[rksprst]

I don't think your example works - when a valuable item is broken beyond repair that is a fact (based on known physics / science). If I snap a ruler into two pieces I know there is no way to bring it back to the state it was originally in - a single piece. We can glue it back and use other mechanisms but it won't be exactly the same - we know this definitively. The same cannot be said about mental illness.

We do not have the knowledge and science to make such a statement about mental illness. In fact, medical science and research shows the opposite, that we are learning more and getting better at treating mental illness.

Mental illness is usually not a downhill spiral to death, but a roller coaster that you can jump out of. Your perception of being beyond repair depends where on the roller coaster you are.

[Igelau]

> We can glue it back and use other mechanisms but it won't be exactly the same

It will be harder to snap next time since wood glue bonds are usually stronger than the wood itself.