A non-scientific answer is to increase the amount of harmony an individual experiences. One of the drawbacks of the bio-medical approach is that it ignores harmony. Harmony is considered a part of every other medical model; the Buddhist medicine model, the Ayurveda medicine model of India, the traditional Chinese medicine model, the Shamanic model, the Vibrational medicine model.
Additionally, learning to overcome thought patterns which can be considered destructive is an important aspect of recovery. While on ocassion some of these thought patterns are believed to increase the likelihood of violence towards oneself or others, for the most part these thought patterns merely increase the tendency towards non-harmonious, judgmental, thoughts or actions against either oneself or others.
The simple scientific answer, from the bio-medical model, is that mental illness is an imbalance of chemistry in the brain which causes various forms of dysfunction. While much work remains to be done, it has been determined that there are numerous neurotransmitters, chemical messengers which carry information between the nerves of the brain. Too much of one chemical or too little of another can cause problems in processing information. However, as this explanation is very much an over simplification, it is often misunderstood. No normal range of chemical levels has been established, nor is one likely to be accepted should science ever gain the ability to find and measure all of them. To get a better view of both the problems involved and the various solutions, it is necessary to look at the major components of the brain...and what occurs when one part is malfunctioning.
Environment and heredity are both believed to be factors in the onset of the illnesses. Heredity can make one more or less prone to get any of the group of mental illnesses or neurobiological illnesses as they are sometimes called. A large percentage of people with schizophrenia have eye movements (pursuit eye movements) which are not smooth. For those with this condition, forty percent of first degree relatives (siblings, parents, aunts, uncles, children, first cousins) also have non-smooth eye movements.
The environment, particularly stressful or traumatic incidents usually help trigger the onset of mental illnesses. Even after stabilization on medication, stressful incidents can induce future incidents. A goal of psychiatric help, both group therapy and individual sessions, is to have the individual re-evaluate harmful learned responses to stressful situations and choose a more beneficial response.
Therapy can substantially reduce the likelihood of serious incidents; however there is no guarantee that incidents will not happen, nor is the process as quick as many would like.
Medications can reduce symptoms, but generally do not eliminate them. While many of the newer meds were designed to block specific neurotransmitters from occupying their receptor sites, the scientific community has little or no idea of why many of the older medications work. In any event medication regimes need to be highly individualized to minimize the side effects, many of which are very serious.
Unlike other illnesses, mental illness is diagnosed by the symptoms a person exhibits, not the causes of the symptoms. As knowledge of the brain increases, I expect the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) will be completely rewritten to reflect not only which specific areas of the brain are malfunctioning, giving way to the various symptoms, but also how strongly held beliefs may actually hinder recovery.
For more information on mental illness from the Bio-Medical approach, please see that section.
Anatomical abnormalities or damage result from brain injury due to trauma, brain tumors, or problem in brain development. The damage can disrupt functions of any portion of the brain, or the tracts which carry information between parts of the brain. Injury to the frontal lobes, for example, can result in lack of judgment or foresight, impulsiveness and euphoria.
Lack of oxygen occurs when the blood flow to the brain is slowed down or if the person does not get enough oxygen into the blood. Alterations in blood flow have been related to dementia (senility), schizophrenia, as well as various problems following head injury. Lack of glucose occurs when there is insufficient food intake for a period of time.
Electrolytic induced psychosis, due to below normal levels of sodium, chloride, potassium, and magnesium in the diet can be the cause of delusions and hallucinations as well as stupor and mania. Illnesses that may be related to calcium deregulation include anxiety disorders and mania.
Neurotransmitter deregulation, not all causes of which can be identified at this time, can be caused by a variety of sources including use of substances such as alcohol, nicotine, street drugs, huffing, caffeine and carbon monoxide. Some over the counter drugs and prescription drugs can also have major effects on neurotransmitters.
Ron Leifer , M.D ., in his book, "The Happiness Project," claims the simple basic reason people use drugs is because they feel bad and want to feel good. They feel bad because they do not have a world view, from which they can rationalize the pain they are feeling. They feel bad because they have desires which are out of control and suffer from frustration, aggression, and depression.
He claims that people who use drugs lack an effective religion and rely on a spiritually empty consumerism, which comes from an excessive reliance on science and politics as a guide to life. The nation’s drug problem is the price we have paid for the rise of science, the decline of religion, and the evolution of a culture of consumerism.
The decline of religion, in my opinion, has many sources. The nation’s change of our motto from E Pluribus Unum to One Nation under God, while making many feel better, caused a change of perception to others from that of a benign God to an oppressive one. My father, who was Roman Catholic, was ex-communicated from his church, (decree of Ne Temere, 1908) for failing to force my mother to raise my brothers and me in the religion of the Church of Rome. My mother, a strong willed woman, would have resisted to her dying breath. However, my father believed the church was being unethical and accepted being ex-communicated. If they had just lived together, and not married he wouldn’t have been kicked out of his church.
From my understanding, most of our founding fathers were Deists, that is to say they believed in God, but had doubts about the divinity of Christ. They suspected he was a rather remarkable human being and that the transition to Christianity in Rome, where in their old multiple god religion, nearly every remarkable human being was elevated from human to god status had something to do with this. Judaism recognizes Christ as a rabbi, Islam recognizes Christ as a prophet, and even Buddhism recognizes Christ as a buddha, which is just to say an enlightened teacher. I suspect that the real reason Christ was killed was that being bureaucrats, the Pharisees were jealous of Christ’s rising power and eliminated him to preserve their own elevated status as the go- betweens of the Jewish people and their Roman conquerors.
For those about to enter rehab….
While the physiological effects resulting from substance abuse are reversible, it can be a long, very slow and painful process. Often overlooked in recovery is that many systems, gastrointestinal, immune, and endocrine, to name a few, have been affected as well as the brain. Drugs put a tremendous strain on the liver, the organ responsible for providing enzymes to metabolize the drugs and dispose of their toxic waste products. While the liver is thus overburdened and distracted, toxicity from other sources build up, predisposing the mind-body to disease.
As the immune system begins to mistake itself for foreign invaders the result can be arthritis, diabetes, or other autoimmune diseases. Various massage therapies including Lymph Drainage and other lesser known methods can aid in removing toxins from the body.
Heroin has a close enough shape on the cellular level to fit into the receptor for Serotonin which sends out strong messages of pleasure and enjoyment to the rest of the brain. Cocaine and methamphetamines fit into the receptor for Norepinephrine, which heightens reactivity to events, while marijuana fits into one of the lesser known neurotransmitters, Anandamine, which is also the receptor for chocolate. Alcohol fits into the receptor for GABA. As these substances flood the brain, it believes it has more than enough of these neurotransmitters and shuts down production. This is believed to be the reason for the strong withdrawal symptoms experienced by many who use these drugs, and an underlying cause of addiction.
Sources
MOLECULES OF EMOTION, by Candace Pert Ph.D.
Milady’s Theory & Practice of Therapeutic Massage, by Mark F. Beck
