But real talk, I’d say like 20% of this forum have ACTUAL legit mental conditions.
Another 20% are just normal people trolling, here for laughs, random stuff of interest.
The remaining 60% are just socially awkward/maladjusted. But want to self-diagnose as having mental illness to feel special.
But really the source of their “depression”, “narcissism”, “sociopathy” (and other clinical terms that are being b*stardized by the mainstream) is just loneliness.
Due to current societal trends, entire generations are being raised in environments with little or minimal social skills instruction and few authentic opportunities to practice them outside of online venues…WHICH IS NOT SUFFICIENT. Many on this forum are actually quite intelligent if you aren’t distracted by the shenanigans. I have a theory that message boards tend to attract thinkers more than other social media formats.
But some have taken on the mantle of being smart and used it as an excuse for their social awkwardness among other excuses.
And now mental illness has become yet another banner to hide their social skills deficits behind. Just like conservatism or being educated.
Instead of just admitting they don’t know how to interact with people and are lonely, it’s edgier and gives their loneliness more meaning if they attach it to a clinical mental illness.
That’s why I refer to people as being pseudo-autistic. Because these individuals have a cultivated, socially-conditioned issue, rather than an actual cognitive disorder.