Question about chronic mental disorders

[Vanguard]

8 hours ago, Fether said:

Can chronic mental disorders be self inflicted?

Well, nothing in this realm can be an absolute. I do believe, however, folks (who knows which ones?) do significantly contribute to their mental disorder's exacerbation. I believe this in part because - although I've never been diagnosed - I at times will 'sabotage' my own health. Keep in mind, these ideas are a 'third rail' on a public forum. To be clear, I would never presume to identify any such person. I remember when I was dating my wife ~25 years ago I commented about her diagnosed depression and questioned whether she thought she ever self-sabotaged her own mental health. At the time, she did not comment much on my inquiry but later revealed to me my question incensed her to the point of reconsidering our relationship. Yikes. : (    

8 hours ago, Fether said:

if yes, is it a sub-conscience coping mechanism used to get out of uncomfortable situations?

Thomas Szasz, a well-known psychiatrist who has since passed argued largely against the idea of a bona-fide mental illness. His seminal work, "The Myth of Mental Illness" explored how folks in totalitarian countries learned to feign these types of problems in order to avoid servitude of whatever kind. Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Szasz - opens with Szasz' belief that "mental illness is a metaphor for human problems in living, and that mental illnesses are not "illnesses" in the sense that physical illnesses are, and that except for a few identifiable brain diseases, there are "neither biological or chemical tests nor biopsy or necropsy findings for verifying DSM diagnoses."

8 hours ago, Fether said:

is there a concern that even a large minority of diagnosed chronic disorders are self inflicted inflicted and not a legitimate issue?

I believe if we truly care for our brothers and sisters that this question is almost moot. The fact is that everyone suffers to an extent and for myriad reasons. It's not for me to determine their legitimacy as this would run a grave risk of judging others in way that is not helpful.

[Calm]

Of course we self sabotage our own mental health, but it is not like we have a real choice about it. (I should probably only speak for myself and my daughter, the two cases I know intimately…it is possible that others who experience depression have a different ‘process’ they go through).  That is one of the aspects of depression, the inability at times to see the world in a realistic, healthy way that can for one thing accurately judge the usefulness of effort.  Most of the time when I feel compelled to start dwelling on the “it would be better for everyone if…”, part of me is still aware that I am doing myself harm by getting on the hamster wheel. Sometimes that motivates me to shift gears enough. Others it doesn’t make a dent. Recently though I even skipped that self critique completely and slipped into thinking I was being completely rational until I started talking about my evaluation with my daughter and she got this horrified look in her face.  

Plus what works in one moment may be one of the worse things to do in another.  Telling someone in a full out phobia attack that they just need to endure a bit longer and they will get used to it is nonsense and damaging when the stimuli is triggering off their panic full force, entrenching the fear, telling them they are right to be panicked, not lightening the panic up. The things that can work to lessen depression or anxiety when you have the disorder more under control are very useful…when you are more up than down.  Try them when too down and they will often send you deeper. 

I wish there were completely different terms for severe anxiety and depressions, for severe phobias versus the more mild forms so people don’t assume what works at a low level or acute form of a disorder will have the same sort of impact at a more severe level, you just have to put in more, longer effort.

Too often nonprofessionals who want to help are essentially telling people with broken legs if they would only ditch the crutches and casts and walk on their own, they would get better…like one might walk off a cramp.  The crutches and casts are making us weaker in their eyes. Yes, we need to do a lot of walking to get back to normal or better, let’s just say higher functioning. But doing the walk the right way in the right time is what will be healing, not just walking without restrictions.  

This is going to vary from person to person too, since no brain and body reacts identical to another.  Even my daughter and I who have most of the same disorders since she inherited them from me react very differently for the over a dozen drugs we take right now combined save two and a half (the half is a thyroid supplement).  Outside of her insulin and beta blocker, we have each gone through the massive lists of the same drugs and most do nothing but yech for either of us, but she has found a handful that keep her sane, though not much else (she has Fibro) and I have my assortment.  She loved one therapist we shared while all I felt was I had tired myself out by talking, I did better with one that drove her deeper in her shell.

