My brother told me evil doesn’t exist and that criminals are actually mentally ill. I know that for pedophiles and sex offenders there is diagnosis for those in the DSM5. They use therapy and medications to reduce their sex drive like testosterone blockers, SSRI, etc
He said that in the future there will be medical treatments for criminals as its a problem in the brain. I read online that antipsychotics are used in prison and in psychopaths to reduce aggressivity. Risperdal really suppressed my aggressivity.
Some people do bad things on purpose and choose agression and intimidation over more peaceful options and I don’t always necessarily think it’s due to a diagnosis.
It can also be a bad upbringing or simply deciding to be a douchebag because it’s easier.
Feeling agressive isn’t always a choice. But unless your mental state is impaired, acting on the agression is a choice.
Antipsychotics slow your reactions and give you more time to reflect on the impulse instead of acting on it.
And probably makes people too tired to bother raging.
Psychiatric medications may also alleviate co-occurring conditions sometimes associated with the disorder or with symptoms such as aggression or impulsivity, including antipsychotic, antidepressant or mood-stabilizing medications, although none have yet been approved by the FDA for this purpose. For example, a study found that the antipsychotic clozapine may be effective in reducing various behavioral dysfunctions in a sample of high-security hospital inpatients with antisocial personality disorder and psychopathic traits.
Yea, it reduces the behaviors.
But does it fix what triggers those behaviors?
Does it take away wanting to do those things?
Or does it just take the fight out of the inmates by drugging them up legally?
Here a lot of psychiatric patients who’ve done crimes are in regular prisons because there is no space in specialized centers. But the law makes in Belgium a distinction between crimes committed by severely mentally ill people and regular criminals. This is assessed by a specialized psychiatrist.
That’s kind of insulting to all people with mental illness.
I, for one, do not want to be lumped in with criminals because of biochemical and structural differences in the brain.
What your brother’s viewpoint does is reinforce stigma surrounding mental illness.
Everyone with mental illness is different, and just because someone is mentally ill does not make them a criminal.
While it is true that some criminals may also have a comorbid mental illness by way of trauma or biology, some simply act out of sheer impulse and malice.
We also have to remember that there are different types and degrees of criminality:
What would your brother say about white collar crime, for instance?
Would he still have the same opinion concerning those who are highly educated that embezzle millions of dollars or commit highly sophisticated fraud?
I dunno.
…I think your brother has a lot to learn about mental illness, and humans in general. No offense.
If this was true, we would have 0.9% of the world’s population wanting to kill everyone. That is a lot of people! The entire world will be wiped off if that was the case. Obviously that isn’t happening.
Aziz, take an introductory philosophy class at your community college. It’ll shed light on the existence of evil. Then I’d recommend a critical thinking course where you can openly discuss the use of meds and treatment for criminals.
90% of prison inmates are aggro being locked in a cell all day, usually holding violent offenders. antipsychotics used as a way to pacify inmates is viable, only because some aps act as sedatives. You likely became less aggressive on Risperidone because you were to drowsy to do much else. I know when I took it, my faculties didn’t change, I was just tired.
I think, its important to pass the Bill in parliament before giving psy meds to criminals. Because these pills are adictive and cause problems after prison.
Not all criminals have a chemical imbalance. Some heinous crimes are premeditated and deserve the harshest punishment by law. I don’t know what drug you’d give a drug trafficker.
The brain is such a complex organ, why mental illness exists questions not why evil exists but why suffering exists. An argument is for there to be good, there must be evil. Likewise, for there to be happiness, there must be suffering.
Yeah, I don’t believe that for a minute. Not all criminals are mentally ill. Your brothers theory reminds me of what they did in that movie Clockwork Orange to those criminals.
Lots if crimes are caused by mental states like emotions or intoxication or irrationality or impulsiveness or stupidity but those arnt mental illnesses.
No, but it is a perception a lot of people have, particularly those without experience in mental health. My brother held the same opinion about mass murderers, because surely no sane person could commit such atrocities. Unfortunately, people sometimes do bad things, and it’s very often not due to mental illness. I told my brother to get learnt, and he now does not hold that opinion. Take people with schizophrenia for example, they are far more likely to be a victim to a violent crime, than be the perpetrator. So to answer your question, no, I do not believe all criminals have mental illness, and it is very often conflated when it should not be.
I think there are some people with mental illness in jail but most are not. I think many claim to have a mental illness to get a reduced sentence or a less harsh one. For sure there are some who legitimately have a mental illness. Eventually I was placed in a psychiatric wing of jail and the people there were much less aggressive.
I think in jail there are quite a few people who are sober crystal meth addicts. A large portion of the people in every module I was in take some form of antipsychotics or antidepressants.