Founder 2 is dangerously wrong. This person shows the fundamental misunderstanding of mental illness and turns it into a shameful thing -- mental illness is for crazy people!. Brain:body :: mental illness:physical illness.
Further, he dismisses depression as "a natural consequence of life," which is one step from saying "everyone feels sad sometimes, get over it."
People find it so difficult to get treatment for depression, which is absurd to me. If your arm gets broken, you don't "suck it up" and say "that's life", you go to a doctor and get treated. It's no different when your brain gets broken.
I believe that your implication that a broken arm and a "broken" brain are synonymous is over simplistic if not outright wrong. There is very little debate as to the proper functioning of a healthy arm and how to return a broken one to that state. Obviously this is not true for "mental" issues. The idea that all "mental" issues are a result of something "broken" in the brain is something very much up for debate.
There are serious, fundamental open questions in neuroscience related to consciousness, memory and disease. Also the assumption that our "mental makeup" is entirely physical without any "meta-physical" component certainly isn't known. That last part maybe a bit outside the scope of neuroSCIENCE but it doesn't mean it is incorrect. I actually got my Ph.D. studying problems in neuroscience and I often found myself pondering some pretty strange ideas as possible explanations for observed phenomenon.
It's simplistic, sure. But just because we know less about fixing neurons than we do knitting bones doesn't mean we shouldn't visit a doctor.
> The idea that all "mental" issues are a result of something "broken" in the brain is something very much up for debate.
Sort of, but only really because we don't fully understand what's going on in there. Antidepressants work, we know that, but good luck finding out exactly why they work.
Is depression caused by faulty mood regulation? Genetics? Environment? We're not sure. But we do know that we can treat it -- and usually pretty successfully -- with some chemicals and some talk therapy.
On the science side, yes, it's an interesting problem that we have a lot to learn about. On the patient side, we can do a LOT to make a depressed person's life livable.
People say this sort of thing a lot, but it strikes me as unhelpful. The stigma against seeking help for mental health exists and is real, whether you think it's absurd or not. And that stigma often exists in the very people who need help, so just saying "oh you're being silly" is super not empathetic. It's actually not that different from the founder you mention.
Furthermore, 5 separate doctors will all concur that my arm is broken. But they will not concur that I have schizophrenia, or borderline personality disorder, or whatever. There are a number of reasons why that is, but my point is that none of this is as cut-and-dried as a fracture -- not the diagnosis, not the treatment, not the patient's acceptance that something is wrong.
Not only is it a societal stigma, but it is nearly a form of accepted discrimination set in concrete.
Within the past year some states have been pushing to start collecting all mental health records. There are people who really who really do need to seek help, but actions like that will only make them afraid to come forward.
Absolutely true.
Not just stigma, but plain discrimination. Good luck getting an interview if you list Haloperidol [1] under 'Current Medications'.
Yes, it is absurd. And those of us with depression are well aware of how absurd it is. But that doesn't make it any easier to actually go and get help. In fact the inability to seek help is yet another item on the long list of things that should be easy to do but aren't when you are depressed. All of which further reinforces the low self-esteem.
I wouldn't so readily dismiss the opinion of someone who actually has experience with depression when you clearly do not. Yes he is misunderstanding the term "mental illness" but this is the interpretation that most of the rest of society holds. Depression is not like a broken arm. It is not a "thing" that you "have". It is more of a description of a state of mind. There is no silver bullet cure because there is no single cause, it is deeply rooted in other issues.
I still agree that he is dangerously ambiguous and mostly incorrect though.
I have to heavily disagree with you because I don't want your post to dissuade anyone who may be considering looking for help from doing so. It is not an intractable problem. I have tried to get help, and received it with zero medication. The key is to see a therapist (PhD - talk therapy) not a psychiatrist (MD - prescribe drugs).
Weekly talk therapy + mindfulness + meditation worked extremely well for me, over the course of about 9 months, in terms of dealing with anxiety and depression. I don't feel "cured" but I feel way more in control than I did before, and I am no longer afraid of depression and anxiety, I've literally learned to cope.
As someone who is very comfortable with the fact that I was in therapy at one point, I really want to encourage everyone to try it, even if you are completely happy right now. Think of it as casually taking intro classes in learning to deal with the stress of life, and learning some basic emotional coping skills, not some way to fix yourself.
All that being said, there are people for whom I would guess drugs are preferable. I had that discussion with my therapist and we agreed they weren't for me. I can't speak for you, but I would highly suggest the multitude of non-drug opportunities for addressing mental health issues since it seems like the drugs aren't necessarily helping. Your doctor should be able to refer you to a talk therapist, but if not you should really consider switching doctors.
Finally, my contact information is in my profile, anyone who might have any questions about any of this or who is considering trying therapy, please feel free to contact me.
In the past I've had severe depression and anxiety attacks and tried both medication and therapy. SSRI's were great for relatively quick relief from a lot of the problems I was dealing with, but the biggest benefit came from lifestyle changes and talking to a psychologist/therapist. It's important to realize that their are two different types of doctors you can see when dealing with depression: 1. a psychiatrist (MD), who primarily treats symptoms by prescribing medication, and 2. a therapist/psychologist (PhD), who primarily works with things such as CBT or other forms of therapy, and may recommend you to a psychiatrist if s/he thinks you'd benefit from medicine.
I'm fortunate that now I have a very happy and successful life, but getting to this point required a lot of hard work, honesty with myself about things I was doing that were setting me back, and large lifestyle changes.
This guy has no idea what he is talking about. Hell, over here (Canada) we have ads and public campaigns all over that say "Depression is a mental illness, do not be shameful, consult a mental health professional".
That would've been great. I still think it's a good idea for an article.
