I once heard a psychologist say that extremist ideas were a sign of mental illness. Do you agree?
by 
Anonymous
ANSWERS: 21
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No, their just someone who thinks outside of the box.
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No.Everyone has an opinion,I believe,Phychs and patients alike.Extremists and non-extremists as well.*
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Not always. Being a psychologist is a sign of mental illness though.
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Chocolate covered almonds are really great! Does this make me nuts? :-)
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No its not a mental illness. Extremist are just people who take their cause way to far.
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To some degree, yes. Extremists are oftentimes paranoid and delusional. In the book "In History and Hatred, a review of Political Paranoia: The Psychopolitics of Hatred", Richard Webster observes: "Feelings of rage and hostility in particular are subject to denial and projected on to others. ‘Violently angry and afraid of their own aggression, paranoids defend against their rage by viewing themselves as the victims of persecutors.’ In effect, the paranoid’s impulse to persecute and tyrannize others is denied and projected on to phantom enemies who then become imaginary persecutors who must be hunted down and subsequently destroyed."
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No. I believe the psychologist is exhibiting signs though.
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There may be disillusionment involved or psychosis involvement but that doesn't automatically make someone extreme. Neither does believing to the extreme make you mentally ill. However, there may be a relationship in some instances.
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I guess that depends on whether the extremist is willing to acknowledge the existence and potential viability of another viewpoint. They don't have to agree with a differing opinion but failing to even acknowledge it definitely shows delusional signs of grandeur.
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As long as we understand that extremist ideas are an indicator which is to say when someone has such ideas AND other symptoms such as sleeplessness, extreme mood swings or any number of other things, the assorted symptoms will suggest to a psychologist that a given person is mentally ill. . As far as just saying 'all people who seem like extremists to me are insane and possibly dangerous' - well, that would be ludicrous.
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I think an extremist is out of balance and certainly not centered. If you combine that with doing harm to others that is definitely mentally defective in my opinion. There is something very wrong with a person who engages in violence against another simply because of lack of agreement on an issue...prolife/prochoice...the prolifer chooses to murder....white supremacist chooses to murder someone whom he considers to be inferior...both murderers are mentally defective...both dangerous. Scary. :( Yes, I agree.
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Extremist conspiracy-theory views are at least an indication of a mind incapable of recognizing obvious contradictions. Minds that are willing to accept contradictory facts and cling to them in the face of all challenges could certainly be defined as insane, and also as potentially dangerous.
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I think that it is true in some cases, but I also believe that it is a slippery slope to declare someone mentally ill based on anything related to their ideology. What keeps the powers that be from declaring YOU to be an extremist, and therefore insane?
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It depends on the content of the "extremist" idea, and exactly how extreme the viewpoint is, but yes, in some cases it extreme ideas and opinions can be attributed to mental illness.
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I do not really agree .... IF it was not for some extreme thinking ; would be using computers right now ? Would we be having satellites and space shuttles ? I believe that all the modern inventions that are building and saving mankind are from Extremeist Thinking ...
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That's extreme. Perhaps this psychologist should seek professional attention.
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What is the definition of extremist ideas? On that rests the answer.
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Extremist ideas and actions depend on an individuals response to authority. The people may not be mentally ill but willing to give up their conscience and value system to a "higher authority". The results are almost never good but the people aren't necessarily crazy just easily lead. Of course after a time, submitting to that authority against their better judgement and conscience wears on them. They will either be mentally ill or dead. It depends on what they are ordered to do.
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The psychologist is implying that all extremist ideas are a sign of mental illness. Disagree. For example, there are people in history that might have been considered extremists in their time but have made discoveries and given positive contributions to society.
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I guess, only if we were looking at a bell curve of sanity, the extremes, one way or the other, would fall outside the norm of insanity.
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Insofar as 'mental health' is regarded as a means of conformity (which, unfortunately, in many instances, it *is*!)! ;-)
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