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There is ONE specific thing that I've just remembered. Some religious people see AIDs as a direct punishment for amoral sex, and refuse to take it as a physical issue.

I used to know alot more about this stuff, but it was so depressing that I more or less gave up...

Groups like these usually hate/look down on/pity the gerenal populace, believing they are all going to hell, so anything attached to that group such as medical and scientific advancement are treated in the same hate.

malfred wrote:

Orlanth wrote:
Anyone still smoking is in this category. It costs you, it kills you, so quit. But they dont, the desire over-rides the true, and every cigarette is an exercise in denial. Here in the UK there is a very heavy duty on tobacco, but people still smoke.

I'm unhealthy and overweight, and I know this. I keep eating the things I shouldn't and
not doing the exercise that I should. Am I in denial?

Most likely yes.
We all have excuses for the extra helping, or the ciggie break or extra unit of alcohol even if we do not vocalise them.

Being 'in denial' is stigmatised unfairly due to circumstances where denial is unhealthy or socially unaccceptable. The phrase is used to refer to convicted criminals who have not confessed or otherwise shown remorse for their actions. Saying this all denial is in some way unacceptable, hence the public reaction to obesity.

Fact remains denial is part of our human make up, a part of the negative psyche of man which is all but omnnipresent. Few people, if any, live free of illusions, and those who practice true abstinence are in many ways often less agreeable than those who succumb in a small way to human desire. Man was not made to resist the world, to some extent we need to dehumanise ourselves to do so. This should be of some comfort to us.

malfred wrote:

Orlanth wrote:
Anyone still smoking is in this category. It costs you, it kills you, so quit. But they dont, the desire over-rides the true, and every cigarette is an exercise in denial. Here in the UK there is a very heavy duty on tobacco, but people still smoke.

I'm unhealthy and overweight, and I know this. I keep eating the things I shouldn't and
not doing the exercise that I should. Am I in denial?

You seem pretty aware of the consequences so I doubt it. If you thought that there were no risks involved at all then I would say yes. It isn't a moral imperative to live the healthiest lifestyle possible. Will it probably cause health problems down the road? Yar. Would you be happier? I don't know, maybe, maybe not. Would you be immortal if you lived a healthier lifestyle? Nope. Still going to die sooner or later. After all, wasn't the goal of ou ancestors to make a life where having plentiful food and being able to enjoy it? Like most things moderation is the key. If you can't leave the house it is obliviously a problem but you also don't have to be an underwear model either to be not in denial.

Ahtman wrote:

malfred wrote:
I'm unhealthy and overweight, and I know this. I keep eating the things I shouldn't and
not doing the exercise that I should. Am I in denial?

You seem pretty aware of the consequences so I doubt it. If you thought that there were no risks involved at all then I would say yes.

You are confused, and mistaking denial for ignorance. To be in denial you have to be at some level aware but brushing off the awareness by choice. If malfred believed ten burgers and four beers was a healthy balanced diet he would not be in denial.

Denial is, by definition, denying the truth of something. If someone eats ten burgers because they seriously have no idea that it will make them fat, that isn't denial (they're not being confronted with the truth). If they eat ten burgers knowing that it will make them fatter, and don't care that they're going to be getting fatter and suffer from all that entails, that's not denial either (nothing is being denied). If they eat ten burgers knowing in truth that is will make them fat, but then make some sort of excuse for why it won't make them fat, or how they're totally about to start a diet tomorrow, then that's denial.

Orlanth wrote:

Ahtman wrote:

malfred wrote:
I'm unhealthy and overweight, and I know this. I keep eating the things I shouldn't and
not doing the exercise that I should. Am I in denial?

You seem pretty aware of the consequences so I doubt it. If you thought that there were no risks involved at all then I would say yes.

You are confused, and mistaking denial for ignorance. To be in denial you have to be at some level aware but brushing off the awareness by choice. If malfred believed ten burgers and four beers was a healthy balanced diet he would not be in denial.

No, I understand perfectly what I said just fine. You seem to be confused though and wrong, but that is to be expected. Par for the course and all that.

Ahtman: The ad hominem trolling 'argument' seems to be a personal favorite of yours. Never mind.

Orkeosaurus: I generally agree, however I doubt people would eat ten burgers and not care as much as brazenly pretent not to care. The vast majority of people who are happy and fat usually wish they were happy and thinner, I know I do.
Yes this is a completely different level of denial to say a gambling addict or 419 victim, but the psychology is essentially the same.