[Hae-Joo] What is Mental Illness Today?
This next one in my healthcare series falls into something a little bit different.
As such I've divided it into 3 parts:
1. What is Mental Illness Today
2. What is Psychiatry? Sigmund's Fraud Explored
3. What is Schizophrenia? And why are we abusing our Shamans?
In these three posts, I'll try to break down not only the way we treat mentally ill people in a hospital or criminal-legal sense, not just the way that we perceive mentally ill people in society, but really the concept of what is mental illness in of itself?
Mental Illness Today
It’s become a huge buzzword: this idea of mental health.
In the Western world, people are either fully embracing this idea or fully rejecting it, swinging from extremes.
The more conservative side of the equation is branding people who are suffering from mental health issues as 'snowflakes'; people who are unable to cope with the harsh realities of the world and who are much too privileged compared to the suffering that previous generations endured.
Meanwhile on the more liberal side of the spectrum, people are branding people who suffer from depression and other forms of mental health issues as 'victims' of society's ruthlessness with regards to the societal social conditioning.
And really, neither are arguably wrong. But I think, as always when one polarizes an issue along political conviction, and mass ideology starts to inform the public, it is easy to miss the bigger picture entirely.
And this isn't an apolitical issue. Politics does seem to be at the very center of our definition of sanity.
The way the US Criminal Justice System (and many others around the world today) decide if somebody who's committed a criminal act is sane or insane is whether they can demonstrate in a court of law that they did not know the difference between right and wrong.
The defendant in a court of law has to be shown to have been ''incapable of understanding the nature of his or her action, or of distinguishing between right and wrong regarding the crime with which he or she has been charged.'' Source
For example, somebody suffering from mental illness who can be proven to understand the consequences of their actions can't get off on a mental illness plea. Only insanity can be used to avoid conviction. That means that just because somebody is seriously depressed (as in clinically depressed), they cannot go around killing or harming people if they know that this is reprehensible behavior they can be held accountable for.
Obviously somebody who is incapable of understanding that they can't go around going killing people can't be held accountable for their actions in the same way as somebody who can understand that they can't do that.
So what is Mental Illness?
Let's make a clear distinction right now between insanity and mental illness.
Being insane has to do with a problem with the moral compass. It's being a psychopath. Somebody who doesn't experience emotions, especially negative emotions linked to antisocial behavior.
Being mentally ill has to do with a 'problem' with your perception of reality. Supposedly. It doesn't mean you can't feel emotions or understand the consequences of your actions. It just means you're dealing with a certain kind of 'handicap' or extra-added stress or emotional component to your every-day life.
Often what we mean by mental health are things related to stress: everything related to depression, having such high anxiety that we get panic attacks, low serotonin and high cortisol levels leading to emotional melt-downs, mental breakdowns, etc.
Many have taken it upon themselves to organize whole awareness campaigns about the risks associated with mental health issues.
And this is obviously necessary... Addiction disorders, food/eating disorders, personality disorders, post-traumatic stress , suicidal or self-harming tendencies: all warrant attention by the community around the individual experiencing these symptoms, and should be carefully and systematically addressed at both the individual level and the larger societal level.
But what of diagnosable mental illness?
I mean, this isn’t the domain of psychology, talk-therapy, co-counseling or anything like that.
This is the domain of psychiatry.
Psychiatry...
Hard Science if you will. The medical profession par excellence: prescribing miracle pills that offer long-term cures for people who we thought would never have a fair shot at a normal life!
Or so the medical establishment would have us think.
This is something I find very important to distinguish between:
The difference between 'Chronic Brain Disorders' and 'Personality Disorders'.
The labels attributed in the names are very important...
A Personality Disorder implies something wrong with the ego. Since the ego is a collective delusion, these are basically problems that we create for ourselves... They are the effect of very powerful illusions that are working their voodoo on our minds.
A Brain Disorder implies something wrong with your brain. It implies there is something wrong with you and the way God made you. That's a massive fucking difference that I will get into in my next post: ''What is Schizophrenia''
Okay, going back to mental illness today, there are several kinds of personality disorders:
- Eating Disorders such as : Anorexia and Bulimia.
- Personality Disorders such as : Borderline Personality Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder
- Depressive Disorders such as : Major, Chronic, and Manic Depressive Disorder
It is my belief that there is nothing genetic about these disorders; though researchers have suggested a genetic link because there seems to be a correlation between family members. (Your mother had a personality disorder, so you were vulnerable to having one too)
I believe instead that these diseases are entirely epigenetic.
