30 Days Mental Illness Awareness Challenge: Day Five

Question: Do you believe nature (biology/physiology), nurture (environment), a mix, or something else has an impact on mental health?

Warning: I'm gonna get a bit nit picky. If I take this question apart critically, "believe" and "impact" change the tone of what it's really asking.

I can understand the word "believe", because after all the millenia of mental illness, no one is yet able to say just WHAT makes it begin its malicious circles. And not for lack of trying. Scientists, psychologists, doctors, politicians, religious authorities, and just about everyone else have been struggling to find some objective, empirical truth that will clear up the cause of these monsters in the human mind. To no avail. No such luck, pal.

So we're down to belief. No physical tests exist that pin down mental illness. It's hit and miss, and even the medications to treat it are trial and error. Psychological testing is slightly more accurate ... but only slightly. They tell you the WHAT, but not the HOW. So yeah, belief kicks in. It's almost mystical these days. Perhaps it always was? Perhaps that's why so many were thought of as shamans, or mediums, or witches? Perhaps that's why many were either revered or destroyed, depending on their culture? But the word "impact" strains too hard to be politically correct. Of course EVERYTHING has an impact on mental health, just as EVERYTHING has an impact on EVERYTHING ELSE. The wording of the question is misleading.

What the question means to ask, quite plainly and let's admit it, is "What do you think caused your mental illness?" Don't get me wrong; it's a fair question. It's even an important question. It's a big deal, but it isn't a question for which I have hope of a definite answer to in my lifetime. So let's go back to the word "believe", since it's all we have. In the meantime, we'll pretend the phrase "has an impact on mental health" really means "is the cause of mental illness." Just for clarity.

Nature or Nurture? A mix? Something else?

I believe the fact that I hallucinate and get paranoid and have delusions is biological. However, contrary to the Medical Model, I believe that what I am hallucinating, paranoid, or delusional ABOUT is purely psychological.

If my brain produces too much dopamine (the current, accepted theory on schizophrenia), who knows if it was "built in" that way with my genes, or brought on by a chemical change from trauma? Both are plausible in my mind, but I am no neuro-expert. In my opinion, it's most likely a mix of so many factors we just can't wrap our heads around it all yet.

With medication, my life is better than it was without it. (It was a total malfunctioning breakdown.) Still, I can't ignore that therapy is progressing to a point for me that I am doing pretty well, as long as I can cut out stressors. If it is a mix, or one, or the other, or something else, it has been my experience that different things work for different people. Boxes and compartments are useless within the multitudinous dimensions of the human animal as a whole.

It's a game of 'chicken or the egg' for me. It's an endless loop of speculation and guesses at this point in history. And to be honest, at the end of my day it doesn't matter much. It is what it is. When someone self-identifies that medication (and nothing else) helps them, I believe them. If they testify the case is the opposite for them, I believe them too. Until someone figures it out, my (unasked for) advice is to try anything you think will help you.

PS And be wary of people who advise you to do things that do NOT help you. You are the only one who can decide what works for you and your relationships with those around you.