Conspiracy theorists - mental illness or stupidity?

[Notcontent]

I know people who believe if really crazy conspiracies have always been around, but this pandemic has really brought them out of the woodwork... I mean, how could you realistically believe that Covid-19 does not exist, or that the vaccines contain microchips??

Some people who believe those things might have a low IQ and/ or poor education and so lack any “critical thinking” skills - and so might not be able to see why this is really illogical. But what about people who are clearly reasonably intelligent and well educated - like Jeremy Corbyn’s brother. Is it almost like a mental illness? Do they become so obsessed with being anti-establishment that they lose the plot?

@Notcontent

I have just come back to this thread and I am genuinely sorry if anyone found it offensive. I have personal experience of mental health issues and I wasn’t on any way suggesting that mental illness is equivalent to not being intelligent or that everyone who suffers from mental illness believes in conspiracy theories!!

I also wasn’t trying to suggest that government coverups of things, etc don’t exist.

I don't think u were to be honest, i think a better question would have been what causes people to believe conspiracy theories but asking if mental illness is anyway part of it is not a offensive question. Well it shouldnt be.

Also mental illness covers such a wide range of diagnosiss and disorders its not specific to one issue

Mental illness is not a joke but as some have pointed out ...some with mental ill health are drawn to irrational thoughts and conspiracy theories

One friend is just ignorant and says she doesn’t know anyone with it so doesn’t believe in it. She then sees and shares clips of people showing off empty hospitals to prove her point

A relative is psychotic and schizophrenic and she unfortunately believes in the crazier side of the conspiracies

On balance a very highly intelligent family member who is a scientist questions everything and although is sound mind enough to not believe in the main stream conspiracies, does believe in some of the more obscure to do with Covid

I think it's the sense of empowerment they get- like the general public are still stuck with the blue pill and not red and that they want to save us all.
A guy I was talking to a while back made me watch 5 hours of a documentary about 9/11 as he was convinced it was a huge coverup. So I did and I asked him a few questions and he flipped. I asked "why-what is the objective here?",
I asked where did those terrorists go if they never boarded the plane? Why would they voluntarily leave their families, to pretend to be on a plane and never return?" To then have their countries suffer the consequences of said actions?

He had no answers but was still convinced. Needless to say there were no dates after.

FYI I never believed in the conspiracies but this guy was super smart and I was treating my hair to keratin treatment that weekend so yeah- I watched 5 hours of drivel

@piddocktrumperiness

So, based on that, it seems that your definition of whether something happened or not is whether it's possible to find a sensible motive.

I'm not commenting on your friend's 9/11 opinions, or yours, but do you not witness people doing things you find inexplicable all the time? If not in your own life, in the news? And if so, does that mean they didn't happen?

I think it's the sense of empowerment they get- like the general public are still stuck with the blue pill and not red and that they want to save us all

And who is this 'they'? We are all individuals. Some of us decide not to believe a thing, some of us decide to believe it. There isn't a 'Conspiracy theorists club' where 'they' decide to believe conspiracy theories. Some people sit on the borderline and aren't sure what to believe. Are those people 'them' or 'us'? Some people decide strongly one way, and then get new information and believe strongly the other way. Are those people 'them' or 'us'? Some people believe that one conspiracy makes sense, and many others don't. Are they 'them' or 'us'?

[quote Eckhart]@piddocktrumperiness

So, based on that, it seems that your definition of whether something happened or not is whether it's possible to find a sensible motive.

I'm not commenting on your friend's 9/11 opinions, or yours, but do you not witness people doing things you find inexplicable all the time? If not in your own life, in the news? And if so, does that mean they didn't happen?

