Mental Illness is Physical

Thesis Mental illness is not just like physical illness; it is physical illness Failure to recognize this has bad consequences

Dualism Dualism is the belief that body and mind are separate entities, one physical and one non- physical Dualism is untenable from a scientific point of view Everything we perceive, think, and do is related to brain activity

Frequency of Mental Illness About 50% of the population experiences at least one mental illness. Almost everyone will either have a mental illness or know somebody who does

Consequences of Seeing Mental Illness as Something Different Enormous economic and human costs of mental illness, especially when untreated Stigma associated with mental illness Treatment may not be covered by insurance

Examples of Things that Cause Illnesses Genetics Body chemistry Damage to organs Environmental influences

Genetic Factors Genetic predisposition for many mental disorders – Major Depressive Disorder – Bipolar Disorder – Schizophrenia

The Diathesis-Stress Model Genetic predisposition can make an individual more susceptible Stressors can trigger the disorder A disorder can be characterized by chemical or structural changes in the brain

Brain Chemistry Major Depressive Disorder – Insufficient serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine – High cortisol levels Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder – Underactive GABA system (inhibitory) – Low serotonin levels

Brain Chemistry Schizophrenia – Abnormal dopamine system Too much: positive symptoms Too little: negative symptoms

Brain Structure Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder – Decreased white matter (axons) Schizophrenia – Decreased frontal lobe tissue – Early exposure to viruses

Environmental Influences Seasonal Affective Disorder – Insufficient light Major Depressive Disorder – Learned helplessness Phobias – Classical conditioning

Cause and Effect It is difficult to establish whether a biological change or abnormality is the cause of a disorder or the result of a disorder Biological differences are descriptive of these illnesses even if we don’t know their role in the causal chain Same can be said of other types of illness