December 8

Today is a holiday in Austria and I didn't have to go to work. However, after having spoken to a number of people, I will respond to their requests to mention a couple of things about mental illness. I might do that on weekends as well.

Understanding mental illness more accurately can help reduce suffering  because a lack of understanding increases suffering by victims of mental illness as well as by their loved ones. Even the term mental illness continues to scare people. The term itself can refer to many different kinds of problems, most of which have to do with a certain degree of the brain's ability to function as it should. It's obvious to most folks that a stroke (as a result of a clogged blood vessel in the brain) can reduce the brain's ability to function properly, for example, by causing loss of speech or control over one's motor functions.

But the brain also runs our emotions and thoughts and it processes every bit of information we take in. The causes of mental illness are highly complex and are a consequence of interacting biological, psychological/emotional and environmental factors. Sometimes these causes are genetic, sometimes they are caused by illness or injury, sometimes by stress and trauma, and sometimes the body just doesn't produce enough neurotransmitters to keep the brain functioning properly, or the neurotransmitters are reabsorbed too quickly. I'll talk more about that next time.

The most important thing I would like to mention today is that people who suffer from mental illness can't just "snap out of it." Telling someone with, for example, chronic depression to "snap out of it" is just as ridiculous as telling someone with thyroid malfunction or diabetes to "snap out of it."

The second thing I would like to mention is that there is no need to be scared of taking medication as a part of treatment for mental illness. As mentioned above, if the brain chemistry (regulating neurotransmitter functioning) is a problem, then taking meds to regulate neurotransmitter functioning is like taking insulin if you suffer from diabetes or thyroid hormones for thyroid malfunction. Who in their right mind would think of not taking insulin if the body needs it to stay alive?

Would anyone laugh at a diabetic for taking insulin? Would you stigamatize a diabetic for taking insulin? If my brain needs meds to function properly -- then what is wrong with having that diagnosed and taking the meds to make me feel okay so I can function properly?

Think about it.