Mental Problems / Problems of the Mind

                  De-stigmatizing Mental Problems and Demystifying the Mind and Mental Existence
                           Active Individual Mental Engagement, Individual Mental Work and Effort
                      Understanding and Managing the Mind and Mental Existence form the Inside

                    

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Psychology and Psychiatry

 

The traditional approach of psychology and psychiatry understands and deals with mental problems from the outside through treatment by experts and specialists. The approach starts with problematic or abnormal individual behaviour and actions, difficulties dealing with, responding and adjusting to external conditions, demands and challenges, established beliefs, views, values and conventions. They are viewed as indicators or symptoms of underlying mental problems, disorders or illnesses. The causes behind mental problems, disorders and illnesses are taken to lie in repressed experiences, desires or dreams, neurological problems, illnesses or malfunctions in the brain, or genetic abnormalities.

The underlying assumption is, human behaviour and actions, how we deal with and respond to external conditions and challenges, is governed by our brain. The brain is where external inputs are translated into action outputs. However, human actions, the action outputs, are affected by how we deal and cope with emotions and feelings. Emotions and feelings are viewed as the response of the nervous system to external conditions and influences, which we experience in the mind. Addressing problematic or abnormal behaviour and actions requires dealing with problematic behaviour, problems in how we handle and cope with emotions and feelings.

Problematic behaviour is viewed as the result of a conflict between the unconscious and conscious mind, repressed experience and traumas, hidden desires, fears and anxieties. It is the result of a hidden agenda of which we are not aware that interferes with and affects our behaviour. Alternatively, problematic behaviour, such as for example worry, fear, anxiety, stress, frustration, anger, hostility and depression, is understood to be the result of difficulties, improper ways of dealing with emotions and feelings. Or it is viewed as intense emotions and feelings, the result of an overactive or particularly sensitive nervous system, reacting strongly to external conditions and influences due to a chemical imbalance, ailment, malfunction or illness.

Abnormal actions and problematic behaviour are grouped or categorized into psychological or mental conditions, syndromes, disorders and illnesses. Examples are, General Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Panic Disorder (PD), Attention-Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and so on. Formally recognized and established mental conditions, syndromes, disorders and illnesses are listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD), of the World Health Organization (WHO).

The answers and solutions to mental conditions, disorders, syndromes and illnesses are treatment by experts and specialists - psychologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists and counselors. The treatment consists of psychoanalysis, psychotherapy and psychiatric medication.

Psychoanalysis, or talking treatment, is to address conflicts between the unconscious and conscious mind through uncovering hidden desires, traumas, fears, anxieties, etc. It involves exploring and analyzing in discussion with the individual repressed or unconscious fears, desires, traumas and anxieties. The objective is to bring them into the conscious mind so they can be dealt with and addressed. It is to uncover and deal with any hidden agenda, of which the individual is not aware, that interferes with and affects behaviour and actions of the individual.

Psychotherapy or counseling involves developing with the help of a therapist or counselor different ways of dealing and coping with emotions and feelings. It is to change and improve individual behaviour, and in turn individual actions. Psychotherapy tries to identify, change and correct counterproductive and harmful ways of dealing with feelings and emotions, such as fear, sadness, anger, happiness, surprise and so on. The objective is to modify, change or correct underlying assumptions, beliefs and practices to handle emotions and feelings differently, to deal with emotional problems, difficulties and crises in more constructive and beneficial ways.

Psychiatric medication, which acts on the nervous system, is to address chemical imbalances or deficiencies. The purpose is to balance and stabilize the nervous system, reducing the intensity of emotions and feelings through controlling the response of the nervous system to external conditions and influences. Psychiatric medication, psychoactive drugs or psychotropic substances are used to affect mental states, treat or manage mental and emotional disorders. They are naturally occurring or human created synthetic chemical compounds and substances that act on the central nervous system where they alter brain functions, resulting in temporary changes in perceptions, moods, consciousness and behaviour.

Psychoactive drugs operate by temporarily affecting a person's neurochemistry, which in turn causes changes in a person's mood, cognition, perception and behavior. They bring about chemically induced changes in mental conditions and states of mind. Masking and covering up underlying causes -- mental conditions, demands and challenges, problems and difficulties understanding them and how to deal with them. That is, they lead to chemically induced changes in mental conditions and states of mind, not changes brought about through individual mental work and effort. They lead to dependence and addiction.

 


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