Some people believe that our brain becomes inactive when we sleep. If that were so then we should not have any dreams. Dreams are evidence that our mind remains active, even when we are asleep. This simply means that our mind is active 24 hours a day without any rest at all. Just imagine how our bodies would behave if we were to go through 24 hours of physical activity.
Although research may show that 30% of mental illness may occur without a trigger of stress, it also shows that a majority – 70% – of mental illnesses occur with stress. The research may have failed to look at the other 30%, mentally ill who may not be ‘acknowledging’ stress at a given moment. This gives us a pessimistic view of mental illnesses. We are made to believe that we can do nothing about them. We are also told that mental illnesses occur because of our genes, our upbringing, our personality, our temperament, our lifestyle and we can do nothing about them. Stress or no stress, we are told, if we have all these factors loaded in our personal history, we are prone to have a mental illness. Some psychiatrists adhere to this belief strongly. This belief is then put across authoritatively as the “gospel truth” of science. Naturally, this brings up a sense of low self-esteem and helplessness in the person who is suffering with the illness. We are then made to believe that medications are man-made answers to mental illness, which is a curse of nature.
Prayer, which was until recently considered unscientific, has now been shown to have beneficial effects on patients.1 Similarly, the current belief in psychiatry is that mental illnesses can be treated by medical professionals only and the person who is mentally ill has no control over their lives. The medical system works in a way in which the doctors themselves have limited choices other than prescribing drugs. The patient has no choices worth mentioning. From the legal perspective, a person who is mentally ill is considered not capable of taking any responsibility for their actions. This is one of the most unfortunate aspects of mental illnesses. People who are mentally ill also have a sense of responsibility in many areas of their lives.
The role of emotions in mental illnesses has been totally ignored by scientists. Yet researches do show that separation from mother,2 losses3 – including deaths,4 traumatic events, especially when they occur over the previous three months5 can trigger mental illnesses. What has been looked at is the history of such events in a person’s life. What is ignored is the emotional upheaval it causes in a person’s body and mind. Emotional expression ameliorates the effects of trauma.6 Repetitive upheavals in the body are simply not forgotten. Release of emotions by emotional expression explains the role of counselling and confession. We tend to believe, erroneously, that everything will settle with time. Things do settle with time – but not everything. It is these issues and their emotional effects, that cause mental illnesses and psychosomatic illnesses. It is obvious that whenever we undergo any emotional experience, our nervous and hormonal systems are shaken-up. The nervous system and the hormones together control the activities of various parts of the body. If the neurohormonal expression is allowed to go through completion, a physiological calmness occurs in the body. This has a scientific basis.7
For people who attend church regularly, a common experience is the sense of calmness on entering a church. Coupled with music, incense and sermons spoken in a low, soft tone, a sense of calmness dwells on the person. There is scientific evidence to suggest that going to church helps a person remain healthy.8 More interesting is the fact that there is little research to state that music or aromatherapy help to bring about mental health. Yet experience shows that they have a calming effect. Only recently have papers started to be published in scientific journals bridging the gap between spirituality and science.9 It has now been researched that people who are religious in orientation have a lower rate of strokes than those who are not religious.10
The whole area of mental illness is about losing a sense of freedom. When we find ourselves bound to emotional issues of our life, that we cannot rid ourselves of, we lose our freedom of thinking. This creates stress in our mind and our body bears the brunt of it. This loss of freedom brings up a sense of fear or a sense of helplessness. Both such feelings bring up a sense of insecurity. A person loses confidence in their own worth. Self-esteem becomes low. With lack of confidence and low self-esteem, comes poor decision-making. A person suffers with all these conditions when suffering with a mental illness. This changes the behaviour of the person. The behaviour is affected by the way the person feels and thinks. If the person feels fear for a long time, the chances of becoming phobic and paranoid increase. Withdrawal from social situations occurs. The family members observe the person to be unwell. Such a person is then asked to see a doctor. With the person’s self-esteem low, vulnerability increases. This does not mean however, that the person becomes totally irresponsible towards their own well-being. Many times the person wants to do ’something’ to get better, but the health system has limited resources to offer much in terms of growth of the person, except medication. When a mentally ill person goes to seek help – confidence, self-esteem and sense of freedom are already lost. Instead of helping the person become independent, there is a tendency to make the person dependent on medication.
Medication plays its role in controlling the condition or state of illness. It does nothing to improve the quality of life permanently. To improve their quality of life, the person needs to take responsibility for their own well-being. This is encouraged in some of the organisations, which are being run by the sufferers themselves. GROW is an example of such an organisation. Are there any alternatives to medication in mental conditions? A doctor can only prescribe drugs to “control” the mental condition. The current trend in some other parts of the world is to encourage people suffering with mental illnesses to take responsibility for their own well-being, along with medication. Psychotherapy11 and self-help is encouraged. The usage of medication in such situations is minimised or eliminated.