The evil of depression and anxiety is that the very things that can help you…most important asking for help and then talking about it…are too often beyond your ability to do, sometimes even to think about.  Your pain pushes you to hide, not go out to be healed.  It is not something you can explain if you haven’t truly experienced. It is not a grit your teeth and endure the good stuff moment much of the time, that only digs the dark depths deeper. Life becomes a tightrope, trying to keep your balance while finding some way to move forward.  Push yourself too much and you’ve set yourself back, not forward. 

Edited May 3, 2022 by Calm

[Calm]

1 hour ago, Vanguard said:

there are "neither biological or chemical tests nor biopsy or necropsy findings for verifying DSM diagnoses

Not knowing how to test for something is not proof it doesn’t exist. 
 

There is no medical test for phantom pain.  Do you believe it isn’t a valid disorder?

Edited May 3, 2022 by Calm

[rongo]

I'm curious what people's ideas are on why mental health problems appear to be so prevalent and proliferating. Which would lead to the question of whether they are so prevalent and are proliferating (i.e., is this a false assumption? Have mental health problems been more or less steady for centuries?)

I suspect that some would argue that they have pretty much been around forever, with more openness and less stigma, naturally there will be a higher incidence. Sort of like the defense of the prevalence of psychotropic prescriptions in areas with high Mormon populations (they are more likely to seek professional help).

Doesn't it seem like living the gospel should lead to less prevalence, not more, of things like this? Or, is this what God knows these people and families need from their time in mortality?   

[Peacefully]

https://vimeo.com/560115448?ref=em-share
 
The thread made me think of this commercial. 

Edited May 3, 2022 by Peacefully

[MustardSeed]

I have a family member who is legitimately a hypochondriac.  She drives me absolutely insane and I have very little patience for the way she checks out when she doesn’t want to deal with emotions - tells everyone she’s sick.  

Thing is, she’s actually sick.  She pukes, she gets a migraine, she can’t walk, - she’s certainly not faking it.  

That said, I’m really unwelcome to explore the fact that she “brings it on herself.”  The family has organized around her ailments, and even I can see that she is legit sick.  I think the pushback you would get here and anywhere by asking questions is similar to what I experience.  That said, I believe that depression and anxiety are healable, and I don’t believe that most of the time it happens in a vacuum.  I believe that both are rooted in thought patterns most of the time, and challenging thought patterns can help.  It’s not to be expected that one can do that without outside help.  Professional, or situational, or friends, or life changes can all serve as outside help.  

IMO. 

[Calm]

2 hours ago, Vanguard said:

Thomas Szasz, a well-known psychiatrist who has since passed argued largely against the idea of a bona-fide mental illness.

I probably would agree with him that too often dysfunctional behaviour is treated by a medical model when it should be treated with a behavioral or cognitive model or some combo. However, we can actually measure biochemical differences or brain function now in many disorders through MRIs and other new techniques.  So my guess is if he required biological evidence to define something as mental illness, he would be including more dysfunctional behaviours as caused by mental illness. 
 

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/mri-detects-abnormalities-in-brain-depression

[ttribe]

2 hours ago, rongo said:

I'm curious what people's ideas are on why mental health problems appear to be so prevalent and proliferating. Which would lead to the question of whether they are so prevalent and are proliferating (i.e., is this a false assumption? Have mental health problems been more or less steady for centuries?)

I suspect that some would argue that they have pretty much been around forever, with more openness and less stigma, naturally there will be a higher incidence. Sort of like the defense of the prevalence of psychotropic prescriptions in areas with high Mormon populations (they are more likely to seek professional help).

Doesn't it seem like living the gospel should lead to less prevalence, not more, of things like this? Or, is this what God knows these people and families need from their time in mortality?   

Why is it you assume there is any relationship, whatsoever, between 'living the gospel' and mental illness?

[rongo]

6 minutes ago, ttribe said:

Why is it you assume there is any relationship, whatsoever, between 'living the gospel' and mental illness?

It sounds like you assume that there is no relationship, or possibly an adverse one (i.e., that Mormonism causes more than average). Noted.

I'm interested in what active, believing members think about this, though. Why is there such an apparent presence and proliferation of mental health problems in the Church? Or, are Church members exactly average with this (no more, no less than average)? If average or worse than average, why isn't the gospel, obedience, divine help, the priesthood, etc. more of a mitigating factor?

