When did human behaviors become diseases?
The belief that "mental illness" is brain disease (biological/organic) was declared (not proven or discovered) by Carl Wernicke in the 19th century. This was a necessary step in the evolution of psychiatry; a way to legitimize the field. Unfortunately, people take this statement for granted. They believe this myth to be truth and fact (purportedly) based on pure, objective science. Bolstering their argument with the medical (disease) model, they've done a very good job of promoting this idea. Now that psychiatry is in bed with large profit pharmaceutical companies, the message is even louder, stronger and clearer.
Have you ever wondered about that? Who gets to decide which behaviors qualify as diseases? Let's take homosexuality as an example. Did you know that according to the American Psychiatric Association, being gay was a diagnosable mental disorder in the 1960's? It has since been taken out of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders but conversion therapy is still used as a technique to "straighten-up" homosexuals around the globe!
"Mental illness" defined as brain disease has several harmful implications:
- It allows for a simplistic, deterministic explanation of human behavior
- It minimizes the scope of explanations of a wide variety of human behavior
- It leaves no room for freedom, choice or responsibility
- It pathologizes entire segments of the population (race, gender, sexual preference, etc.)
- It criminologizes entire segments of the population
- It victimizes entire segments of the population
The sufferer or "sick person" is, or claims to be, more or less disabled from performing certain activities. These two differ in that mental illnesses can be understood only if viewed as occurrences that don't merely happen to a person but rather are brought about by him (perhaps unconsciously or unwittingly) and hence are of some value (serve a purpose) to him/for him. This particular assumption is unnecessary and unsupportable in the typical (legitimate) case of body illness.
We can view the behavior of people said to be mentally ill as MEANINGFUL and GOAL-DIRECTED. We must be able to understand the individual's behavior from his particular point of view - a key element which underlies all forms of psychotherapy.
If you were intrigued by Szasz's perpsective, please read The Myth of Mental Illness: Foundations of a Theory of Personal Conduct 2010 edition.
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Rae
Its the treatment that counts
ReplyDeleteDon’t mind what labels professionals
put on mental health as long as its recognised,
and the patient is listen to, consulted with,
treated as a individual,
and no undue pressure is forwarded in their
sustained treatment, as in some cases its unwanted
pressures from others, and the lack of respect,
that may have contributed to the condition
in the first place.
Resulting in the need to self medicate for many years.
In short can it be spread like a disease, may be not,
but it feels like it, with contact /conditioning …. YES
Is it sometimes inherited as part of our underlying
make up, YES I think so.