to pass judgement on things that you apparently have no knowledge of. Yeah, I know we're on slashdot, but even so..

      I had written a huuuuuge rant here about how my life was oh so sad and worthy of pity, but you probably don't care. Just be aware that even people who have nothing to really be upset about can still get depressed simply because western life is so incredibly easy and boring. People aren't built for sitting in an office all day doing nothing. I got depressed for other reasons, but I won't list them unless you would like to hear them so that you can laugh at me for being so pathetic as to let it get to me.

      Anyway, sorry if you weren't referring to stuff like depression*, and congrats if you were trolling.

      * I do agree that doctors hand out pills too easily sometimes, but you do know that it doesn't make them money at all right? It makes the pharmaceutical companies money, but doctors would still be getting paid plenty without hypocondriacs wasting their time. Pawning their patients off onto proper counsellors and/or medication is not making the doctor any more money. Believe it or not a lot of doctors just want to help people (I know some doctors and nurses who regularly go out and do missionary work for free or at least very little pay compared to what they normally get). Of course some people will just be in it for the money, but it is overly cynical to think of all of them that way. You even get some decent lawyers for crying out loud (admittedly NewYorkCountryLawyer is probably the only one, but he still shows that it's possible) :p

      --
      which is totally what she said
    17. Re:Cynicism by DriedClexler · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I'm not one to buy into the attempt to turn every inconvencience into another officially-recognized psychiatric disorder with a $100 co-pay solution. However, the description did resonate me, and I can definitely see the difference between "normal travails of life" and what they're describing.

      Let me tell you a bit of my experience:

      In college, I joined a large organization. Soon after, I was kicked out.

      So far, no big deal.

      But when I was kicked out, I was told that "numerous people" felt "physically threatened" by me, and I had *no idea* why that was. Previously, some people that were nice to me had suddenly turned around and refused to talk to me. Nobody would give me any explanation except extremely kafkaesque ones.

      Then, through a coincidental connection I had (cousin's friend had also joined the same time I did) I found that people believed I -- a virgin at the time -- had threatened to rape some of the women there. Soon after, I learned of similar, viscious rumors going on about me.

      I filed a formal complaint about this where I explained everything. Then, again by coincidence, I the writeup and the complaint had been destroyed and no one told me they did so. I appealed to another group, who refused to do anything after meeting with me, on the grounds that I "seem so angry" (ya think?). I appealed to the faculty sponsor of the organizations, and got a letter back saying, in a formal tone, "you deserved what you got, bro".

      Getting kicked out of an organization is bearable, of course, but without being given any reason why, all while being stabbed in the back and having what reputation I had destroyed? I couldn't stop thinking about it for years and years. I did try to "get over it"; I sought conseling (and was diagnosed with depression and anxiety) and tried to join other groups, but inevitably was unable to form any kind of relationship with anyone.

      I've explained my situation on slashdot before (can't find the link right now), and people refused to believe me, insisting that I must have somehow done something wrong. And throughout the whole time, I've noticed that my socialization is fundamentally different from everyone else. People suggest that I do things (in social situations) and then I refuse, saying, "but won't they [do something evil in response]" and people are astounded that I would even imagine something like that.

      I also always feel like I'm in some sort of paralysis in my life, where I don't want to make any changes (like join a group, look for work somewhere else) because every concern feels like it's preventing me from addressing the others. "Angry and helpless" described me perfectly. (I use the past tense because I recently got more intensive help and started going to church, where I have more social support.)

      Would I meet the criteria if I went in to be evaluated? I don't know. But if this diagnosis enables psychiatrists to carry over the same tools from treating PTSD, then it looks legit. It certainly runs the risk of being overdiagnosed, and it would be a shame if it ended up like ADHD, but the idea itself doesn't sound outlandish.

      --
      Information theory is life. The rest is just the KL divergence.
    18. Re:Cynicism by otopico · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Hey now, that's not safe. My grand dad drank those things his entire life and DIED!