In psychiatry, we know that the suicide rate among physicians is higher than in the general population and psychiatrists are at a greater risk among physicians, than other specialists.12 Research shows that psychotherapy is more economical than medication alone in treating mental illness.13 Conditions like schizophrenia are also being treated without medication in some parts of the world.14 It is also a known fact that the more positive the attitude we have, the more balanced are the chemicals in our body.15 This would be more acceptable for those who see the positive role of religion on mental health. Some authors have suggested that the medicine of the future is going to be “prayer and Prozac.”16 Mental health is a preventative activity. Do we need to suffer first before we take steps to deal with it? If we could only assume responsibility for our own mental health, we may not have to suffer. The best medicine in this case is certainly prevention.
We live in a free society. The freedom to suffer is also one kind of freedom. We also have the freedom to look for answers to minimise our suffering.
REFERENCES
ASTIN, J.A., (2000) Prayer, Other Forms of ‘Distant Healing’ seem to have Positive Effects. Medscape. Annals of Internal Medicine 132: P.903-910.
HARRIS T., BROWN G. W., BIFULCO A., (1986) Loss of Parent in Childhood and Adult Psychiatric Disorder: The Role of Lack of Adequate Parental Care. Psychological Medicine 16: P.641-659.
BROWN G. W., HARRIS T., (1978) Social Origins of Depression. Tavistock, London.
BIRTCHNELL J., (1970) Depression in Relation to Early and Recent Parent Death. British Journal of Psychiatry 116: P.299-306.
BROWN G. W., BIRLEY J. L. T., (1968) Crises and Life Changes and the onset of Schizophrenia. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour 9: P.203-214.
KELLER, S.E., SHIFLETT, S.C., SCHLIEFER, S.J. & BARTLETT, J.A. (1994) Stress, Immunity and Health. Handbook of Human Stress & Immunity. San Diego: Academic. P.217-244.
CHADHA, P. K., (2000) Drugless Psychiatry – Physiological Basis of Clinical Experiences. Paper presented in 6th Conference – Innovations in Psychiatry, London, April 2000.
COMSTOCK, G.W., PARTIDGE, K.B., (1972) Church Attendance and Health. Journal of Chronic Diseases 225: P.665-72.
SLOAN, R.P., BAGIELLA E., POWELL T., (1999) Religion, Spirituality and Medicine. Lancet 353: P.664-67.
KOENIG, H.G., (1997) Is Religion Good for your Health? Haworth Pastoral Press, N.Y.
POMERANTZ, J.M. (1999). Focused Psychotherapy as an Alternative to Long Term Medication. Drug Benefit Trends 11 (7) : P.2, 5.
KAPLAN, H.I., SADOCK., B.J., (1998) Synopsis of Psychiatry – 8th Edition – B.I. Waverly Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi. P.865.
TALLEY P. F., STRUPP, H. H., BUTLER S. S., (1994) Psychotherapy Research and Practice, Harper Collins: London.
McKENZIE, C.D., & WRIGHT, L.S., (1996) Delayed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders from Infancy – The Two Trauma Mechanism. Harwood Academic.
MOON, A. M., (2000) Positive Psychology Halved Depression in Kids. Clinical Psychiatry News. 28 (5): P.29.
MATTHEWS, D.A., LARSON, D.B., (1997) Faith and Medicine: Reconciling the Twin Traditions of Healing. Mind/Body Medicine : 2: P.3-6.
Be My Friend – www.myspace.com Nutrition by Natalie Nutrition and Your Mental Health What does nutrition have to do with mental health? You might be surprised to find out the truth behind what happens when a person has a nutritional deficiency. Nutritional deficiencies can cause all sorts of psychiatric symptoms including apathy, low energy, irritability, insomnia, low energy, agitation, fatigue, concentration problems, aches and pains, weight changes, including weight loss or weight gain …
Image taken on 2009-12-02 20:20:17 by Truthout.org.
Image taken on 2009-04-06 21:23:54 by feastoffun.
Copyright (c) 2007 Steven Magill
When literally translated from its Greek roots, the word “schizophrenia” means “split mind.” It is this translation that has led many people to confuse multiple personality disorder with schizophrenia. While they are so similar that scientists used to classify MPD as a form of schizophrenia, it has since been proven that the two diseases are actually independent of each other. This article is going to give a basic rundown of the signs of schizophrenia.
Delusions are very common signs of schizophrenia with people suffering from signs of schizophrenia. Delusion is the word that is given to beliefs that the schizophrenic has that other people do not also have. An example of this is the belief that somehow their internal thoughts are being broadcast for the rest of the world to hear. Delusions can also come in the form of thinking that they are being hunted down by an outside entity. Sometimes delusions come in the form of the schizophrenic believing that he or she has super powers and super abilities that they do not actually have.
Hallucinations are another of the common signs of schizophrenia. Hallucinations are typically in the form of voices heard by the person who is suffering from the disease. The voices come from outside of the schizophrenic’s head (this is one of the major differences between multiple personality disorder and schizophrenia). Sometimes the voices do not have a physical point of origin. Sometimes the voices come from something that would not ordinarily be talking and sometimes the voices come from people that only the schizophrenic can see and hear. These hallucinations often encourage or influence the schizophrenic’s behaviour. Sometimes the hallucinations take on other sensations like smells and tastes.
