"someone commented" > Someone commented that mental illnesses are caused by physical abnormalities > in the brain. I don't think that we know enough about either mental > illnesses or the brain to be able to make a hard and fast statement of that > kind. I would opt for the "on the fence" standpoint: perhaps physical > abnormalities (including retarded chemical production) do play a role in the > liklihood of developing a mental illness, but couldn't say that they are the > sole cause.
I never said they were the "sole" cause of mental illness. I was referring to the post that was advocating the complete disregard and disuse of drugs to treat mental illness, and as a matter of fact, as I understood it, a complete disuse of drugs of this kind in general. There has been extensive research done on mental illness and of course there are many different therapies to deal with it, INCLUDING drug therapy. A variety of therapeutic measures may be used. Among the kinds of therapy used are antipsychotic agents and psychotherapy, depending on the individual and the individual case. And of course there are many different causes of mental illness including environmental, brain abnormalities, etc. The drugs do work on the brain and the body to alleviate some of the symptoms, and used in conjunction, or without, other therapies are very beneficial. As far as what we know about the brain and mental illness, the research has been extensive and there is most certainly more to learn but much has been learned already, therefore the great strides medicine has made into the problems of mental illness. "someone also said" > Someone also said that no amount of will and self determination will help > people with mental illnesses. I can see arguements supporting this > viewpoint, but it all comes down to what you are defining as "mental > illness". For example, most of us would consider depression a mental > illness, and i for one do believe cognitive and behaviour therapy's that > stress this positive thinking can be immensely helpful in helping to deal > with some forms of depression. Of course psychotherapy, postive thinking, behavioral therapy, etc. are all beneficial in helping with depression. In the context of my earlier post I was referring to someone with severe mental illness. Of course there are people who are strong enough to overcome their problems by their will or therapy alone, or positive thinking alone, etc. Again, I was referring to someone who is not able to overcome these things without drugs. That was the entire point of my post. Some people are not able to do so and are not able to function in this world. They are at their last stop. Drugs can be beneficial. I never said there were not side effects. I never said they were for everyone, etc. Some, like my brother, and I am not trying to make my point stronger by placing someone close to me into the argument ,(as someone suggested) cannot be helped by therapy alone. He cannot live in this world by positive thinking and all the good intentions of the human race. The only thing that has brought him back and allowed him to return to reality are the drugs. People here can debate whether or not drugs are effective until the cows come home but I have seen it, with my brother, and with many others. In summation, drugs are beneficial to some, not to others, have side effects, sometimes dangerous, sometimes not; but they have a place and thank goodness, thank all the research and scientists who have brought them to us. Mack
