Mental health vs emotions

Christgirl67

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I see lately many people are quick to categorize normal emotions as a mental health issues.I just want to know what is defined as a mental health issues theses days,and what is just a normal emotion?Is mental health a deeper issue,such as a spiritual issue?
 
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yeshuaslavejeff

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I see lately many people are quick to categorize normal emotions as a mental health issues.I just want to know what is defined as a mental health issues theses days,and what is just a normal emotion?Is mental health a deeper issue,such as a spiritual issue?
For different people , different emotions will be 'normal' where they are at.

For any emotions, we can potentially have already the gift or receive the self-control by grace in Jesus Christ to live as He Says, instead of being tossed to and fro by various things .

On this forum some spiritual things cannot be discussed, according to the rules.
 
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OldWiseGuy

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I see lately many people are quick to categorize normal emotions as a mental health issues.I just want to know what is defined as a mental health issues theses days,and what is just a normal emotion?Is mental health a deeper issue,such as a spiritual issue?

When you clear away all the clutter all problems are spiritual. If the indwelling spirit leads to a "sound mind", the opposite is certainly true.
 
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jayem

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This is the latest definition of a mental disorder in the DSM-5. Which is the standard psychiatric reference that categorizes mental illnesses, and establishes diagnostic criteria. There is an emphasis now on a physiologic disturbance in brain function, i.e., a neurotransmitter imbalance, or a malfunction of neural circuitry. And that the disorder must cause with significant distress or difficulty in the affected person's life. The definition clearly says that an expected emotional response to a situation (such as a death or loss of a loved one) is not a mental illness.

"A mental disorder is a syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotion, regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or developmental processes underlying mental functioning. Mental disorders are usually associated with significant distress in social, occupational, or other important activities. An expectable or culturally approved response to a common stressor or loss, such as the death of a loved one, is not a mental disorder. Socially deviant behavior (e.g., political, religious, or sexual) and conflicts that are primarily between the individual and society are not mental disorders unless the deviance or conflict results from a dysfunction in the individual, as described above."

I don't think I can link to it directly. The DSM is a proprietary publication of the APA (American Psychiatric Association.) Access to the on-line manual is by paid subscription.

I'll just add that there is controversy about this definition .
 
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Dave-W

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This is the latest definition of a mental disorder in the DSM-5. Which is the standard psychiatric reference that categorizes mental illnesses, and establishes diagnostic criteria.
I think the OP was talking more about popular usage rather than medical definitions. People calling normal emotional responses mental illness.
 
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Tolworth John

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I see lately many people are quick to categorize normal emotions as a mental health issues.I just want to know what is defined as a mental health issues theses days,and what is just a normal emotion?Is mental health a deeper issue,such as a spiritual issue?

This is something you really should raise with your church.
How do they deal with mental health issues?
Take post natal depression, sometimes called 'baby blues' where new mothers suffer depression. This is very common, so how does your church respond and support mothers suffering from this.

What about depression, how would your minister support church members with this mental illness?

Ask and keep asking untill an answer stating we do this, this, this, this and this is supplied.
 
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jayem

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I think the OP was talking more about popular usage rather than medical definitions. People calling normal emotional responses mental illness.

But people should be informed. It's good to know the current thinking of professionals, especially in matters of health care. Which in this case, confirms that common reactions to stressful situations are not considered mental disorders.
 
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Dave-W

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But people should be informed. It's good to know the current thinking of professionals, especially in matters of health care. Which in this case, confirms that common reactions to stressful situations are not considered mental disorders.
I agree of course. But I am sure the people who the OP was concerned about were just throwing the terms around willy-nilly.

Perhaps the proper definition and usage will help the OP to determine who is being honest in their assessment and who is just blowing steam.
 
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OldWiseGuy

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This is something you really should raise with your church.
How do they deal with mental health issues?
Take post natal depression, sometimes called 'baby blues' where new mothers suffer depression. This is very common, so how does your church respond and support mothers suffering from this.

What about depression, how would your minister support church members with this mental illness?

Ask and keep asking untill an answer stating we do this, this, this, this and this is supplied.

In this day and age proper post-natal care is virtually impossible, so the new mother is on her own.
 
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Ana the Ist

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I see lately many people are quick to categorize normal emotions as a mental health issues.I just want to know what is defined as a mental health issues theses days,and what is just a normal emotion?Is mental health a deeper issue,such as a spiritual issue?

I would say that normal emotions are "issues" once they hamper your ability to function properly on a regular basis.