Disorganized thinking and languages are more of the common signs of schizophrenia. People who suffer from schizophrenia will sometimes talk in ways that are difficult for other people to understand. Their thoughts will sometimes stop following a coherent pattern and their speech can vary wildly. Schizophrenics will often talk about several subjects at the same time but will not connect the subjects to a central theme. They will skip from subject to subject without warning.
There are a multitude of other signs of schizophrenia. Schizophrenics are often depressed, prone to mood swings and have problems connecting with other people. They can be very withdrawn. Schizophrenics will have a hard time going about their daily tasks like bathing, getting dressed and eating. Some other signs of schizophrenia include problems with movement. There is a form of schizophrenia called Catatonic schizophrenia. With catatonic schizophrenia, the patient can be just as likely to stop moving altogether as they are to experience erratic and uncontrollable movement.
Most of the signs of schizophrenia are also associated with other mental disorders and because of this, the disease can be hard to diagnose. The key to getting treatment is to see a professional as soon as possible if you or someone you know starts to exhibit signs of schizophrenia.
Tip #1
Schizophrenia is not the same thing as having multiple personality disorder. In multiple personality disorder a person has a number of independent identities that all share one host body. Typically one of the personalities is dominant and the others exist under the surface. With Schizophrenia, there could be independent personalities but the person suffering from the disease believes that these identities exist outside of him or herself.
Commonly known as insanity or madness, schizophrenia is a chronic psychotic disorder with onset typically occurring in adolescence or young adulthood. Schizophrenia results in fluctuating, gradually deteriorating, or relatively stable disturbances in thinking, behavior, and perception. Severity can range from mild and subtle with very good adaptation to everyday life, to severely disabling requiring constant supervision in a restricted environment.
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Schizophrenia is a brain disease that interferes with normal brain functioning. It causes affected people to exhibit odd and often highly irrational or disorganized behavior. Because the brain is the organ in the body where thinking, feeling and understanding of the world takes place (where consciousness exists), a brain disease like schizophrenia alters thinking, feeling, understanding and consciousness itself in affected persons, changing their lives for the worse.
Causes of Schizophrenia
Experts now agree that schizophrenia develops as a result of interplay between biological predisposition (for example, inheriting certain genes) and the kind of environment a person is exposed to. These lines of research are converging: brain development disruption is now known to be the result of genetic predisposition and environmental stressors early in development (during pregnancy or early childhood), leading to subtle alterations in the brain that make a person susceptible to developing schizophrenia.
It’s not known what causes schizophrenia. However, researchers believe that an interaction of genetics and environment may cause schizophrenia. Problems with certain naturally occurring brain chemicals, including the neurotransmitters dopamine and glutamate, also may contribute to schizophrenia.
Symtoms Of Schizophrenia
Bizarre or inappropriate behaviour
Preoccupation with spiritual matters
Incoherent illogical speech
Distorted Perceptions of Reality
People with schizophrenia may have perceptions of reality that are strikingly different from the reality seen and shared by others around them. Living in a world distorted by hallucinations and delusions, individuals with schizophrenia may feel frightened, anxious, and confused.
Cognitive symptoms (or cognitive deficits) are problems with attention, certain types of memory, and the executive functions that allow us to plan and organize. Cognitive deficits can also be difficult to recognize as part of the disorder but are the most disabling in terms of leading a normal life.
Over time, it becomes difficult to function in daily life. You may not be able to go to work or school. You may have troubled relationships, partly because of difficulty reading social cues or others’ emotions. You may lose interest in activities you once enjoyed.
Diagnosing Schizophrenia
Using mental state features alone (such as third person auditory hallucinations) is not a reliable way to diagnose schizophrenia. After all, psychotic features such as hallucinations and delusions can occur in affective disorders, dementia and acute organic psychoses. It is therefore important to look at the form of the illness as well as the content.
Treatment of Schizophrenia
Patients with schizophrenia often do not respond to treatment or only partially improve and remain functionally impaired. While medication has been found to be effective for the treatment of “positive” symptoms of the disease, treatment of the “negative symptoms” of depression (including lack of energy, motivation, and emotional range) has historically not been very successful. In nearly 25 percent of those patients, the condition is so refractory to neuroleptic pharmacotherapy that they require custodial care.
First, ensure that your loved one is taking prescribed medications. One of the most common reasons that people with schizophrenia relapse into a new episode is that they quit taking medication. Family members might see much improvement and mistakenly assume medications may no longer be needed. That is a disastrous assumption. A later psychotic outbreak will likely happen
The large majority of people with schizophrenia show substantial improvement when treated with antipsychotic drugs. Some patients, however, are not helped very much by the medications and a few do not seem to need them.
Therapy of Schizophrenia
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has been shown to be good for a person with schizophrenia.
Psychodynamic therapy is quite controversial. The actual therapy does not seem to work so well.
When a person suffers from schizophrenia, it is helpful for the whole family to get support. This usually reduces stress and worry, and helps people cope.
Mental Health class activities for High School students?
I am teaching a Mental Health Class for High School students and need creative ideas of ways to teach the class.