Is a mental illness much different from a physical one?

[NumbItAll]

A mental illness occurs in the brain which is a physically occurring organ. Is there a reason why it must be distinguished so carefully from a traditional physical ailment? It has a physical manifestation like anything else and can be treated by drugs that influence things like neurotransmitters and receptors. Mental health is health!

 

[symphony]

I tend to think that the biggest difference is socially constructed. For one, things like cancer are easy to objectively determine. Either you have a malignant tumor or your don't, clearly you're either ill or you're not. But it's easier for people to just invent new mental illnesses and have it seem legit, for example how homosexuality was medicalized. Similarly, the false distinction allows for perpetrating stigmas about mental illness. It's not the same as physical illness, it's not real, it's all in your head, just get over yourself sweetie.

I have severe, chronic depression. I'm currently in the process of applying for disability resources because I am disabled by my illness. And one of my biggest fears there is those around me will condemn me as some lazy person wanting things handed to them or whatever. Most reasonable people wouldn't similarly condemn a person confined to a wheelchair for not walking up the stairs.

 

[Celerity]

A lot of people just don't buy into the idea that psychiatric illness is biological. Not to bash the religious, but I think religious thinking plays into this. Mental illness is more likely to be seen as a character flaw or an absence of faith.

The degree to which psychiatric medications work has been grossly exaggerated. Most perform on par with placebo and have worse side effects. Therefore, IMO at least, mental illness may in part be physical but it cannot be directly changed through physical means. Exercise is the best tool we have aside from traditional therapy.

There is some evidence that autoimmune diseases like IBS and asthma are linked with mental illness - anxiety in particular. There are few good treatments for those though. The only medicines we have regulate symptoms. The likely bidirectional relationship at the heart of it contributes to the difficulty of treating those diseases.