    19. Re:Cynicism by somersault · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Yes I agree. I was on pills for depression a couple of times. After the first time, when I came off the pills it actually made a lot of things worse in the next few months (but at first I didn't realise that was anything to do with the pills, I just thought it was me being weird until I found out what OCD was, and read that citalopram can actually make some patients' symptoms of depression worse rather than help, so I assume it was that that exaggerated the slight OCDish tendencies I had already of worrying, overthinking and obsessing about patterns, numbers, etc). I told myself I'd never go back on pills again, but I eventually did when I ended up incredibly argumentative and frustrated and sabotaging relationships with my friends and family - I realised that I shouldn't have come off the pills in the first place because I was only fooling myself that I was somehow 'better'. I hadn't dealt with the root of my problems.

      The second time I made sure to lower the dosage slowly when I came off the pills, and things have been pretty good since despite a couple of situations that would have seriously messed me up beforehand. I definitely have developed new ways of looking at life and coping in general that hopefully mean I won't need to go back on meds no matter what happens.

      It's amazing how you can make life so different just by taking a little pill every day. It's scary, in fact, when you think about it. If you ever go on anti-depressants or stop to consider the effects of alcohol, caffeine or other drugs then you will realise how easily that your entire outlook on life can be affected massively by tiny chemical changes. Any tiny problems with either production or reception of certain chemicals inside the brain itself can make it difficult for some people to have what would be regarded as a "strong psyche".. while some are just lucky and seem to be hyperactively happy and positive all the time, blissfully unaware of the world's problems (yeah I'm exaggerating a little, and oftentimes in fact that kind of super-PMA is just a front).

      --
      which is totally what she said
    20. Re:Cynicism by Neuticle · · Score: 3, Informative

      The doctors only get free golf trips and paperweights with drug logos on them.

      Just to clarify, since many people have the misconception that doctors get something every time they write a prescription for anything:

      Kickbacks are illegal. When they are discovered, it results in things like jail and loss of license.

      The free golf trips went away years and years ago, and I don't think they were ever very common.

      Even the free paperweights, pens, clipboards, kleenex box etc were voluntarily stopped last year by the drug companies. Probably because doctors are actually smart enough to not be swayed by the "gift" of a $0.02 pen, and 2c x 800,000 doctors' offices adds up.

      "informational" lunches and dinners are still happening, where doctors get free food and listen to pharma whargarrble about $NEW_DRUG_X, and they do get paid if they do actual work for a pharm company as a consultant or researcher, but that is all disclosed AFAIK.

      http://www.boston.com/news/health/blog/2008/07/pharma_to_ban_g.html

      --
      "Cheeze it!" - Bender
    21. Re:Cynicism by Artifakt · · Score: 5, Insightful

      To paraphrase Krishnamurti - Not fitting in well to a sick society is not a sign of mental illness.

      --
      Who is John Cabal?
    22. Re:Cynicism by Artifakt · · Score: 4, Interesting

      A lot of the nasty side effects happen in people who are messed up, and who take the drug to self medicate. When it doesn't overcome the mental illness, or other factors push the person into unsocial behavior and worse, the drug gets all the blame. (Note that I'm not making this claim about Meth or some of the other drugs that will typically mes anyone on them up. From what I've seen Cocaine and Methamphetamine simply don't allow controlled use in the sufficiently long term.).
              For other cases though, look at LSD. Risky? Definitely. Some people are more prone to not being able to tell the difference between external reality and their internal imagery than others - for them, there's no distinction between the drug's 'visions' and the world outside. Then there's the Manson case, which proved pretty conclusively that young people could be brainwashed better under its influence by a charismatic cult leader. At the same time, regular psychiatrists and therapists were getting wonderful results. There were so many studies in the 60's where LSD based therapy seems to have contributed to long term reform of alcoholics, pedophiles, or other criminal or behavior problem types that it's simply amazing that the drug was made schedule 1 in the USA. A drug with an LD50 over a hundred thousand times its effective dose, with the counter-addictive property that after the first use, that effective does simply rises and rises until the subject literally can't get high on it unless they wait a week or two to use it again, and that was getting glowing praise in some psychiatric circles, and it wasn't restricted or controlled, it was simply totally banned. That's politics indeed.
       

