Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: arumalpra on 22/12/2015 02:21:26
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Hi Guys!
Is it possible to cure a mental illness by paying attention to the own mind?
Regards,
Mal
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All of us are a little crazy, in our own way.
What matters is whether this harms ourselves, our family, friends and colleagues. Can we hold down a steady job, or make a useful contribution to society in other ways?
Sometimes there is a narrow line between crazy & creative, or between obsessed & observant.
At some point in our lives, many of us will get into situations that we can't get ourselves out of, and we will need professional counselling, or even medical intervention.
It is better to seek help too early than too late.
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Can you elaborate what you mean by "self healing"? Is it to do it all by yourself without the help of anyone else? Or is it to heal without any professional help (i.e. therapist, psychiatrist, etc.)?
I don't think the former is possible. Anyone, even the most introverted person, will probably go crazy if they shunned human contact for any respectable period of time.
The latter is definitely possible although it really depends on the type of mental illness including the causes although it's not that easy to recondition your mind, to say the least.
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Can you elaborate what you mean by "self healing"?
Like influenza, many people will recover by themselves from abnormal mental conditions.
Grief after the death of a loved one is normal, is painful, and takes time to recover. Grief, or the shock of losing one's job is so normal that it is explicitly excluded from the definition of depression.
Recovery is helped by being surrounded by a supportive family and being a participant in a caring community, such as a sporting club, a church group, a social club, etc. Even an online discussion board is better than no social contact at all!
Maintaining physical activity and healthy eating is important for maintaining a healthy body, and returning to a normal mental state.
But there are some people who do not recover by themselves, and need outside help. What may start as an event in life may develop into a profound depression. This is significantly worse if the person is isolated, poor, can't afford proper food and housing, is stuck in an addictive cycle, can't afford professional help, or is living in a country which provides little in the way of a social safety net.
It is more severe if they don't realize that they have a problem, or sees anyone who tries to help them as malicious.
So if life seems a struggle, often the first step in self-healing is to initiate a conversation with someone else, and get some outside perspective on life.
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I "cured" myself from "schizophrenia" when I decided that I alone was in control of my life and mental health. Most people don't realize that a mental disorder is not a permanent condition. Yet, most psychiatrists will refuse to accept the fact that mental disorders are curable and are exclusively transitional.