I get and expect that non-believers would respond "because there is nothing to LDS truth claims." What I'm curious about is why active, believing members think that this situation reigns? Is it that these are what individuals and families need to experience for their own personal growth?

[ttribe]

5 minutes ago, rongo said:

It sounds like you assume that there is no relationship, or possibly an adverse one (i.e., that Mormonism causes more than average). Noted.

I'm interested in what active, believing members think about this, though. Why is there such an apparent presence and proliferation of mental health problems in the Church? Or, are Church members exactly average with this (no more, no less than average)? If average or worse than average, why isn't the gospel, obedience, divine help, the priesthood, etc. more of a mitigating factor?

I get and expect that non-believers would respond "because there is nothing to LDS truth claims." What I'm curious about is why active, believing members think that this situation reigns? Is it that these are what individuals and families need to experience for their own personal growth?

So you don't answer my question and put words in my mouth. Lovely.

[rongo]

21 minutes ago, ttribe said:

So you don't answer my question and put words in my mouth. Lovely.

I assume that the gospel should have a mitigating effect on mental health problems. 

Was there anything innacurate in what I assumed about your beliefs?  

[pogi]

29 minutes ago, rongo said:

What I'm curious about is why active, believing members think that this situation reigns? Is it that these are what individuals and families need to experience for their own personal growth?

What situation are you talking about?  Are you aware of some hard conclusions that can be made regarding Mormons and mental health compared to the rest of the population that I’m not aware of?  

[ttribe]

1 hour ago, rongo said:

I assume that the gospel should have a mitigating effect on mental health problems. 

Was there anything innacurate in what I assumed about your beliefs?  

I know you assume that; I'm asking you why assume that. What's your basis for that?

Yes there was an inaccurate representation; I never said anything about believing there is an adverse relationship between 'living the gospel' and mental illness. You are putting words in my mouth when you say that.

[BlueDreams]

8 hours ago, Fether said:

This is what I am talking about. I bet a large sum (maybe a majority, maybe not) of people who are diagnosed (and the convenient thing about this space is you can’t confirm if it is medically or self diagnosed) with clinical/chronic depression may not actually be. They just tell themselves it is the case and they begin to believe it. The mind is powerful. 
 

 

I’ve worked with this and intimately am aware of the process that gets people on meds and the experience people have had with symptoms of depression and anxiety in general. I’ve experienced bouts of both at different points, including recently with physical health problems. Mine have never been more than mild and haven’t needed ssri’s to resolve, thank heavens. But they were still there none the less. 
 

honestly this question simply doesn’t compute. Self inflicting depression in the way you’re describing doesn’t make sense to me. You can have people who have maladaptive coping tools or values that can fuel depression/anxiety (rigid perfectionism for example) this means if you correct the patterns to some degree the symptoms will often reduce. But this is not the same from what you’re reading. These people really do have depression or anxiety and are susceptible to it. 

I’ve worked with sooooo many people who have been diagnosed by either me or another professional for depression/anxiety and I’ve never met anyone who was “self-inflicting” the disorder(s…it’s a cluster of potential diagnoses). I’ve met people who were misdiagnosed with it but had something else (usually OCD, bipolar disorder, specific anxieties, grief, trauma/PTSD, or personality disorders). I’ve had people that the depression/anxiety was a symptom of another problem/cause that needed to be addressed or the problem would persist (relational issues, another disorder, chronic health problems, etc). But even if I did hypothetically met someone “self-inflicting” a mood disorder…they likely still have something seriously wrong floating in their background. That’s not exactly healthy human behavior. 
 