      --
      Who is John Cabal?
    23. Re:Cynicism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      What the fuck is this? Slashdot or a congregation?

      Dude, if you believe in all-knowing, all-powerful wizards who control everything then you have bigger problems than anything you face in reality.

    24. Re:Cynicism by machine321 · · Score: 3, Funny

      I don't believe you; you must have done something wrong.

    25. Re:Cynicism by initialE · · Score: 3, Funny

      Dude, maybe you're a schizo and don't know it. So it's time to ask yourself: Is it really true that the world is out to get me, or
      1. do you have periods of time where you can't remember and can't account for your actions
      2. do you have an evil twin brother

      --
      Starbucks, Harbuckle of Breath.
    26. Re:Cynicism by Criceratops · · Score: 2, Funny

      To quote The Tick: "You're not going crazy, Arthur. You're going SANE in a CRAZY WORLD!!!"

      --
      crappy triceratops
    27. Re:Cynicism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Having been through something similar (false allegations of rape), I gotta say... sometimes you just have to realize there's nothing you can do. Yeah, I tried, but I realized that the best I could do was thank the authority figures involved for not trying to fuck over my future, accept that life had fucked me over, and move on. Short of producing videotape, there are some charges you just can't fight; and even with videotape you wouldn't get away clean!

      No, I didn't escape without some lingering emotional issues and a really bad reputation. But as unlucky as I was to have this happen to me, I realize I'm just as lucky it didn't end far, far worse. I did the only thing I could: I figured out what parts of my personality made it easy for some people to believe the charges, and worked on them. I didn't try to prove to anyone that I was innocent: I knew that would just make them believe the opposite. If anyone asked about the visible changes in my life that happened after the incident, I didn't even try to explain what happened. Instead, I did my best to deflect the question with a (true) answer, like "I was having with some major personal issues".

      The bad reputation was (fortunately!) limited to a fairly small community and even there it's mostly gone away by now. Many of the people who originally heard/spread rumors have since left. The rest have gotten to know me better or seen that-- based on what I've done in the intervening years-- I'm not that bad as the vague rumors suggested.

      Life is random, sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you get fucked. But the thing about it being random is that it will average itself out eventually, if you let it.

    28. Re:Cynicism by Thomasje · · Score: 5, Interesting
      I had a similar experience when I was 11 years old. Several acts of vandalism were committed at my school (bike tires punctured) and someone accused me of doing it. (I hadn't.) Pretty soon about half a dozen kids from my class were pointing the finger at me, claiming they'd seen me do it. So, I was found guilty in the court of public opinion, as they say. Luckily our class teacher was a bit more level-headed, realized that there was no evidence and besides, the class ganging up on the scrawny kid that always gets picked on anyway is itself a bit suspicious, but this accusation followed me around for a long time anyway.

      Whether it was just that one particularly scary episode, or my history of being bullied for years (I was small for my age, wore glasses, and was the best of my class at everything except sports -- you do the math), I don't know, but eventually I also ended up lonely and paranoid, always expecting the worst from people, e.g. I send someone and email and don't hear back the same day, and I immediately worry that they're angry at me and giving me the silent treatment. That sort of thing. I have gotten over it to a large extent, partly by indulging my frustration by just spending endless evenings by myself, on my couch, getting drunk, on an almost daily basis, for years. I don't recommend the alcohol part -- while it feels good, it is very bad for your health! Still, I was able to work through a lot of that stuff, and slowly (very slowly) regained my self-respect.

      The trauma will never go away entirely; once you've experienced cold-hearted cruelty, you've experienced something most people never will, and it destroys some or all of your innocent cheerfulness and spontaneity. The paranoid thoughts will come back from time to time. But, it is possible to return to leading a good, happy life; I can honestly say I am a happy person again. It just takes me a bit more courage to do some things than other people, but even that gets easier with time.

      Maybe a shrink would have been able to help me through my bitterness phase more quickly and with less liver damage. I don't trust shrinks, but I could be wrong about that of course; I wouldn't necessarily pooh-pooh the idea of qualifying bitterness as a disorder. Just because it's less bizarre than schizophrenia doesn't mean it isn't potentially serious.

