Does mental illness really exist?
I have suffered from bipolar disorder (manic depression) for over 30 years. My dad had it, my sister, and my cousin, all of whom died of suicide from it. Bipolar disorder is a series of elongated moods ranging from deep, suicidal depression, to irritable, giddy risk-taking behavior where ones thoughts speed up. This is riskier than depression, because one has the lack of foresight and the incredible energy to plan and complete a suicide. Then there are periods of ‘normalcy,’ by which you realize what a roller-coaster ride your life has become. If you understand epidemiology, then you would know that bipolar disorder affects all races, nationalities, religions, economic strata, but tends to show up in the late teens or early twenties, and is usually lifelong. It is thought to be hereditary. I have more in common with a person in Borneo or New Delhi who has bipolar disorder than I do with my next door neighbor. The same can be said for dysthymia, depression, schizoaffective disorder, and
Schizophrenia exists, but its a term covering loads of different symptoms and gets mis-used by many psychiatrists because like you said, everyones brains are different so its 100 x more difficult to diagnose than a physical illness. Example, someone may get paranoid delusions for a few months then never again, or someone might go up and down on manic highs untill they eventually level out more, The problem is these labels are stuck to them for the rest of their lives even if they’re no longer accurate descriptions of their mental state. Fact – many, many psychiatrists are incompetent and sometimes even sinister.