Positivity doesn’t work. Well not in and of itself. I can see why it has push back, but honestly I’m okay that someone can be that unaffected by mental health issues that they seriously don’t get why this doesn’t work. So Let me explain it in an analogy. Let’s say you want to get from one place to another. By car it’s a 40 minute commute. You make this trip regularly for work, may not be a fan of it, but have a car that you can reliably use to get you there. So even though it’s not perfect, you buckle up, eat your breakfast and do what’s needed. You even make the best of it by listening to things that uplift or grow you. Another person wants to live in a similar type of place that you do. They happen to work within a similar distance from their ideal neighborhood that you work. So you tell them what worked for you. The one big problem is that this person doesn’t own a car and can’t currently afford to. Telling them to wake up early, make the best of the commute via podcasts and music, etc etc…is missing key first steps checking to see if they have a legitimate means to get there. The form of depression/anxiety they have would be similar to just how difficult this commute would be for them. One may have a solid public transit system that only adds a little more time to the commute….which case some of your advice may still apply. Another may only have a bike and need access to ride sharing. Another may only have their feet and the realities of their limitations means changing what is realistic to hope for in a place to live or work. Another may be in the middle of an active war zone and all of this is moot until conflict subsides or they can get out safely. Etc. Basically if you already have the means and environmental structure, the advice given that works for you -, a car owner in an environment that allows for drive - will work. But if you don’t it will either be irrelevant or highlight the deficit they’re currently experiencing. 

when I’m working with people I can’t simply point to positivity. I have to help them restructure their experiences and world so that positivity can be a realistic thing to reach and access. 

 

Your hypothetical only works if everybody really does own cars and reliable infrastructure… or in other words a very similar personal landscape as your own. I can attest that that is not the case.
 

Side note: I don’t make much of a distinction between situational and chronic depression in terms of basic symptoms, just in terms of treatment, duration of therapy, and interventions…depression is depression. Anxiety is anxiety. They’ll still often need help. I’ve only had situational depression/anxiety. It’s never been chronic. It Still sucks and the situations that caused it are similar to the ones that cause more severe and/or long term mood disorders in others. I can’t tell you why I lucked out with just mild symptoms while say my brother has struggled heavily with mood disorders.

 

Quote

I always get nervous when we start preaching the unique situations in the name of protecting them. When all we do is preach the exception, we begin to think the exception is the rule.

I don’t know if mental health illness is the exception. Lifetime prevalence rate of any mental health illness is around 46-47%. so just shy of a coin toss on whether or not you at somepoint will struggle with your mental health. It’s neither the exception or the rule, it’s a common experience. 
 

with luv,

BD 

Edited May 3, 2022 by BlueDreams

[BlueDreams]

4 hours ago, rongo said:

I'm curious what people's ideas are on why mental health problems appear to be so prevalent and proliferating. Which would lead to the question of whether they are so prevalent and are proliferating (i.e., is this a false assumption? Have mental health problems been more or less steady for centuries?)

 

It's hard to tell, measurements up untill the last couple decades were not systematic. Measures and willingness to talk about it/acknowledge it have also shifted. Mental health problems also vary a lot from community to community and nation to nation. Different eras will lead to an increase in certain mental health issues. My sense is that, yes, it is proliferating and will likely increase more before it shrinks. Why? A plethora of reasons ranging from dietary changes to a western diet, increase destabilization of social/governing infrastructure, increased disparities, increased environmental pollutants/pressures,  Cultural pressures in forms of comparison, deeply competitive, and high stress cultural values, etc. 

Quote

I suspect that some would argue that they have pretty much been around forever, with more openness and less stigma, naturally there will be a higher incidence. Sort of like the defense of the prevalence of psychotropic prescriptions in areas with high Mormon populations (they are more likely to seek professional help).

Somewhat, yes...but that increased openness has been a solid trend for 2 generational groups at the very least (millenials and genz) and the rate is still drastically increasing....which means there's more going on there than meets the eye

Quote

Doesn't it seem like living the gospel should lead to less prevalence, not more, of things like this? Or, is this what God knows these people and families need from their time in mortality?   

 

That's a weird dichotomy. I don't think it's fully either. Personally living the gospel has given me an added tool set and means for healing. In many ways the healing I've received cemented my conversion and felt more complete in healing me than many of my (albeit brief) therapy experiences. But I've seen people with a poor understanding of the gospel built on the "philosophies of men" per se that this makes things worse to some degree. Most often I jokingly call this "checklist jesus" as in ticking off the right boxes will save. on the other end,. I don't know if this is what someone specifically "needs." Once it was for me (repressed emotions from trauma needing to be expressed). More often it was just a by product of different cognitive/physical weaknesses coming into play. Consecrating these experiences, submitting to what needs to be done to heal, etc have helped them to increase my compassion, understanding, and deepening gospel understanding. But they also weren't inherently ingrained into simply having a crap experience.

