In
this article in The Huffington Post, is found more evidence for the
belief that mental illness is genetic. Here is the article: http://huff.to/XoxQNz
Now, whatever you think about mental illness, the fact that there is
evidence that there are differences in the brains of mentally ill people
that are found at the genetic level is pretty profound. Not being a
scientist, I am not going to debate the validity or accuracy of this
study. But it does lead me to one question: What if we have been
vilifying people who are predisposed to an illness? What if we are
inaccurately blaming people for having a character problem when it is a
health issue? What if we really don’t understand mental illness?
I think at this point that it is a pretty good bet that all I stated above is the case. We have judged people for having mental illness. We have treated them according to our prejudices and a stigma we created. And we have usually been pretty unapologetic for our judgments. In our ignorance, we have shunned and abused people suffering from a genetic issue. What do you think about that? Is it something you condone? Is it an indicator that we are following the golden rule that many profess to believe in? I don’t think so.
But to give in to the anger that I could feel about this is not worth my time. So, I am going to simply ask, what does this mean for the future of mental health treatment? Here are some ideas:
1. We may eventually have more accurate tools to determine what type of mental illness someone is suffering from.
2. We may eventually have medicines that are more helpful and deal with the core of the problem more effectively.
3. We may have proof that will aid in erasing the stigma and create a more understanding environment for those dealing with mental illness.
4. This could lead to changes in therapeutic approaches that will help people to more effectively deal with mental illness.
5. This could result in the ability to pinpoint individuals that are predisposed and lead to more successful preventive care.
The possibilities are endless! As I have said before, the more we know, the more we can do. I am looking forward to having scientists increase our understanding of the basis of mental illness. That is because I want to increase my understanding of causes and learn the best ways to recover. What do you think? Is this good news? Let’s talk!
I think at this point that it is a pretty good bet that all I stated above is the case. We have judged people for having mental illness. We have treated them according to our prejudices and a stigma we created. And we have usually been pretty unapologetic for our judgments. In our ignorance, we have shunned and abused people suffering from a genetic issue. What do you think about that? Is it something you condone? Is it an indicator that we are following the golden rule that many profess to believe in? I don’t think so.
But to give in to the anger that I could feel about this is not worth my time. So, I am going to simply ask, what does this mean for the future of mental health treatment? Here are some ideas:
1. We may eventually have more accurate tools to determine what type of mental illness someone is suffering from.
2. We may eventually have medicines that are more helpful and deal with the core of the problem more effectively.
3. We may have proof that will aid in erasing the stigma and create a more understanding environment for those dealing with mental illness.
4. This could lead to changes in therapeutic approaches that will help people to more effectively deal with mental illness.
5. This could result in the ability to pinpoint individuals that are predisposed and lead to more successful preventive care.
The possibilities are endless! As I have said before, the more we know, the more we can do. I am looking forward to having scientists increase our understanding of the basis of mental illness. That is because I want to increase my understanding of causes and learn the best ways to recover. What do you think? Is this good news? Let’s talk!
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