this post was submitted on 15 Apr 2024
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You know, some day extreme religious belief will be classified as a mental illness. I hope I live to see it.
I asked someone who said they are a psychiatrist in another thread last week why belief* in any religion outside mainstream religions are classified as magical thinking while belief* in mainstream religions is not. I don't really care what beliefs people entertain as long as they're not mentally or physically harming* anyone, I just really want to know how DSM psychiatrists reconcile that.
*Autocorrect
Well, what did they say?
Nothing lol
They are asking what the psychiatrist in the other thread said
If the organization has enough capital to hinder the APA, it is a religion. If they don't, it is magical thinking and delusion.
So the ToS* flavor of satanism stands a chance ay becoming non-delusional.
The difference is entirely political, not scientific.
Probably.
The reason why cult beliefs are considered mental illness is that most people don't understand psychiatric guidelines. Psychiatrists are not supposed to discriminate against patients for their cultural beliefs, and if they do, you can sue them for malpractice. Unfortunately, average joes aren't held to any psychiatric standard and can do whatever they want, and what some of them want is to discriminate against people different than themselves. If we want to change that, we need to take action to change that by telling cult haters to fuck off.
I mean, I'm either atheist-agnostic or Omni -istic. I just find some decent ideas in several religions, but plenty of ideas that are hateful and disposable. Metaphors, similes, guidelines for ways that are either beneficial and constructive ways to direct use of our energy to ourselves and society, or very, very maladaptive and harmful. And that's how I use to differentiate what to keep and what to discard.
There's another option, which is that the extreme doomsday beliefs become a self-fulfilling prophecy and no one lives to see it classified as a mental illness outside of the momentary 'oops' when things are crashing down all around and no dead bodies come floating down from the sky to stop it.
I think about Popper's paradox more and more these days.