    29. Re:Cynicism by CAIMLAS · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Society - all of them - is inherently sick. It's composed of people, who are all imperfect, fucked in the head, retarded, etc. etc.

      What, do you think some sort of Utopian society can actually exist? Name for me one society which has not been "sick". Failing that, can you present a logical argument as to why one might even be possible?

      Honestly, if you think it's possible, you've been reading too much fiction. Our society (western society) is notably less fucked than most throughout history, and the majority of the other ones on this planet, at this time. Can it improve? Yes. But not fitting in isn't a "bad" thing. And not fitting in -does- mean you're unsociable.

      (Said the unsociable person who's willing to face reality.)

      --
      ~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
    30. Re:Cynicism by Flammon · · Score: 2, Funny

      What's wrong with believing in an all-powerful wizard if it gets you through life happier? Just being the devil's advocate btw.

    31. Re:Cynicism by maxume · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it."

      --George Bernard Shaw

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    32. Re:Cynicism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      I was small for my age, wore glasses, and was the best of my class at everything except sports -- you do the math.

      You were small, wore glasses, were the best of your class and you STILL made other kids do the math? No wonder you were picked on!

    33. Re:Cynicism by toppings · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You seem to really relish belittling your "friend's" accomplishments. Hmmm, why does this sound familiar? Oh, right, that's just what they did to you, and it was wrong for them to do it then, but now, it's justified for you to do it now?

      So I guess hate fuels the Porsche of your own insecurity. Your hate wagon now tailgates the 3-day-old Mustang of pure love. Listen, guy, you need to let love win.

      You can learn to find joy in others' joy, even people you don't like. You will find yourself a happier person.

  3. where's my weewee? by IlluminatedOne · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It also appears to have no avenue of sexual expression. That too, can be embittering.... All kidding aside, wtf??? I better not be paying into some disability fund for all the cantankerous bastards I know out there...

  4. I resemble that remark by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I have Asperger's. Diagnosed, not self-diagnosed like so many on slashdot.

    Bitterness as a symptom of my Asperger's. This would explain a lot of the "delusions of inadequacy" side of my personality. I work so hard at some stuff that I'm just incapable of, like having a real career where I'm not exploited.

    A lot of my paranoia is related to this as well.

    I'm so lucky to be in a company now that respects my talents, and allows me time to deal with my mental illnesses; but not everybody is that lucky.

    --
    SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
    1. Re:I resemble that remark by Rycross · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That seems rather presumptuous of you. Do you know Marxist Hacker? Because you're making a big assumption about him without pretty much any evidence.

      You do realize that a disorder being over-diagnosed doesn't necessarily mean that it doesn't exist, right?

    2. Re:I resemble that remark by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I've got a good thing going NOW- but it took failing at being a civil servant to get here.

      I've got some niggling little physical symptoms for my Asperger's as well- stimming to the point of rubbing holes in my skin and bleeding (sometimes without noticing); migraines (sun, violins, and vinegar salad dressing are three big triggers); disgraphia (ha, there's a reason to go into software engineering, where one can type rather than write!); spd (sensory perception disorder- aka halucinations).

      I don't understand how anybody with Asperger's would be totally unable to work. Unable to keep a job more than three years in a row due to driving everybody else nuts, yes, but not totally unable to work.

      --
      SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
    3. Re:I resemble that remark by Rycross · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You should only diagnose disorders you can treat without drugging them. The rest is just life.

      That's assuming that there are no mental disorders that require chemical treatment. That point of view isn't supported by the medical evidence out there. Someone with schizophrenia isn't going to get better by just dealing with it, and any serious doctor would laugh at the idea that its "just life."

      Meanwhile, marijuana is illegal because it makes you smile.

      So smoking a blunt to feel happy is OK, but taking a pill to help you through a rough patch is a sign of weakness or a shirking of personal responsibility? Give me a break.