They're products of environmental psychic toxicity and pollution.
Indeed, these disorders are all the result of pathological and maladaptive behaviors.
They take root in childhood as children are exposed to nefarious, confusing and destabilizing imagery and messaging.
It's a tragedy because this is what is truly meant by real mental illness : behaviors that were once adaptive to a stressful situation, a toxic situation, and became in fact so entrenched and established, that they just became 'the norm', unconscious maladaptive pathological behavior.
And people with mental illnesses are far from insane...
In fact, they are as sane as can be. It's their environment that is insane, and which pushes them to such extremes.
People who suffer from mental illnesses are simply the survivors of today's ego-consciousness grid. The ones who are no longer with us because of suicide are the casualties of today's paradigmatic consensus reality... They are the way we measure the true cost of living in a world like this one. All of that potential for life gone to waste simply because we're too blind to notice the problem...
Without a solid support network and close affinity group to work through these issues in a positive and reinforcing nature, there's really nothing to prevent deep feelings of isolation and emotional vulnerability from taking over the mind... The brain is in all of these cases just trying to compensate for a lack of environmental nurturing and nourishment...
Far from a sign of ill-will and malice, we can effectively think of people who suffer from these pathologies as people who've been attacked by warring out-of-control egos. Thus, these pathologies are the ego-mind's natural defense mechanisms.
For example: a narcissistic usually had somebody in their childhood that told them everything they did was dog shit and they were a waste of space.
The natural psychological defense mechanism to that is to say I'm great, there's nothing wrong with me, it's everybody else that's completely full of shit... But if this thought goes too far, and isn't balanced with other human beings intervening with a message of 'you're not shit', thus offering a stereoscopic view of the situation, then this becomes a pathology. I'm always great and everybody else is always full of shit.
Though the pain and hurt that mentally ill people can inflict to others can be devastating... It's really just a cry for help.
My Momma Always Said: ''If There Not Loving You, They're Only Showing You Where They're Hurt
A pathology is basically a personality disorder born from mental rigidity caused by over-exposure to a hostile and toxic environment.
It is always ego related.
Same with depression, bi-polar, etc.
All of these are ego personality disorders.
Somebody who for example is a compulsive liar is someone who suffers from a borderline personality disorder.
This is the result of somebody who was told they would have to live up to some kind of expectation.
But because they were unable to live up to this expectation, they started trying to change reality to suit this need to live up to expectations. Basically: they start lying because it's the only way to meet the external expectation.
This kind of disorder can really lead to somebody being completely unable to cope with reality...
They'll be living in squalor, in abject poverty, and will still need to cling to their delusions of grandeur, sacrificing all rationality to maintain the projection of themselves as having achieved the kind of idealized success they were supposed to achieve. Without their delusions, they are completely lost.
Bi-polar or manic depressive occurs from being surrounded by somebody who constantly harasses you.
The reason why is because reacting in extreme and overboard ways is the only way to stave off the onslaught of abuse and harassment.
It will literally cause damage to your synaptic nerves as you're constantly in a state of agitation and self-defense... Eventually this will translate to a pathology that causes drastic fluctuations in energy levels, moods, and erratic thoughts...
These are all personality disorders. These are all ego-related. They're all epigenetic / environmental mental illnesses that develop first as adaptive behavior to protect the mind; but eventually become such an internalized and accepted reality, a norm that gets pushed to such extremes, that they become deeply ingrained and maladaptive behaviors that we then classify as personality disorders.
There is good news about ''mental illness'' or ego-related disorders.
These can be cured because of neuroplasticity.
It's just about consciously re-wiring the brain's neurosynaptic circuitry. Integrating the various parts of the brain that have evolved and grown in a dysfunctional and disharmonious way.
This can be achieved through non-invasive means, simply by consciously changing the environmental factors individuals who suffer from personality disorders have been exposed to and are pathologically drawn to as part of their homeostasis, and applying therapeutic disciplines and practices to help heal the neural layout of the brain.
This can remove any traces of lingering arrested development on a physiological level.
It is possible and necessary that we identify people who suffer from personality disorders, and apply therapeutic ways to soothe and heal their neurosis.
Compassion, care, love and other forms of empathy is really all that is needed, as well as encouraging and promoting the adoption of healthy behaviors and habits.
It's not easy mountain to climb, but totally within the realm of the possible, if we understand where these disorders come from and how they can be effectively treated.