 

With luv,

BD

[The Nehor]

4 hours ago, rongo said:

I assume that the gospel should have a mitigating effect on mental health problems. 

Was there anything innacurate in what I assumed about your beliefs?  

When Jesus was around there was a common complaint about how Christianity seemed to suck in all the worst people. Maybe we have reached the part of the parable when the well-heeled and sane dropped off their “can’t make it” RSVPs and God drags in all the indigent homeless to come to the feast?

[Fether]

6 hours ago, BlueDreams said:

I’ve worked with this and intimately am aware of the process that gets people on meds and the experience people have had with symptoms of depression and anxiety in general. I’ve experienced bouts of both at different points, including recently with physical health problems. Mine have never been more than mild and haven’t needed ssri’s to resolve, thank heavens. But they were still there none the less. 
 

honestly this question simply doesn’t compute. Self inflicting depression in the way you’re describing doesn’t make sense to me. You can have people who have maladaptive coping tools or values that can fuel depression/anxiety (rigid perfectionism for example) this means if you correct the patterns to some degree the symptoms will often reduce. But this is not the same from what you’re reading. These people really do have depression or anxiety and are susceptible to it. 

I’ve worked with sooooo many people who have been diagnosed by either me or another professional for depression/anxiety and I’ve never met anyone who was “self-inflicting” the disorder(s…it’s a cluster of potential diagnoses). I’ve met people who were misdiagnosed with it but had something else (usually OCD, bipolar disorder, specific anxieties, grief, trauma/PTSD, or personality disorders). I’ve had people that the depression/anxiety was a symptom of another problem/cause that needed to be addressed or the problem would persist (relational issues, another disorder, chronic health problems, etc). But even if I did hypothetically met someone “self-inflicting” a mood disorder…they likely still have something seriously wrong floating in their background. That’s not exactly healthy human behavior. 
 

Positivity doesn’t work. Well not in and of itself. I can see why it has push back, but honestly I’m okay that someone can be that unaffected by mental health issues that they seriously don’t get why this doesn’t work. So Let me explain it in an analogy. Let’s say you want to get from one place to another. By car it’s a 40 minute commute. You make this trip regularly for work, may not be a fan of it, but have a car that you can reliably use to get you there. So even though it’s not perfect, you buckle up, eat your breakfast and do what’s needed. You even make the best of it by listening to things that uplift or grow you. Another person wants to live in a similar type of place that you do. They happen to work within a similar distance from their ideal neighborhood that you work. So you tell them what worked for you. The one big problem is that this person doesn’t own a car and can’t currently afford to. Telling them to wake up early, make the best of the commute via podcasts and music, etc etc…is missing key first steps checking to see if they have a legitimate means to get there. The form of depression/anxiety they have would be similar to just how difficult this commute would be for them. One may have a solid public transit system that only adds a little more time to the commute….which case some of your advice may still apply. Another may only have a bike and need access to ride sharing. Another may only have their feet and the realities of their limitations means changing what is realistic to hope for in a place to live or work. Another may be in the middle of an active war zone and all of this is moot until conflict subsides or they can get out safely. Etc. Basically if you already have the means and environmental structure, the advice given that works for you -, a car owner in an environment that allows for drive - will work. But if you don’t it will either be irrelevant or highlight the deficit they’re currently experiencing. 

when I’m working with people I can’t simply point to positivity. I have to help them restructure their experiences and world so that positivity can be a realistic thing to reach and access. 

 

Your hypothetical only works if everybody really does own cars and reliable infrastructure… or in other words a very similar personal landscape as your own. I can attest that that is not the case.
 

Side note: I don’t make much of a distinction between situational and chronic depression in terms of basic symptoms, just in terms of treatment, duration of therapy, and interventions…depression is depression. Anxiety is anxiety. They’ll still often need help. I’ve only had situational depression/anxiety. It’s never been chronic. It Still sucks and the situations that caused it are similar to the ones that cause more severe and/or long term mood disorders in others. I can’t tell you why I lucked out with just mild symptoms while say my brother has struggled heavily with mood disorders.

