I wonder about this seeing how many people have chronic “disorders” like depression or personality disorders.
Why with so many sufferers and a genetic link claimed why isn’t it considered a natural variation?
Hmmm. There’s an interesting link here, exploring the possibility that religious belief - particularly the evangelical type - may be a paranoid delusion that is considered normal because it’s so widespread.
If there’s a bacterium or parasite involved, it’s pretty simple: such a disease can be endemic in a population, but still recognised by the worm sticking its head out of the pustular sore on your arm.
However, there is no simple biological way of ascertaining if someone is suffering from depression, and the issue of what is mental illness and what is normal is very vexatious (e.g. debates over ADHD, mild depression, the use of drugs to treat shyness).
I suspect that this issue is unanswerable except by a detailed history and sociology of medicine approach. But a cynical guess would be that something is defined as a disease if it can be identified and treated (i.e. if the medical establishment or drug companies can make money out of it).
raygirvan–
I was thinking along those lines, too.
To address the OP: We already have such a “disease”-- it’s called religion.