There's no need for psychiatrists, although in today's toxic societal environment, psychiatrists are overwhelmingly being asked to offer therapy to people who suffer from personality disorders. We're effectively drugging people with personality disorders with toxic mind-altering substances for corporate profit and political expediency.
It's really quite problematic. It should be up to a healthy community and engaged affinity group to offer care to people with personality disorders.
Co-counseling, talk therapy, interventions, and an integrated model of care such as ACT in the USA is the best method to help people who suffer from these problems.
Is Schizophrenia a Personality Disorder?
No.
What we call ''Schizophrenia'' has nothing to do with the ego.
It is not something that can be reversed through therapy...
In fact, schizophrenia has nothing to do with the personality.
Schizophrenia is as reversible as homosexuality is...
No amount of invasive doping and surgery will be able to eradicate the 'symptoms' from people who have these particular characteristics.
This is what is really fucked up about the current psychiatric establishment: and I think this has been consciously done for nefarious political reasons...
I have a really big problem with the way schizophrenics are viewed in our society.
We label them. We stigmatize them.
They’re ‘unhinged’. They’re ‘cookoo’. They’re not ‘NORMAL’.
What is NORMAL?
Numbing
Ordinary
Reality
Mainly
All
Lies.
What state of normalcy are people referring to?
Great Calculations, Being inflicted with mental turmoil is because as you said the person who has psychic abilities is not being fed what they need to maintain their stability. I suffered with depression and anxiety until my intuition raised my vibration. I know that it is because i am an empath and gifted with perception that I have the ability to experience such lows. Our environment is our lifeline, so I keep mine free and clear of vampires.. and full of love gratitude, blessed energy
Lovely post and a much needed topic.
I have a mental illness, because I have TOO much feeling. I have CPTSD from narcissistic abuse. The narc is insane, crazy, because he has NPD. He tried to make me believe that I was the crazy one. Oh, I had fears about hat for a long time.
I have been healing with natural and alternative methods. It has been going very well.
A mental illness is often the result of maltreatment from someone who is insane. Mental illness is not insanity, indeed, as you say it yourself.
I used to be afraid to tell people I had a mental illness, and they would cringe when I told them I was not on medication. Allergies, so whatever. But today, I tell people, I have a mental illness. Then I get the "oh?", so I elaborate, 'Yes, I have CPTSD from narcissistic abuse." And then discussions begin, and people are informed and less ignorant, or curious, or realise something about themselves. It breaks the stigma.
So apparently politically I'm a snowflake? Or a victim? What about survivor? No, I'm definitely a survivor. I'm in a happy place, so I can't be a victim anymore, I'm not being abused anymore, that was 12 years ago! And I'm not that kind of snowflake, because I'm no weak. Mentally ill people are far from weak. They are ill because of predators, psychopaths who know how to weaken the strong. If I was weak, I would not be alive today. But I like the idea of being the other kind of snowflake, unique, pretty, and one in a trillion ;)
Keep sharing, my friend. We who understand mental illness are the one who can shed light on the topic.
This is really great. You obviously have a rare level of insight. Doesn't matter if your ideas here are considered scientifically valid, or if you even intend them to be. We all have a psyche, and we all have a right to figure out how this shit works.
And science is slow. If you or anyone else can manage to get somewhere useful with only informed intuition (or whatever) to get them there, and get there faster, all the better. I think, when it comes to human psychology, it doesn't really matter what you can prove. It's what you can accomplish that counts.
I'm trained as a psychoanalyst and I can say for the most part the analysis is spot on. Bravo, Hae-joo. Looking forward to reading the other posts in the series. I'm most impressed (as in, if only more of my colleagues had your insight and sensitivity...)
I think thats my issue is that his focus of "psychiatry" and "therapy" seems to be vilifying it on the pretense that its all psychoanalysis. There are soooo many ways of approaching therapy and psychiatry than just that.
Now this is the comment that made my day!
I wish I could upvote it 10 times
Also what a great name lol! You spiked my interest and after checking the kind of stuff you're writing about am definitely following!
Thanks for taking the time to read brother hope to have more meaningful exchanges in the future!
Ah, that's awesome. I hope my material affects you in positive ways. I'm going to take some time to browse your posts and maybe drop a comment or two. A quick scroll and I'm thinking your stuff is definitely worth digging in to!
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Muy buen post. Saludos desde venezuela
Gracias @orlandoj!
