C’mon. Don’t mix these up. I’ve tried to make this point clear, but I will repeat it again: a mental illness is a type of disability that requires medical treatment to overcome. This does not mean that there isn’t a psychological basis to crimes, cruelty, or malice, but those type of psychological characteristics are normal. Those types of behaviors exhibit themselves when opportunity allows them to or society allows it to occur. A mental illness is different. Everybody can be evil. But being evil does not mean that you are disabled or in distress to such a point that you need medical treatment.
TL;DR: what is considered a ‘negative’ psychological attribute isn’t a mental illness as these attributes exist in almost everyone. A mental illness occurs when some psychological attribute is disabling.
