Posted by morganator on December 6, 2009, at 17:43:54
In reply to Re: Depession...Chemical ?, posted by inanimate peanut on December 6, 2009, at 15:54:46
The biopsychosocial dynamic is the most commonly accepted cause for mental illness. I think there are very few or no cases where factors in our environment did not have an effect on our development and contribute somewhat to our illness. This is hard for most to accept. No one wants to look back and realize that their life perhaps could have been better if they had what they needed.
I would love to hear in detail the life that everyone here on psycho-babble had. I seriously doubt that anyone would be able to honestly say that they had all the love and nurture necessary to develop a healthy psyche. And if they were already biologically predisposed to a mental illness(which we all were I'm sure), there was a much greater chance of developing that mental illness and a mixed up brain chemistry to a point of major suffering.
I think it is more complex than what many realize. It is also very hard to undo the damage and rewire the brain once our chemistry has been altered one, two, or three times(I think medication use can put our brains in worse condition than it was before in many cases). And, we will always carry around the hurt, sadness, and anger from our past unless it is dealt with. This sadness and anger will negatively effect our brain chemistry at some point throughout our lives.
I just don't think we can deny the power, complexity, and fragility of the human psyche and how much the human psyche can play a role in the development of our brain chemistry/mental illness.
Relationships, love, lack of love, low self esteem, verbal and physical abuse, neglect, criticism, and a predisposed brain can all add up to a whole lot of suffering. A therapist, with a Phd. that did forensic work for Fairfax Co. Police just outside of D.C., said to me that if there were no criticism in the world(speaking of children being constantly criticized) she would probably be out of a job. She said criticism is as destructive as physical abuse. If that is true-which it makes sense that it is if you really think about it-it is just one example of how something in our environment can have such an impact on the way we develop and feel about ourselves. This can cascade into relationships going bad and feeling more and more hurt and damaged.
The biopsychosocial model makes the most sense to me. I think most of us could go back a remember that we were at some point fairly happy children. If we had it that bad from ages 2 to 4 there is a chance we may not have any memory of consistent happiness. The age period from 2 to 4 is crucial to our emotional/psychological development. It is very hard to rewire things after the age of 4. There is evidence that early traumas, stresses, neglect, or even lack of proper attachment to the parent have negative effects on brain development.
poster:morganator
thread:928268
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20091206/msgs/928348.html