    4. Re:I resemble that remark by rdavidson3 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      A friend has a 6-year old boy with Asperger's as well and I never met a kid that smart in my life. He has noticeable ticks and habits, but the remarkable thing most people remember about him are his reading and writing are at a level I would believe at least 5 grades higher, and remembers everything. And what kind of kid at 6 can do math (multiple and divide 2 and 3 digit numbers) in his head without breaking a sweat; he's a walking calculator.

      Amazing kid.

    5. Re:I resemble that remark by Culture20 · · Score: 3, Funny

      You should only diagnose disorders you can treat without drugging them. The rest is just life.

      You posted in the wrong thread. The recent Scientology thread is here: http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/05/26/2111214
      BTW, don't visit France right now.

    6. Re:I resemble that remark by penguinstorm · · Score: 4, Insightful

      > but it took failing at being a civil servant to
      > get here.

      Failing as a civil servant is usually as good a sign as any that you're well qualified for private sector work.

      --
      Skot Nelson music is my saviour / i was maimed by rock and roll
  5. Bitterness is a mental illness by Daimanta · · Score: 5, Funny

    I have fought for the classification of bitterness into the mental illnesses several decades ago but people laughed at me. Still bitter about it.

    --
    Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power lost.
    1. Re:Bitterness is a mental illness by Locke2005 · · Score: 5, Funny

      They all laughed at me when I said I wanted to become a comedian... but nobody is laughing now!

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  6. Obsessive Classificatory Disease? by cptnapalm · · Score: 4, Insightful

    These people who seem to need to classify every single possible emotional state as an illness have some serious mental issues.

  7. Re:Pfft by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 3, Informative

    So all developers are ipso facto mentally ill? It would explain quite a lot.

    --
    No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
  8. Humor in the summary? by nine-times · · Score: 4, Insightful
    I'm wondering about this:

    Of course this has some people who live perfect little lives, and always get what they want, questioning the new classification. The so called "disorder"...

    Is this supposed to be funny, or is the submitter suffering from some embitterment himself?

    I know some people love having their personality labelled as a "disorder" because they believe it then excuses their actions. But also having a label like this can help people cope. Having a label can help you wrap your head around your own thoughts and behaviors, make you feel like you're not uniquely screwed up and alone, and figure out what steps might help you improve.

  9. bah by grub · · Score: 5, Funny


    "They feel the world has treated them unfairly.

    I don't think the world has treated me unfairly, I just happen to share it with 6 billion fucking cunts I can't stand.
    What's wrong with that?

    .

    --
    Trolling is a art,
  10. There's a recession going on, people. by taustin · · Score: 4, Funny

    And psychiatrists have boat payments to make, dammit!

    At the rate things are going, this will soon become so serious that it can only be treated with a brand new, expensive drug just invented. It's a derivative of the drug they use for Restless Leg Syndrome, only it costs a lot more.

    1. Re:There's a recession going on, people. by JCSoRocks · · Score: 3, Funny

      They're also offering drugs to help you with that other pesky disorder you've got called Unemployment. Increasingly common, Unemployment is said to be associated with depression, lethargy, weight loss and poor appearance. See your doctor today about the new medications available to treat your Unemployment.

      --
      You are using English. Please learn the difference between loose and lose; they're, there, and their; your and you're.
  11. Re:Pschyciatrists by node+3 · · Score: 5, Funny

    You sound bitter...

  12. Re:Hmm, on that note.. by nizo · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...my girlfriend who likes TV and Facebook a bit more than the average person?

    I dunno, have you met the average person? TV and Facebook are way better than those poor sods.

  13. It's a trick! by gringofrijolero · · Score: 2

    It just makes it easier, and more convenient to have people locked up in the rubber room. Hate the IRS? You're just bitter. We have "treatment" for that now. A little "reeducation" oughta fix you right up. Gettin' close to that Twilight Zone where everybody had to think happy thoughts, or the kid would turn you into a jack-in-the-box.

    --
    Todos mis movimientos están friamente calculados
  14. I submit by ArsonSmith · · Score: 2, Funny

    I submit "Compulsive Classification" as a mental disorder, but everybody thinks I'm paranoid. I have proof.

    --
    Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
  15. Re:Solution to the problem by palegray.net · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Sounds better than chemically-induced passivity, which is what these doctors seem to be advocating.

