SplitDik (imported) wrote: Sun Sep 09, 2018 7:43 pm Actually, that is a very bad way to think. You're the one adding judgment to the term, I'm the one who says they need help.

There are absolutely people who are truly crazy, and by that I mean that their brains are not functioning well or healthily. In some cases brains are malformed due to congenital conditions, or disease or injury. In other cases brains are chemically imbalanced either temporarily (due to drugs, addictions or other issues with their health such as fluctuating serotonin levels) or chronically (such as causing depression).

All of these categories of people need help, probably medical help, not just "accommodation by society". If you saw one of those homeless people who stands on a corner waving their hands in the air and yelling at imaginary things starting to cut off their genitals while sitting on the sidewalk do you really think the right thing to do is just go "oh well I guess we should accommodate him?".

In particular there are people whose thoughts vary a lot and things that seem like a really good idea to them at one point leads to huge regrets sometimes even moments later, and this is common with people who have paraphilias which happen to be closely related to obsessive-compulsive disorder. These people often talk about having episodes where they are watching them do something they don't really want to do, and then being filled with self-loathing and regret afterwards. These people need help.

Addictions are another example. I know from personal experience that my sexual addictions have caused immense conflict within me. I have risked my life, my health, my marriage, my job, prison time, etc. all in the search of orgasms. While I'm doing these things part of me is going "no not again!". When I used to cruise for hookers, I'd literally be shaking to the point my teeth were chattering completely afraid of what I was about to do, praying for the ability to stop.

So seriously brains can be broken. People can act contrary to their own self-interest. Those people need help.

My point then is that is entirely reasonable for doctors to question a person's motives in wanting to do a permanent thing like castrating themselves. There are some people on this very forum whose interest in castration seems to be tied up with things that send off warning signs as to the healthiness of their motive. For example, there are a number of people who have fetishized the act of being castrated (often forceably) but have not expressed any serious, sustained confirmation that they are really prepared or desiring the life afterwards. There are also a number of people that want to get castrated out of shame of some other aspect of themselves such as being ashamed of being gay, or like me for being ashamed of being a sex addict. There are others who seem to fit the "truly crazy" where they can't even form complete sentences so the healthy functioning of the brain is in question.

Anyway, I think it is super important to sort out people for whom castration is a healthy, sustained, reasoned step towards something that will improve a person's life versus people who are focusing on it for the wrong reasons. I think a good doctor will take some care in making that assessment, with compassion in both cases.

Dekeldoh (imported) wrote: Tue Sep 11, 2018 3:12 pm I still think using the terminology "truly crazy" without someone's prior consent is mean and lazy. I'm not saying human brains are indestructible, just that more constructive wording is welcome in general contexts.

Like I implied in my original post, there are times when it is impractical to go along with someone. You are expounding upon that idea, and you are not wrong. But there are also times when people are unreasonably abused because of their way of thinking.

It sounds to me like you grossly misinterpreted what I meant by "whether it's practical to accommodate them." I was just nitpicking over semantics.