when my psychology professors told me that mental health was largely misunderstood and believed to be something people make up i didn't really believe them. i was tainted by my own understanding of depression but yesterday when i told my brother i was seeking help for depression that i've had for years, i realized how misunderstood mental health was. the first thing he told me was that he felt it was all in my head.
Can someone honestly look at another person and believe that they would choose to feel depressed. that they would choose to cry everyday, to want to die, they would choose to ruin their relationships because they are so sad they can't get out of bed let alone pretend to be having a good time..even with people they love. That mental illnesses like post traumatic stress, anxiety , even phobias are all lies?
That comment devastated me...but it definitely opened my eyes. why don't people think about other instead of just thinking to themselves..well i've never been depressed so that means depression must not really exist. thats like saying AIDS doesn't exist because i don't know anyone who has it and have never seen the effect of it. bull shit
You are correct that it is difficult to believe that there are many individuals that still believe that mental illness is "all in a person's head". Although research proves it is not.
Jules
Hey, I'm a psychology minor and I've been interested in psychology since high school. I haven't learned much, but I do know that everything is in your head. Depression does exist, but it's in your head. I am not saying you choose to be depressed, but you can sure as hell choose not to be! Sometimes some people just need to talk to someone about it, or a hobby to do. But yes, almost all disorders having to do with psychology are in your head. If you want to talk furture about this, please feel free to message me, I LOVE talking to people about issues or problems they are having and trying to help them out.
you can sure as hell choose not to be
That's debatable. Some people have a naturally low level of hormones, and that makes them feel depressed. It's just a little difficult to choose to be happy when your body is working against you.
That's similar to saying 'oh, well, you don't choose to get the flu, but you can choose not to have it!' or 'Well, you don't choose to get cancer, but you can choose not to have it!' I hope you know enough biology to know the inaccuracy of that statement.
Depression is a recognized disorder, just like ADHD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, etc. And every single one of them can be treated with medications to alleviate the hormonal imbalances in your head. Of course, that's not saying that every one diagnosed with these disorders has them, as the human body is complex and it is sometimes hard to discriminate between two diseases that present similar symptoms. And sometimes, you know, people just feel sad. But feeling sad is not the same as being depressed.
~C
Check out the latest entry in the Between The Lines column!
I don't get it??
Does it mean that by being sad....
that's in you head??
That doesn't make since.
Krystella, 17 years old.
shortstella@gmail.com
I'll tell you this, I know mental illness isn't all in our heads. By the way I feel, I know it's metal illness. I guess the thing that is fake is the diagnostic. I was put in the mental hospital twice this year. And each time they diagnosed me with something different. The first time they said I had major depression. Than the last time they said that i have bipolar. I have no idea.
I also know that little kids just don't understand some times..
And I guess that scares them.
Krystella, 17 years old.
shortstella@gmail.com
but I thought I would share anyway. Some excellent observations have been made here, both by the original blogger, and in the comments. I really like what shortstella shared.
The reality is that mental illness is not well understood, even by the professionals. Mvenus929 has shared some basic information behind what we can say definitively about it, but that is still not much compared to the large problem of mental illness and its negative effects on society.
In truth, I can agree somewhat with Schnucks' statement that "it's all in your head," but that does not carry through to the conclusion that it is a matter of choice. Almost everything is "all in your head," those things called nuerotransmitters and neuro receptors that are always working in our brains.
Diagnosis is very tricky, and it is not an exact science. The best that mental health professionals can do is to ask a bunch of questions and create a list of symptoms. then they refer to a big red book called the DSM-IV (I think the 5th version is out, or soon to be out) and find the diagnosis that includes most of the *presenting* symptoms at the time of evaluation. In many ways, I feel this is an injustice to the patient, because the power of a label is huge. I think that mental health professionals should explain to their clients that all diagnoses are provisional, and do not even mean that the person has something that they will suffer from forever.
People should focus on their treatment, not their diagnosis. Some things are more cut and dry. psychosis is psychosis and mania is mania. Those two things can be fairly easy to treat if a patient is compliant. Everything else requires a healthy balance of good therapy and healthy lifestyle habits. Sometimes medication is necessary, even for just a short time. No matter what, anyone who is suffering with thoughts of wanting to die who is physically healthy deserves help, and should not be asked to go through it alone. Support is the most important thing. i am a huge fan of support groups, and I think that in a way, that is what progressiveu.org is, so I hope you will come back and share more with us, and I hope that others will come here and feel safe to share their burdens here.
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