¡Espero que disfrutes más de mis escritos!
Saludos desde Chino!
I come from a land where if u talk of a Psychiatric counselling session,,u r thought to be mad....irony...people need to be educated about this subject...in this modern era of Tensions and restlessness.....Psychiatric counselling is a must thing...nice way if mobilising public mind
The best
Thanks Glosarlo <3
Feel free to share some of your thoughts on the subject! Do you know anybody who suffers from mental illness, and do you have strategies to help them heal?
Often, we go in with our best intentions, trying to 'save' somebody with a personality disorder, only to find them drain us and drag us down with them into their neurosis.
That's why we need to be really prepared when we try to help people with personality disorders.
'Forewarned is forearmed'
Only by being able to identify the patterns and the behaviors that are pathological can we A) protect ourselves from them and B) help others become conscious of them and start the long journey of repairing their personality
It's really quite tricky and we need to be really aware of what's going on to be able to apply effective therapy...
The Buddhists have a concept of ''Idiot Compassion'' which is the worse thing to have when dealing with someone with narcissistic personality disorder. People with mental illness can be really dangerous to our own mental health, we have to be really cautious and prudent and not fall into the traps that drag us down to sick people's level, and instead be the ones bringing them out of their illness back to health
Xx
Well, i finally got the cajones to read this article in which i was immediately defensive! Lol. Typical lima. I have more thoughts but for now im just curious about your research. Is everything you discuss freudian or from the neuroplasticity guru ( dont remember the name) ?
Hmmm...
I doubt it's very freudian, but I think I'm picking up on the idea of the freudian concept of the ego (which I actually demolish in the follow-up article)
the freudian ego is quite an astute observation because it's the root of all mental illness imo
My mom got trained as a psychoanalyst and so most of what I know from mental illness, ironically, comes from my family history, and everything she's ever taught me about!
on my dad's side there's a lot of 'personality disorder' and on my mom's side a lot of 'brain disorder' kind of stuff, so actually you'd need to ask her where she gets her sources from!
if there is a neuroplasticity guru, then my mom probably did tell me all about it from him/her! ^^
you can check her out @amazinggrace although she actually hasn't properly gotten into the whole thing yet, but she definitely plans to!
She'll have way more insight about all this than I do I think, she's read tons of books from all the major thinkers in the field of psychology and neuroscience
@imp.unity thank you appeal to @sportic. Your post will see more than 5,5K of my followers
This really deserves references!
Hey Stempede!
Well, you may find that this doesn't meet the standard of ''science'' (all that falsifiable stuff)
This 3-part post as will become apparent is more of an opinion piece about the legitimacy of the psychiatric profession (and well really by extension the entire medical profession) than a scientific study.
I'm actually kind of on the fence on this one.
I don't think mental illness works in the way it is presented to us (at least in pop psychology, let alone psychiatric medicine). I tend to look at it from an angle of neuroscience and what we know about how the brain wiring between the various regions of the brain can get fucked up.
Pathologies seem to be the result of bad wiring.
Also, I could provide references but that is a whole other level of work.
I'm much more of an armchair scientist than a let me grab my scalpel and labcoat scientist
I feel I'm theorizing out of my own creative intelligence (some may call that my ass IDK) but I'm also not really willing to try and prove it to a scientific community. Call it intellectual laziness or just not caring enough about what other people think?
I guess this definitely falls more under the category of philosophy than ''science'' although science means knowledge and philosophy means love of wisdom so really I don't see why the two would be mutually exclusive.
I'd rather let other people debate these ideas and try to prove/disprove them to each other, as I'm not really trying to convince anybody.
I have no problem advancing them without using references is what I'm trying to say
I just tagged it in SteemSTEM to cause a bit of a ruckus I guess :3
I appeciate this, but it's not all about being scientific, it's for further reading too; many of your definitions and so on may be glossed over. It does help us confirm the legitimacy of a poster in general, but for sure that's not the only concern - depends on the context of the post.
Good luck!
Hmmm!
Didn't think of it that way
I just posted my second piece (clickable link at the top of the post now)
There's definitely a couple really good references in that one!
Think you'll really enjoy it, especially when it gets into the nittier and gritter parts about Freud and Jung and how that ties into how we treat mental illness today in the field of psychiatry!
Thanks for your blessing!
Peace!
Xx
I read this after i made my comment. Id like to add that id rather follow your research trail than try to figure out where you got this info so i can decide what i think about it and potentially post different or additional opinions and research.