  16. Re:Hmm, on that note.. by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I play a few too many video games than I probably should, when will that be a diagnosable mental illness?

    It already is.

    How about my girlfriend who likes TV and Facebook a bit more than the average person?

    Yep. And yep.

    Probably easily treatable with a $300 bottle of pills from the big pharma's right?.

    Actually, the answer is no. Addiction disorders are treated primarily with therapy and 12-step programs. There are often other, related and usually contributing disorders, such as depression and anxiety, that are treated with pills from big pharma. But they're not necessarily $300 a bottle.

    (Full disclosure: my wife is a psychologist and addictions counselor)

  17. Be Well to you! by erroneus · · Score: 5, Funny

    I would just like to convey my sympathies to all those who have become embittered due to the traumatic stress of a world fraught with unfair competition, divisiveness, and discrimination. If you were born ugly and attractive people have more opportunities in life, that is no reason to be bitter. If you have been informed that you are somehow not good enough but not explained in what way, that is no reason to be bitter. If you are black in a predominantly white-controlled area and can't seem to get a fair chance in life, that is no reason to be bitter. If you are white and in a predominantly black-controlled area and can't seem to get a fair chance in life, that is no reason to be bitter.

    There are many acceptable ways to respond to adversity in life so long as it is not angry or bitter in any way. If you happen to respond to such circumstances with anger and bitterness, fear not! We will not hold it against you, nor will we hold you responsible for it. We have declared that this is a mental illness and soon there will be treatments available for it. While the treatments will not elevate your social status in any way, you will be more accepting of "your place in life" so that your inner spirit will be more peaceful and docile. You will be better suited to serving those you had once resented for so long.

  18. Re:American Liberals by Red+Flayer · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I have yet to meet a liberal who was happy or content with their lives.

    That's because, in general, liberals realize that there are tons of real problems out there that should be solved.

    Ignorance is Bliss, it's been said, and I find the corollary, "Understanding is Unhappiness", to be the cause of typical liberal cynicism.

    I'd also note that all the happy conservatives I've met are those who are deliberately ignorant, or just plain without conscience.

    --
    "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
  19. Re:Solution to the problem by dcollins117 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Everyone has experienced depression and anxiety at some point in their lives, but not everyone has a clinical depressive or anxiety disorder. I've certainly experienced trauma and bitterness in my life, but don't have PTSD as a result of it. Some people do. If it means they can now get help as a result of this classification (meaning it is more likely to be covered by their medical insurance), well, it's no skin off your back, is it?

  20. fucking great by spidercoz · · Score: 5, Funny

    the world is full of bastards and now I'M the mentally ill one

    --
    "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Evelyn Beatrice Hall, re Voltaire
  21. Re:Solution to the problem by castorvx · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I've experienced a sense of extreme bitterness in my life. That feeling is very much accompanied by a sense of helplessness. Some recover and some do not recover.

    It is, however, disingenuous to suggest that some people are just being whiny. Don't fool yourself. These people aren't happy being this way. They are miserable. They're probably depressed. Severely depressed. If you have ever been truly depressed you know these feelings well. They can ruin your life if you don't get help.

    Being overly bitter is indicative of something. That person believes beyond a shadow of a doubt that they got screwed on the dice roll in life. If classifying extreme bitterness helps medical professionals make better decisions in how to help people in that situation, I applaud it.

  22. Re:A new twist on Orwell by Qzukk · · Score: 4, Funny

    Don't give Them ideas, They are already quite certain that They have the power to quarantine you without due process.

    --
    If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
  23. Re:Post Traumatic WTF by ebuck · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Never hear of shell shock, eh?

    We don't talk about mechanical stress being so unreal that broken bones are just character flaws. Why assume the nervous system is so perfect that no experience could cause it to fail or malfunction? Why assume that the mental system is so perfect that no experience could cause it to fail or malfunction?

    Mechanical stress breaks bones. Nervous system stress can cause arrhythmias and tachycardia. Mental system stress can cause inability to perform.

