disclosing a diagnosis to potential friends

[dybmh]

How come?

It seems reasonable enough to me

The way I see it, being cool with me is a prerequisite for being one of my friends

Maybe it's a personal preference; I think it's rude to test people like that. It's like drawing a line in the sand before you get to know them better. Or, maybe it's my optimistic bias; I think it would be rare to find someone who discriminates against schizophrenics. Why not assume that people will treat you equitably until given a reason to the contrary?

 

[Firelight]

“Personally, unless a physical cause is identified, I'm not a fan of "changes in emotion, thinking or behavior* " being labelled as an illness. If it was they wouldn't need to keep rewriting the DSM / ICD.”
I'm suggesting there may not be an illness to "declare."
As I said, if there is a physical cause it is an illness. If not, it isn't.
From a health perspective, irrelevant.

Well, your comments sound a little rude and it seems as though you are delegitimizing mental illness. A person with schizophrenia would know he has a legitimate illness, whether or not you’re “a fan.”

 

[Secret Chief]

Well, your comments sound a little rude and it seems as though you are delegitimizing mental illness. A person with schizophrenia would know he has a legitimate illness, whether or not you’re “a fan.”

I know that schizophrenia is real. I'm not "delegitimising" anything. I'm simply wondering is the cause/s of schizophrenia known? If it has a physical cause I consider it an illness. Depression is real, but what is the cause? To really address the cause requires the cause to be known and understood. You can "lift" a mood with drugs, but if that root cause persists the "illness" is not "cured", whatever the cause. My mention of hysteria is to suggest that just because something is in the DSM it does not automatically mean it is an "illness." I realise the DSM "legitimises."