Mental Disorders and Crime (Part 1 and Part 2)

Author: Liu Baju / Country:
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-08-01
Features: 2. Definition of Social Coordination According to the definition of social coordination, those who cannot adapt to the society they are in and whose behavior does not conform to social norms (mainly customs, traditions, and conventions) are abnormal. This definition is based on the assumption that the consistent views and practices of the majority are always correct. The advantage of this definition is that, based on it, people generally accept the judgment of abnormal and normal. However, the disadvantages of the definition are also obvious. First, the consistent views and practices of the majority are not necessarily correct, as countless facts have proven. For example, in China in the past, from the Sui and Tang dynasties to the late Qing Dynasty, foot-binding was a custom, and people considered small feet beautiful. Turning to The Complete Collection of Song Lyrics, one can find many lines praising small feet. Yan Jidao's Rivers and Lakes states: "Folding the willow skirts finely, the smoke threads are thin; with silk socks, the moon is curved." He Zhi's Nanxiangzi writes: "At the Twenty-Four Bridges, where lovers frolic, lingering. Hand in hand, charmingly, stepping on lotus flowers." Xin Qiji's Nian Nu says: "I heard that at the east end of the elegant street, travelers have seen, under the, delicate moonlight." Lu Bing's Tasanhua describes: "Bright eyes cut jade, with muscles like jade. shoes with small golden lotus, complementing." However, all this cannot hide the pain foot-binding caused women. In Ba Jin's novel trilogy The, the fourth daughter of the Gao family, Shuzhen, is a victim of this harmful practice. She "endured many whips, suffered long-term pain, shed many tears, and had some sleepless nights, yet she managed to make her feet into such deformed things."① The custom of foot-binding was abandoned by people in the early 20th century. Second, the consistent views and practices of the majority may also change. Here, the rise and fall of disco dancing in China can serve as an example. Dancing disco before the reform and opening-up was unimaginable. At that time, if someone danced disco, most people would see their twisting and shaking movements and call them immoral or "mentally unstable." Because Chinese people had always considered any act that emphasized the buttocks, breasts, thighs, or other body parts as indecent. After the reform and opening-up, disco dancing was introduced from abroad and attracted a large number of young people. At first, middle-aged and elderly people couldn’t stand it, thinking it was improper, but over time, they became accustomed to it. The surprising thing is that later, there was even "elderly disco." Moreover, social norms differ across different cultural backgrounds. When Chinese people look at foreigners, foreigners look at Chinese people, and people from all over the world look at each other, there are many things they find unacceptable. However, it is only unacceptable, and one must not call others abnormal because of it, nor can one force others to change according to one's own way. 3. Definition of Ethics According to the definition of ethics, if a person expresses their behavior in a non-ethical way, they are abnormal. Ethics refers to people's views, principles, and certain norms of mutual behavior formed based on these views and principles regarding issues such as good and evil, honor and shame, justice and injustice. In reality, based on this definition, one can only distinguish between people with good and poor moral cultivation, not between mentally abnormal and mentally normal people, because mental state and moral cultivation do not necessarily have a direct relationship. A person with excellent moral cultivation may exhibit mental abnormalities; a mentally abnormal person may be charitable; and a mentally normal but morally poor person is even more common in the world. Of course, there are also people who are both mentally abnormal and unethical, as a completely irrational person cannot have moral concepts. Morality is not an absolute concept; its interpretation varies with class, time, and region. Capitalist society promotes survival competition and individual struggle, while we now advocate mutual help and common progress. This difference is mainly due to the different nature of society. Extramarital sex is considered immoral in China and even in the West, but the Toda of India in India make no criticism of it, saying, "A man who is unwilling to let his wife have sex with others will be labeled as immoral."① This difference is mainly due to cultural differences. The above are some of the main definitions of mental disorders. In addition, there are some definitions that do not constitute definitions, all of which are based on experience. For example, if a person feels mentally unwell and seeks treatment, they are a person with a mental disorder; if a person cannot function well most of the time, they are a person with a mental disorder. Regarding the latter definition, American sociologist Frank Scarpitti made an interesting comment. He said: "A person who cannot function is more likely to be labeled with a mental illness than a person who shows many of the same symptoms but can still maintain a social position. A person who behaves strangely, talks to themselves, or talks to strangers in public is easily called 'crazy'—especially when they are unemployed, bankrupt, or lonely. But if such a person happens to be an artist or scientist, has a normal income, and a respected social status, they can be considered a genius." This remark, although overly critical of some artists and scientists, is quite insightful. In psychology, emotion and mood are two concepts that are both related and distinct. Broadly speaking, they are the same, as they are the inner experiences and attitudes people have toward objective things. Narrowly speaking, they are different. Professor Yang Qing pointed out in Introduction to Psychology that: "Emotion and mood are both subjective experiences of people in various activities, and these subjective experiences are also products of the human brain. However, emotion is mainly associated with five conditional reflexes, while mood is mainly associated with conditional reflexes."① Narrowly speaking, mood refers to a more complex and stable attitude experience related to people's social needs, such as moral sense, aesthetic sense, sense of honor and shame, sense of superiority, sense of inferiority, love, and hatred. Narrowly speaking, emotion refers to a temporary and intense attitude and experience that arises when a person is stimulated by their living environment and whether their biological needs are met. Emotion can be divided into positive emotions and negative emotions. Positive emotions include happiness, joy, excitement, joy, comfort, ease, relief, satisfaction, etc., while negative emotions include sadness, fear, worry, distress, guilt, restlessness, depression, anxiety, and anger, etc. In the field of psychiatry, people do not make a strict distinction between emotion and mood and often use them interchangeably. Therefore, what is called an emotional disorder is also an emotional disorder, or it includes emotional disorders.