As for a "spiritual issue"....I've got no idea.
 
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ananda

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I see lately many people are quick to categorize normal emotions as a mental health issues.I just want to know what is defined as a mental health issues theses days,and what is just a normal emotion?Is mental health a deeper issue,such as a spiritual issue?
"Mental health" is a spectrum.

Perfect health involves complete peace and complete freedom from delusion. Those who are experiencing some level of ignorance are somewhat mentally ill. Others who are experiencing great levels of ignorance are strongly ill. Etc.
 
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dysert

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When you clear away all the clutter all problems are spiritual. If the indwelling spirit leads to a "sound mind", the opposite is certainly true.
This is true only if you extend the definition of "spiritual" to go back to the very beginning when Lucifer's fall tainted all of creation. For example, I currently have an issue with a bad back. I didn't do anything to cause it to give me pain (I just woke up one day, and there it was). So my bad back is not a spiritual problem for me. However, if you want to say that my back has been affected by the Fall so many thousands of years ago, I wouldn't argue, although that's really a stretch.
 
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OldWiseGuy

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This is true only if you extend the definition of "spiritual" to go back to the very beginning when Lucifer's fall tainted all of creation. For example, I currently have an issue with a bad back. I didn't do anything to cause it to give me pain (I just woke up one day, and there it was). So my bad back is not a spiritual problem for me. However, if you want to say that my back has been affected by the Fall so many thousands of years ago, I wouldn't argue, although that's really a stretch.

Suffering isn't always one's fault. The spiritual failure of others can cause the innocent to suffer.
 
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jayem

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Why is it controversial?

In the view of some psychiatrists, the DSM-5 has actually made it easier to diagnose mental illness. Despite its definition of a mental disorder which I quoted, other parts of the manual seem to negate that. It's precursor, the DSM-IV specifically included a bereavement exception in its discussion of major depressive disorder. That was dropped in the DSM-5. It also introduced a host of new diagnoses--essentially new mental illnesses that have apparently been discovered. Though these are based on very thin data. The link is to an article by Dr. Allen Frances, who's the retired chief of psychiatry at Duke, and has been an outspoken critic of the DSM-5. He believes it was influenced by drug companies. The more mental illness is diagnosed, the more medications will be sold. OTOH, Dr. Frances was chairman of the DSM-IV committee, and has a financial interest in the earlier version. But his opinion is worth a read, if you're interested:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/dsm5-in-distress/201212/dsm-5-is-guide-ignore-its-ten-worst-changes

And here's a commentary defending the DSM-5:

http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/dsm-5/setting-record-straight-response-frances-commentary-dsm-v
 
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zippy2006

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In the view of some psychiatrists, the DSM-5 has actually made it easier to diagnose mental illness. Despite its definition of a mental disorder which I quoted, other parts of the manual seem to negate that.

Great, thanks. I will have to look at those links when I get a chance. That makes sense if it is in other places rather than specifically in what you quoted.
 
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bhsmte

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I see lately many people are quick to categorize normal emotions as a mental health issues.I just want to know what is defined as a mental health issues theses days,and what is just a normal emotion?Is mental health a deeper issue,such as a spiritual issue?

The inability to control one's emotions, to the point they create havoc in their world and those around them, is indeed a mental health issue. There are a host of personality disorders, that have certqin criteria, that are driven by emotions out of control.
 
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quatona

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I see lately many people are quick to categorize normal emotions as a mental health issues.I just want to know what is defined as a mental health issues theses days,and what is just a normal emotion?Is mental health a deeper issue,such as a spiritual issue?
There aren´t normal an non-normal emotions. Emotions are just that: emotions.
The potential "issue" comes up at the question: What options do I have in dealing with them?
 
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zippy2006

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I see lately many people are quick to categorize normal emotions as a mental health issues.I just want to know what is defined as a mental health issues theses days,and what is just a normal emotion?Is mental health a deeper issue,such as a spiritual issue?

There are different theories of emotions, but an old one would say that emotions are something like bodily and phenomenological reactions to intellectual perceptions. For example, fear is aversion to a future evil, sadness is (sorrowful) participation in a present evil, joy is (pleasant) participation in a present good, etc.

So if you are sad all the time with no apparent reason--no rational stimulus--then the sadness would be seen as abnormal and you may be prescribed antidepressants or something of the like. If you are sad because your spouse just died that is a normal emotion, elicited by an accurate intellectual perception.
 
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