    I would tell you more, but I'm not the expert. Instead, walk through those doors and talk to someone who knows much more about it than I do, "Cthulhu, next!"

  24. Good news for married men, disability benefits now by echtertyp · · Score: 2, Funny

    This could be good for married men all over America. Benefits and compensation :)

  25. Re:A gun makes more sense. by ravenshrike · · Score: 2, Informative

    *blinks* No, the 38 special is a medium powered .357 caliber bullet with the 38 referring to the cartridge diameter . It is a common revolver caliber but not a semi-auto caliber, which tend to be 9 mil or .45 in the U.S.

  26. Re:American Liberals by Rob+the+Bold · · Score: 2, Funny

    If there's oppression to be found, don't dance around it, WIPE IT OUT. By force if necessary. Just take the bull by the horns and fucking solve the problem. It shouldn't be made more complicated then that. When you do, it makes for more "worrying" because now the issue has gone from bad to worse.

    Since you've got all the answers, take your brilliant plan and just do it. Make sure to post your triumph on Slashdot so we can learn the secret of "taking the bull by the horns and fucking solving the problem". I know we'd all like to hear that story.

    --
    I am not a crackpot.
  27. But what about Scotland? by SimonInOz · · Score: 3, Funny

    So what will they do about Scotland? It seems to be full of bitter, sad people. I didn't know it was a mental condition, I thought it was just how Scottish people were.

    Mind you if I lived somewhere where it was cold wet and windy and they made me wear a skirt with nothing under it, I'd be bitter too.

    And then there's the beer. Oh, and haggis ... and bagpipes ...

    --
    "Cats like plain crisps"
    1. Re:But what about Scotland? by BlindRobin · · Score: 2, Funny

      The bitterness comes from six choobs ae spesh ahna bootle ae bucky but it aye gaes awa when englin looses at the fitbah.

  28. Re:American Liberals by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    You wouldn't like my plan as it involves warfare against dictatorships. [...] .By going after the root cause, it solves many problems.

    Yeah, those liberal dumbasses should have a look at Iraq or Afghanistan if they think that kind of stuff doesn't work.

  29. Re:Solution to the problem by Rob+the+Bold · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You might not have meant it this way, but "deal with it like an adult" comes off as condescending, assuming you're talking to an adult, or insensitive, if you're talking to someone with a disabling mental disorder. I would suggest that any grown-up who could "deal with it like an adult", would already be doing so.

    --
    I am not a crackpot.
  30. Re:American Liberals by lgw · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Here's some advice towards happiness from a conservative who is neither ignorant nor without conscience: if you didn't break it, and you can't fix it, stop worrying about it. It is simply not your job to fix all the problems in the world. Your shoulders are not that broad, and you're not expected to carry that weight.

    Instead, focus on this: stop screwing up your own life. Stop screwing up other people's lives through your direct, measurable actions. Take responsibility for (i.e., work to make better) the unintended consequences of your actions. Make your own life good, and spread the goodness to those nearest you. These are things you can actually do.

    Do these things and you'll be happy, because you'll be productive and a service to your community. Spending all day worrying about shit you can't affect in any way just makes you a useless (and sad) lump.

