We’ve Made up What Mental Illness Is (And Who Decides What’s Normal Anyway?)

In today's episode we are exploring how our concepts of mental health and illness are not fixed truths but socially constructed ideas. What’s normal and what’s not is made up via thought and is always changing. Those with a diagnosis that doesn’t feel quite right might especially like this episode, along with those who always feel a bit out of place or like they don’t fit in with ‘normal people’ (like me)Join me to meander through:My bent-double moment of laughing in the bathroom that inspired the episodeHow everything in society has “Rules” which are completely made up with our thoughts (but still have real-world implications) Who decides what’s ‘normal’ and what’s a disorder anyway, and why this mattersHow this relates specifically to anxiety disorders, panic disorders, eating disorders and moreWhy recognising the constructed nature of our diagnoses is pretty cool for personal and collective freedom.A few funnies from the pastAnd Anxious Alice has an insight around this in the realm of parenting Mentioned:If Books Could Kill - The RulesThe Rules book  Email me with  questions, commens or ideasPop your name on my Friends List here for a monthly email with updates, news and suchlike.Thanks for listening. You rock.