Mental Illness or Brain Disorder?

Why is it that the idea of “mental illness” is so much scarier to many people than any other illness? We talk freely about cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, yet whisper about Bipolar Disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Of course the media portrayal of these illnesses doesn’t help, but surely there must be more to it than that. While the “physical illnesses” mentioned above are seen as diseases that happen to us, the “mental illnesses” are perceived as us. We get heart disease, but we are bipolar. We get cancer, but we are obsessive-compulsive. Heart disease and cancer are separate from us. Bipolar Disorder and OCD are us. Indeed, many people mistakenly believe that those with “mental illnesses” typically have no insight or understanding as to what is going on with them. Why do we think this way? I believe it’s because “mental illnesses” are illnesses of the brain. And we are our brains, right? Well, no. We are not our brains. Our brains, like our livers, kidneys, and hearts, are organs in our body. And just like any other organ, they can sometimes malfunction, become distressed or even diseased. Indeed, because the brain is the most complex organ in the human body, there are many different things that can go wrong with it. Much research has been done, and it is now widely accepted that, due to neuroplasticity, our brains can adapt and change. They can actually be retrained and rewired. Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz, a world-renowned e...
Source: Psych Central - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Caregivers Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Personal Stories Bipolar Disorder Body Dysmorphic Disorder Mental Illness Neuroplasticity Psychology Schizophrenia Stigma Source Type: news