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shutterbug · 07-12-2006, 12:58 PM

I totally disagree...sometimes the ONLY way to explain what I have had to go through is to liken it to things like diabeties (which I now have) and cancer. All are potentially deadly and ALL have physical sypmtoms and reactions.

MY depressions are VERY physical in nature. AND there are many scientist who have realized that mental illness shows up in brain scans and other types of testing. Some areas of the brain actually grow larger in people with certian types of mental illness as time goes on.

I very much treat my bipolar disorder like I do my diabetis. I know that if I eat too much sugar or carbs then I will feel ill and get very sleepy. I also know that if I don't get much sleep tonight that I will become at least slightly manic the following day and then dive into a slight depression.

Therefore...I monitor what I eat to keep my diabetes in check AND I monitor my sleep (and stress and many other things) to keep my mental illness in check.

Mental illness is chemical and physcial and psychologic...all in one. THAT's why it's so tricky to pin down...and why it's so different from person to person and why not every bipolar needs the same meds to keep them stable.

Anyway ...I have to go, but I wanted to give my two cents on the topic since I whole-heartedly and completely disagree.

Just because nobody has pinpointed and nailed down mental illness to the same degree as diabetis...that doesn't mean it's not just as physical...it just means that it isn't as simple as diabetis. And there are hundreds of physcial illnesses that are the same way too...some are just easier to medicate and explain than others. (plus...we are just now in the beginning of the technology age that is allowing scientists to really study the brain and all that jazz - this wasn't the case even 1/2 a century ago....just give it some time, it'll come...that I'm sure of. Just look at brain scans and imaging that have come into mainstream medicine...do you think they were ever able to study mental illness in such a physical frame 50 years ago?)

07-12-2006, 12:58 PM	#6 (permalink)
shutterbug A picture's worth a 1000 words Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: With any luck, I'm lost in a view finder Posts: 2,947 Blog Entries: 5	I totally disagree...sometimes the ONLY way to explain what I have had to go through is to liken it to things like diabeties (which I now have) and cancer. All are potentially deadly and ALL have physical sypmtoms and reactions. MY depressions are VERY physical in nature. AND there are many scientist who have realized that mental illness shows up in brain scans and other types of testing. Some areas of the brain actually grow larger in people with certian types of mental illness as time goes on. I very much treat my bipolar disorder like I do my diabetis. I know that if I eat too much sugar or carbs then I will feel ill and get very sleepy. I also know that if I don't get much sleep tonight that I will become at least slightly manic the following day and then dive into a slight depression. Therefore...I monitor what I eat to keep my diabetes in check AND I monitor my sleep (and stress and many other things) to keep my mental illness in check. Mental illness is chemical and physcial and psychologic...all in one. THAT's why it's so tricky to pin down...and why it's so different from person to person and why not every bipolar needs the same meds to keep them stable. Anyway ...I have to go, but I wanted to give my two cents on the topic since I whole-heartedly and completely disagree. Just because nobody has pinpointed and nailed down mental illness to the same degree as diabetis...that doesn't mean it's not just as physical...it just means that it isn't as simple as diabetis. And there are hundreds of physcial illnesses that are the same way too...some are just easier to medicate and explain than others. (plus...we are just now in the beginning of the technology age that is allowing scientists to really study the brain and all that jazz - this wasn't the case even 1/2 a century ago....just give it some time, it'll come...that I'm sure of. Just look at brain scans and imaging that have come into mainstream medicine...do you think they were ever able to study mental illness in such a physical frame 50 years ago?) __________________ I'M FINE!! Fanatically Insecure Neuratic & Emotional Bipolar/Depression support: 1-800-950-NAMI(6264).