 

I don’t know if mental health illness is the exception. Lifetime prevalence rate of any mental health illness is around 46-47%. so just shy of a coin toss on whether or not you at somepoint will struggle with your mental health. It’s neither the exception or the rule, it’s a common experience. 
 

with luv,

BD 

I’m convinced the brain is an extremely powerful thing. Is it possible that a person without any disorders could be convinced that they have one and then develop it?

[BlueDreams]

2 hours ago, Fether said:

I’m convinced the brain is an extremely powerful thing. Is it possible that a person without any disorders could be convinced that they have one and then develop it?

No. The closest scenario I can think of that i’ve seen is when a person is in an unhealthy/emotionally abusive relationship and the partner gaslights them by being “supportive” of them getting anxiety/depression meds because they’ve convinced them they have a disorder. But they did have symptoms of anxiety or depression and sometimes severe ones….it was just that their partner was the main cause for it. 
 

You can’t “fake it till you make it” a mental health illness. You’d have to have at least some of the qualitative symptoms to be diagnosed in the first place. But you can have forms of depression or anxiety that begins to correct once a circumstance is corrected. This doesn’t mean the person doesn’t have anxiety or depression. It just means it’s a symptom to an external cause. (Most common causes I’ve seen are unhealthy relationships, taking on too much  work/school/family/etc, an unbalanced value system that’s propping these up). You work on the root the symptoms usually dissipate, though still not all at once.  Particularly if the cause is an unhealthy relationship. If it’s gotten severe medication, at least temporarily, May be needed just so they can function enough to correct their life problems. It’s hard to address an unhealthy relationship when you can barely get yourself out of bed. 
 

no healthy brain in a person living in a healthy circumstance is going to get tricked into developing a mood disorder. That’s really not how that works. 
 

with luv, 

BD 
 

 

[rpn]

22 hours ago, Fether said:

- Can chronic mental disorders be self inflicted?

- if yes, is it a sub-conscience coping mechanism used to get out of uncomfortable situations?

- is there a concern that even a large minority of diagnosed chronic disorders are self inflicted inflicted and not a legitimate issue?

We've al read stories about people making it up and then not knowing how to get themselves out of it or eventually it becoming their reality.   There is even a medical term for it --- hypochondria.

For some conditions it isn't sub-conscious even.   If you are afraid of how it might turn out, you can just preplan to avoid things.   And hooray for anyone recognizing an uncomfortable situation and planning how to deal with it.

Not in my book.   For some mental health conditions we don't know the (or all of the) biological components, or very much about them.   And even if they were self-inflicted, that wouldn't make them illegitimate.

But part of the reason mental health is so tough is that we don't use what we know works, very well, and we sell and use a lot of drugs that don't necessarily improve anything.   For instance:   Any one with depression or anxiety, SHOULD get Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which is even research proven effective for teen depression.  Many therapists claim they do it, but few actually do with fidelity.  It teaches healthy thinking skills.  When you know how to talk to yourself authentically/healthily AND DO IT CONSISTENTLY, it is so much easier to get around and over obstacles.

 

[Tacenda]

52 minutes ago, BlueDreams said:

No. The closest scenario I can think of that i’ve seen is when a person is in an unhealthy/emotionally abusive relationship and the partner gaslights them by being “supportive” of them getting anxiety/depression meds because they’ve convinced them they have a disorder. But they did have symptoms of anxiety or depression and sometimes severe ones….it was just that their partner was the main cause for it. 
 

