DS9 was not a UPN show - it was syndicated.

The residents of the Institute are a bit of a minefield, not least because the show didn’t do much to sketch out exactly what challenges they were living with. We’re unfortunately left to assume that they would be at risk of harming themselves or others were they living on their own.

I do think Lauren was portrayed as having delusions more than any kind of “sex addiction,” and you could make the case that Patrick may not be able to safely care for himself.

But a lot has happened in the deinstitutionalization movement since those episodes were produced, so it’s pretty tough to justify way they were treated. It is, however, a decent mirror to the way society was at that time.