I. Pathological Dominant Emotion Pathological dominant emotion refers to an emotional state that occupies a prominent position in a person's psychological activities but whose intensity is not appropriate for the stimulation of the real environment. If a pathological dominant emotion persists for a relatively long time, it is called a pathological dominant mood. Mood refers to a relatively long-lasting emotional or mood state. Dominant emotions can also appear in the psychological activities of mentally normal people, but their intensity and duration are appropriate for the stimulation of the real environment, such as being overjoyed at good news, grieving at the death of a loved one, being frightened by a shock, or being dejected at a setback. Pathological dominant emotions mainly include: (1) Emotional Elevation The patient's emotions are abnormally elevated, they show joy, are talkative and active, feel good, and are unaware of worries. This is mainly seen in mania and other mental disorders accompanied by manic states. Some may manifest as euphoria, with a relaxed and happy expression, humorous but shallow speech, and ridiculous but foolish behavior, loving to joke and play pranks. Some may have emotional elevation to a "ecstatic state," with extreme joy, losing themselves, and a sense of being on top of the world, mainly seen in mental disorders caused by psychoactive substances. (2) Emotional Low Mood Also known as pathological mood, its manifestations are the opposite of emotional elevation. The patient's emotions are low, their mood is depressed, they are talkative and slow-moving, their self-perception is poor, and they often have delusions of guilt, delusions of illness, pessimism, and even suicide. They may also engage in expansive suicide, causing harmful consequences. Emotional low mood is a typical manifestation of depression and can also be seen in psychogenic depressive states and menopausal depressive states. In addition, pathological dominant emotions also include "anxiety," which has already been discussed in this book. It should also be mentioned that "panic reaction," which refers to an extremely severe state of fear, where the patient may run and shout due to extreme fear or even injure others in a fit of impulse. It can be seen in mental disorders caused by psychoactive substances, epileptic mental disorders, acute episodes of schizophrenia, and acute stress reactions.
II. Emotional Induced Disorders Emotional induced disorders refer to emotions that are easily induced or difficult to induce, mainly including: (1) Irritability The patient's emotions are easily induced, and even slight stimuli can cause strong negative emotional reactions. At the same time, their self-control is weakened, and they are prone to argue with others or even burst into anger. This symptom is similar to what people usually call "bad temper," but to a greater extent. It is commonly seen in hysteria, neurasthenia, manic states, and mental disorders caused by brain organics and somatic diseases. (2) Pathological Rage Rage is a sudden emotion that erupts violently. Pathological rage occurs more suddenly, and the reaction to stimuli is excessive. The patient cannot control it and often leads to cruel violence. Afterward, they may feel physically and mentally exhausted, some may fall into a drowsy state, and others may experience depression or regret. Many patients also have a certain degree of consciousness disturbance and cannot fully recall their actions afterward. It is commonly seen in mental disorders caused by head trauma, epileptic mental disorders, mental disorders caused by psychoactive substances, and can also be seen in schizophrenia. Yuan Mei's Continuation of Zilu's Tales records an incident that is very similar to a pathological rage episode: A young man named Yin from Wuxun County, named Yin, had a sister who was only twelve years old. It was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the family was drinking together. They heard that a woman from the neighboring household was insulting her mother, and the voices were very harsh. Suddenly, the sister changed her expression and rushed into the woman's house with a knife, destroying the table and chairs and grabbing the woman to stab her. The family rushed to rescue, but the girl was very strong, and it took six or seven people to finally free her. They brought her back and asked her why, but she was still angry and roaring, shouting loudly: "I must kill this woman to avenge her mother." The family forcibly put her to bed, and she fell into a deep sleep. When she woke up, they questioned her, and she was ashamed, sweating and crying, not knowing why.
(1) Perceptual Disorders Mental disorders are a common pathological cause of crime. Hallucinations are more common among people with mental disorders. People with mental disorders firmly believe in hallucinations and will have corresponding emotions and behaviors. If the content of the hallucination is unfavorable to them or threatens them, making them anxious, fearful, or angry, they may commit harmful acts. Some hallucinations, such as command hallucinations, may contain commands or instructions for people with mental disorders to harm others, making them even more dangerous. Among the hallucinations that can lead to crime, auditory hallucinations are more common. In addition to command hallucinations, persecutory hallucinations and critical hallucinations can also lead to crime. Persecutory hallucinations may make people with mental disorders believe that someone is threatening them or plotting against them. To "defend themselves," they may harm those who are "persecuting" them. The content of critical hallucinations, if they are critical or insulting to people with mental disorders, may anger them, causing them to act impulsively. Auditory hallucinations that can lead to crime often have images or frightening or angry scenes, such as ghosts, beasts, enemies, bad people, or scenes of others having sexual relations with those they love. People with mental disorders may act out of self-defense, to eliminate harm, or due to extreme fear or anger, losing control and causing harmful consequences. In addition, if olfactory hallucinations, gustatory hallucinations, or tactile hallucinations coexist with, they may also make people with mental disorders further hostile toward their delusion targets and take dangerous actions.