Mental illnesses are not contagious

3/07/2008 | 4:23 PM | Evolved Rationalist

My recent post on the common misconceptions surrounding mental illness was mainly due to a conversation I had with a friend on the topic. This time, the same friend has sprouted some biased and bigoted claims that do not have a basis in reality.

Why do people avoid being acquainted with mentally ill patients? One of the main reasons I heard of is that they are afraid that the 'madness' would 'rub off' on them. Psychological conditions 'rubbing off' on other people? Infections of mental illness? For the last time, mental illnesses are not contagious. The disorder won't 'rub off' on you if you befriend person with a mental disorder. Deliberately pushing people aside and discriminating against them due to something outside their control is a horrible, unjustifiable thing to do. As I mentioned in my previous post, it has been found that around 30-40% of the population suffer from some form of mental disorder or another. Are those people who discriminate and go to great lengths to avoid the mentally ill actually saying that 30-40% of the population should be avoided? Something reeks of hypocrisy and selective cherry picking now, doesn't it?

There is no evidence and no rational basis whatsoever to make the absurd claim that befriending a mentally ill person will cause the disorder to 'transmit' to the so-called 'sane' person. Using such silly misconceptions and misrepresentation of the facts to actively discriminate against the mentally ill is simply bigotry in the highest degree.

Posted in Skepticism |