Mental illness shown in cards

Well I don't feel comfortable diagnosing anyone, so I'd rather say there are cards that might indicate mental or emotional imbalance, whether chronic or temporary due to circumstances.

I thought of the Hanged Man as a possibility, and the Moon makes sense especially for some kind of fear or phobia. The Emperor could have control issues. The Hierophant could be fanatical. The Empress could have mother issues, the Fool could be stuck in childhood....

Actually any of them, when carried to extremes, including all the minor arcana, could indicate mental or emotional issues. Each card contains a whole spectrum of states of being or processes, with extremes at either end and a semblance of normality (whatever that is) in the middle.

So, simple answer -- No. Or -- Yes, all of them.

nisaba said:

A person who suffers anxiety or depression in hugely unnatural conditions is not necessarily disordered.

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And I'd still contend that it's absurd to say that our "natural" environment, including cities and technology, are "unnatural" to us and thus, that it's natural for someone to feel anxious all the time in such environments. We're very adaptable creatures--we've lived on cliff sides and high mountain ranges, in polar regions where the only food is under ice and the only warmth in an igloo. We've lived in empty deserts and very dangerous tropical forests. We can acclimate to almost anything and feel perfectly safe and happy in the strangest of environments--unnatural or not. There are people who panic when they're out of the city, and feel utterly calm and safe when they're surrounded by technology and high rises.

So I don't buy that perpetual anxiety is normal just because we live in cities and have technology. Stress is stress and fear is fear and anything that gives us that fight or flight response from a very natural grizzly bear to a very unnatural computer virus can cause us anxiety.

And if some people who lived in very natural, even pastoral environments in the past suffered from such perpetual anxiety--and some did--then it's a condition that has always been with us and cannot be blamed on cities. And if it's not common for most people to be perpetually anxious, especially if one isn't facing a grizzly or a computer virus, then it's as much an illness as being constantly depressed.

Hi, Anxiety certainly IS a large component of mental illness to my knowledge,
Sometimes put in the same group as Stress ,Anxiety ,Depression (SAD).
It is a major component of Panic attacks, Agrophobia, Nervous Breakdown,Post traumatic stress disorder as mention by hunter there are more cannot think of off the top of my head.
But these anxiety issues need to be prolonged -Not just freaking out over a job interview and biting all you fingernails off!
So i would be looking for a time frame if reading if the issues are a result of circumstances physical illness -divorce etc i would be refering someone on if they admitted to having an issue effecting there ability to function in daily life on a more permanent basis.
Anything can be a trigger to anxiety artifical and otherwise -There is such a thing as a fear of wide open spaces!
As Nevada has said any card could in a certain light be applicable!
The Hermit could be an indication-but he may have rejected society! Or have agrophobia.
The Tower -Devastation-Nervous breakdown? but thats also a leap!
The Four of cup depression-This could be temporary or sustained.
The Moon -Luna-Of old Lunatic-turning into a werewolf? lol!!! Mood affected-but also changable as the link to the tides ,mentration I get PMT and go very Moody.
Seriously i would refer someone on if discovering FROM CONVERSATION!!
They had more than a circumstantial or temporary problem.

Yes we are highly adaptable, but that does not mean we IMMEDIATELY adapt FULLY to ANY environment.

Vitamin D deficiency is a real problem in the north, especially for dark skinned people who have had fewer generations to at least partially adapt. My city is now dealing with it as a major health crisis to such a degree as to send out street workers to educate people on the street in the poorer, ethnic neighborhoods.

Arctic areas have a real problem with increasing mental imbalances in the winter when there is complete darkness. It's considered legal defense for some pretty serious crimes.

City life is certainly more stressful to the average person than being in nature. Urban planners take great efforts to try to make things as pleasant as possible by adding as much plant life as possible and controlling noise with zoning laws.

The average person is calmed and centered by communing with nature. It is so well documented that it is very unusual to see anyone argue this point. Maybe you are right :-0 But you have picked an unusual stance, to say the least :-0