I think it's the sense of empowerment they get- like the general public are still stuck with the blue pill and not red and that they want to save us all

And who is this 'they'? We are all individuals. Some of us decide not to believe a thing, some of us decide to believe it. There isn't a 'Conspiracy theorists club' where 'they' decide to believe conspiracy theories. Some people sit on the borderline and aren't sure what to believe. Are those people 'them' or 'us'? Some people decide strongly one way, and then get new information and believe strongly the other way. Are those people 'them' or 'us'? Some people believe that one conspiracy makes sense, and many others don't. Are they 'them' or 'us'?[/quote]
I do believe there are people my bio and step dad who r fans of conspiracy theories so will believe as many as they read or watch, i don't belive they have individually assessed each theory more just that they are a theory and thats why they would belive. I think their is this 'conspiracy theories club' metaphorically speaking as the people who r not are called sheep for follwoing msm etc

I think its very alluring to some people, the sense that they r on the better side of history and the rest is just sheep following the masses. A sense of community that they may not get from their own lifes i think its similar to following a cult

Qanon is perfect example of conspiracy theories and a cult joinning together

@Duggeehugs82

Yes, I'm not saying there aren't people who believe every conspiracy theory going, I'm saying that those are individuals with individual reasons, who can't be categorised under the heading 'them' any more than people who believe in mainstream theories can be categorised under the heading 'us'.

@mouldyhouse101

Funny how MN haven't yet removed this thread...

Quite shocking.

It's an absolutely disgusting thread.

I reported it and they said they were "looking into it " Obviously mumsnet aren't as supportive of mental health as they should be. Very disappointing

I have conspiracy theorist uncle. I don't think he has mental illness (probably a personality disorder) but he has this thing where he constantly tries to prove how intelligent he is and how he is cleverer than everyone else that ONLY he sees through everything and the rest are sheep. Everyone else in his family have their own houses and have concentrated making a decent living whereas him, he lives in a council house and on benefits. Don't get me wrong about council houses and benefits as I'm not judging those that are on them as everyone's circumstances are different however, I'm talking about my uncle (judging him) who had a very lucrative profession where we don't know how and what went wrong. He was the wealthiest in our family circle and in fact social circle, he had a great profession that he left later and just happily sat in front of his laptop playing games until 5am in the morning and sleeping until 3pm. Maybe it is a mental illness. He has nothing left but happy to blame everyone else for his misfortunes. It's everyone's fault not his. As a family including my dad, we all say his brother had everything and what went wrong and how he ended up in this position and now he is just a conspiracy theorist. In general, he has always been a negative person and always sees the glass half empty. He did have a troubled childhood but so did my dad ( they come from a toxic dysfunctional family) and my dad does have his demons in other ways that have affected me, my mum and my siblings but he had this drive to work hard and provide for his family and think about his retirement. My dad never had this time to think about the stuff my uncle thinks about. My uncle does say that my dad and the rest of us are slaves to the system.

@AquaFairySoul I have a severe mental illness, have to take several medications to keep myself well, have a history of hospitalisations and have experienced psychosis. I'm also educated and generally considered reasonably intelligent. But I still think that some of the huge number of mental illnesses it's possible to have can leave you more vulnerable to believing in conspiracy theories.

[quote CrayonInThreeBits]@AquaFairySoul I have a severe mental illness, have to take several medications to keep myself well, have a history of hospitalisations and have experienced psychosis. I'm also educated and generally considered reasonably intelligent. But I still think that some of the huge number of mental illnesses it's possible to have can leave you more vulnerable to believing in conspiracy theories.[/quote]
Ok. Well I respect your opinion and your personal experience, but I don't feel like engaging in the ins and outs. Obviously if you have these experiences you're not being shitty about it as other posters (and mumsnet) clearly have so that's ok. I hope you're doing well now.

Sure that makes sense; no point making yourself feel bad for the sake of randoms on the internet.

Thanks, I'm doing much better now; I'm just the regular kind of going-nuts that everyone's experiencing with lockdown right now. I hope things are better for you too.

@Eckhart
No not at all, I was open minded which is why I watched it all. My issue is his refusal to answer my questions. He was invalidating my opinion, where I was respectful of his enough to watch it and give it a shot.

