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.