    --
    Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  31. Re:Solution to the problem by Artifakt · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Here's the real problem with telling sick people to just "Deal with it like an adult".
          I'm a Diabetic. Right now, I take only small amounts of oral meds, even though I occasionally have some processed sugar in my diet. That's because over about three years, I lost 20 pounds and built 25 back into muscle, starting at age 50 to get off insulin and lead a more normal life. I'm currently healthy as a horse (2 mile runs at least 3 times a week, LONG runs on weekends, bench 255, takes about 45 minutes continuously on a stairmaster just to get my heart up to what is technically it's calculated training rate, and five minutes later it will be back down to 68 BPM).
          When I was typical slashdot poster age, I was in the Army. I went from being a sedentary oscilloscope jockey on entry to scoring over 400 on the Army Physical Fitness Test extended scale in, again, about 3 years. In training, I ran against and frequently matched a soldier who had been awarded the Silver in Barcelona the year before. So, I can actually claim to have been in near Olympic condition. (please note the near). At some points I did long range recon, with 55 pound standard load, plus because I was the biggest guy in my squad I also carried an M-60, spare barrel assembly and four or so belts of ammo on what sometimes turned into 70-80 mile hikes in rough country (average altitude was over 11 thousand feet for some of these little expeditions).
          'Beating' Diabetes fifteen years after that was harder. Until I got to the point where I could come off the insulin itself, the pain from exercise was constant, at a level that would have broken me back in my twenties. The zone between not enough exercise to improve and too much to heal up from becomes incredibly narrow when your sugar is that high. it's a target you just can't hit consistently. It took weeks to heal from some little training slips that would typically be ignored the next day in a young healthy person, and there were stages where the inflammation effects from exercising under the medications triggered (fortunately temporary) symptoms resembling advanced MS. After six months, I came off the insulin, and soon after it got to be just as rough as it is for any 50 year old man to build 25 pounds of muscle.
            I had a lot of people tell me it was just a matter of willpower, of manning up and being an adult. Yes it is. Any average person, who has merely approximately the will normally needed to become an Olympic level athlete, can do it.
            That's why it comes off as condescending. If you're a highly decorated combat infantryman, or an Olympian... If you made it through the original Mercury program... If you are one of the ten greatest living concert pianists or even just an Iron Chef, or merely use your Pulitzers to hold up the shelf for your Nobel, by all means, tell me it just took a little willpower or doing what a typical adult would and should do. From that exalted viewpoint, you may mean it well. If you don't have credentials such as those, anything you say about maturity, willpower, or dedication is hypocritical at best.
            Now maybe some of these people with the mental disorders really do have no real idea how much they just have to reach down into themselves and find the energy to continue, over and over, but maybe they've fought a battle every single damned day that makes my whole life look like a lazy river ride.
           

    --
    Who is John Cabal?
  32. and a great way to stifle dissent by waterbear · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Just think of the 'advantages' of having bitterness classified as a mental illness/disorder:

    All those awkward folk who get themselves wronged and deprived of justice -- they can be reclassified as mentally ill, and maybe compulsorily treated with some happy pill, maybe locked up. And finally, they'll come to realize that there is justice after all, and they'll get to love Big Brother .....

    -wb- :(

  33. Re:American Liberals by evol262 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Hellhole is relative. By your definition, probably. Yes, they had secret police and a fairly oppressive government. They also had sanitation facilities, power, and other infrastructure which we bombed out upon invasion. They had competent public servants with decades of experience who we promptly declared criminals when we outlawed The B'aath party. Employment rates were higher before the invasion. While this may turn out for them in the end, it's far from decided, and as it stands, they're worse off by every measurable economic metric. GDP is rather an unfair comparison unless you compare it to pre-sanction levels, and using numbers from 2003 (brutal sanctions, Iraq couldn't sell oil, just starting to recover from the global recession in 2001-ish) is utterly disingenuous, not that you probably care.

    Please explain how Hannibal handled a nonexistent entity (the Roman Empire). It was the Roman Republic. He spent 15 years in Italy, and was unable to come to a decisive finish due to Carthaginian authorities diverting resources to Iberia and Roman control of the sea (preventing Hannibal from getting siege equipment that would let him take major cities), combined with trouble at home (Numidia specifically). Initial success (including what is possibly the most crushing defeat in military history for the Romans), left to languish with limited manpower, dwindling public support in Italy, and multiple fronts from the home government. The Romans (Fabius Maximus) took to a strategy of harassment and delay without any open engagements. Sound familiar? It's an oft-repeated story, yet somehow people convince themselves that "quick, decisive" wars will automatically "shock and awe" the native populace like life is a video game.

    As an aside, the Punic wars had fuck-all to do with "tyranny and oppression." They were purely power struggles, with neither side being particularly virtuous. Unless I'm mistaken, "tyranny and oppression" can also be dealt with through other means (British India being a notable example, though there are others historically). Most of the time, dealing with "tyranny and oppression" through force leads to another radical in power when the "force" isn't pressing anymore.

    --
    "The more corrupt a society, the more numerous are its laws." -Tacticus