Ok not They-as in everyone on earth. He and other people who similarly view the world as one big scam, not everyone-just those individuals who I came across. Therefore not singular, but plural.

This is not academic dispute over the othering of people. the whole thread is about conspiracy theorists- I feel called out for some reason and I did was share my personal experience.

@piddocktrumperiness

Yes, your points are about you, and this one man. I don't disagree with any of those points. But you made 'them' and 'us' statement (by referring to people who adhere to conspiracy theorists as 'they') and it's not valid to make a 'them' and 'us' statement based on your experience of one person who is different from you.

My point isn't about you or your friend. It's about generalising, and categorising people because they have one similarity.

The Media and the Internet dont help.

Micro chips is lunacy and "it doesnt exist" is just ignorance as they dont have it or know anyone who has had.

I got called a conspiracy theorist the other day when I questioned the death toll. "100 thousands with Covid not of it" I remarked and then I got an eye roll and was called a conspiracy theorist.

The bias media have got it now where if you question statistics and lockdowns, your considered a Covidiot or Conspiracy theorist

@piddocktrumperiness

Ok not They-as in everyone on earth. He and other people who similarly view the world as one big scam, not everyone-just those individuals who I came across. Therefore not singular, but plural.

This is not academic dispute over the othering of people. the whole thread is about conspiracy theorists- I feel called out for some reason and I did was share my personal experience.

I'm not 'calling you out'. I'm conversing with you on something we have a different opinion on. But if you feel 'called out', that would explain your 'them' and 'us' attitude.

I can see why you think the way you do, and you probably roughly get my point too.

[quote CrayonInThreeBits]@AquaFairySoul I have a severe mental illness, have to take several medications to keep myself well, have a history of hospitalisations and have experienced psychosis. I'm also educated and generally considered reasonably intelligent. But I still think that some of the huge number of mental illnesses it's possible to have can leave you more vulnerable to believing in conspiracy theories.[/quote]
I agree definitely the case with my family members, i think the issue with using the word vulnerable which i did up thread is to the believer of conspiracy theories it automatically makes them defensive as 1 they probably assume they are not in that category and 2 it shows conspiracy theories as a negative part of the world. I dont belive we should automatically belive everything we r told, just not the opposite way either , to bein the middle. which i personally belive they r, the way my bio dad was completely wrapped up it them , his whole world was dedicated to them, talking about them with other conspiracy theoriest and only conversation he would have with me , it consumed his whole life.

@DuchessofHastings1 it isn't always what you say but how you say it.

Oh and anyone who wholly supports any government I think is someone I would be extremely worried about.

I wouldn't worry OP, they probably think that about you.
They'll think you have a low IQ for swallowing everything you are told.

@rosetylersbiggun Too quick to judge. Says it all.

What's the basis for your statement? So all those doctors and scientists with PhDs and years of experience who are against the rushed vaccines or the way the pandemic is handled have lower IQ levels than those sheeple who listen to the our corrupt politicians or so called 'scientific advisers? Advisers with thousands invested in the big pharma companies and who have lots of personal gains from locking people down as long as possible?

Your second statement is even more ridiculous. With your scientific background, please explain to me how do you consider mRNA vaccines to be safe when there is literally no long term data on their safety? You don't need to be 'radicalised' as some other genius put it here, to be able to go to the manufacturers or MHRA web site to read the full data on these vaccines. It clearly states that there is no data, for instance, how these vaccines will affect fertility. Or those people who are on lots of prescription drugs. In fact, how can anyone think these brand new type of vaccines are safe when the study will be finished in Jan 2023! Until then there is no full data, just assumptions. But the government that has been caught lying so many times, continue to do so only this time they are playing with people's health.

If you want a vaccine and if you agree with the ways the gov is handling the pandemic, go for it. But don't insult other people's intelligence by making statement that you have made. People are entitled to make their own research and decisions. And most don't 'just watch a few youtube videos as you have stated.

@PrincessNutNuts - It's those who accept everything without questioning and blindly follow what they are told need to be saved from themselves.