You can’t “fake it till you make it” a mental health illness. You’d have to have at least some of the qualitative symptoms to be diagnosed in the first place. But you can have forms of depression or anxiety that begins to correct once a circumstance is corrected. This doesn’t mean the person doesn’t have anxiety or depression. It just means it’s a symptom to an external cause. (Most common causes I’ve seen are unhealthy relationships, taking on too much  work/school/family/etc, an unbalanced value system that’s propping these up). You work on the root the symptoms usually dissipate, though still not all at once.  Particularly if the cause is an unhealthy relationship. If it’s gotten severe medication, at least temporarily, May be needed just so they can function enough to correct their life problems. It’s hard to address an unhealthy relationship when you can barely get yourself out of bed. 
 

no healthy brain in a person living in a healthy circumstance is going to get tricked into developing a mood disorder. That’s really not how that works. 
 

with luv, 

BD 
 

 

(my bold) Your comment made me think of this meme that a friend shared, don't know if it applies or not to the situation in your comment.

[Navidad]

23 hours ago, OGHoosier said:

Could you expand on the difference between functional and organic mental illness? I presume they both contain an element of biology.

Sure. Organic mental illness is due primarily to biological/physiological factors. These could include chemical imbalances, genetic predispositions, neurological issues, etc. These don't typically respond well to therapy, but require medical intervention in the form of medication, etc. Many chronic (to use the OP's term) mental illnesses fall into this category.

Functional mental illnesses are more life-related. Dysfunctional families (wherein someone may have an organic problem) are often triggers. Losses are triggers. Anger turned inward is often a trigger. Betrayals are triggers. Loss of faith can even be a trigger among the very religious. Many types of neuroses are functional. They may be transitional, or point of time coping mechanisms to some unexpected stress. Fugues and other dissociative reactions often fall into this category. Treatment in the form of skilled therapy can certainly help. A physician may decide that medicine is helpful as a co-treatment with therapy. Usually psychologists or therapists will refer someone in this situation to a psychiatrist or other specialist for a medical exam. There can be biological factors involved, but these may be secondary, not primary.

[Navidad]

4 hours ago, Fether said:

I’m convinced the brain is an extremely powerful thing. Is it possible that a person without any disorders could be convinced that they have one and then develop it?

There is a reason why psychology has that name. It is the study of the soul - the mind, will, and emotion. I don't know what LDS anthropology (used in a theology sense - the doctrine of humans) holds about bi versus tripartite in human makeup. I only know that I am a firm believer in the body-soul-spirit nature of humans. The body is the soma; the soul the psuche; and the spirit the pneuma of a person. All are mentioned in the Bible. Someone else will have to opine on whether in LDS theology a person is tripartite or bipartite?

I am personally most interested in the study of the soul - the mind, will, and emotions. I find that a fascinating study, hence my intense study and background in the integration of psychology and theology.

[Chum]

16 hours ago, rongo said:

I'm curious what people's ideas are on why mental health problems appear to be so prevalent and proliferating.

Psychologically speaking, I believe we're still best suited to be hunter gatherers, possibly agrarians. For those long periods, there weren't many types of long-term crisis (eg: causing stress that alters DNA, which then gets passed down). It could be generations between them but when they happened they were a group experience.

Today, the number of man-made factors (eg:policies, exploitation) that lead to crisis (eg:hunger, homelessness) are innumerable and that list grows continually. We generally have to navigate crisis alone as we no longer live in those ancient, contained groups. Past that our psychological and temporal resources are stretched increasingly thin by an ever-growing number of complexities, injected by governments, corporations, political groups, etc - all competing to exploit and/or manipulate us.

Through all this, if our ability to fulfill external demands wavers, consequences can be harsh and some of those can be permanent.  The result is more people living in a state of persistent, growing stress. Given that, more mental health challenges seems seems pretty trivial to predict.

One final, related factor.  It is my observation that most US counties are full of people without reliable access to meaningful mental healthcare. There is no MentalHealthMart they can walk into, spend the $5 they have and buy mental healthcare. That reality seems to be lost on those fortunate enough to live in healthcare-wealthy regions.

[Calm]

12 hours ago, Tacenda said:

(my bold) Your comment made me think of this meme that a friend shared, don't know if it applies or not to the situation in your comment.

In some cases this can work, for others it just deepens their belief they are failures because they don’t see the little better as balancing out what feels like a massive failure…it they even see it as a little better. 

[Tacenda]

11 minutes ago, Calm said:

In some cases this can work, for others it just deepens their belief they are failures because they don’t see the little better as balancing out what feels like a massive failure…it they even see it as a little better. 

Yea, I can see that.