Compartmentalizing the Brain and the Stigma Attached to the Term Mental Illness    

Mental illness remains both a critical concern and a topic shrouded in misconceptions. Exploration begins at the intersection of two powerful forces—the complex workings of the human brain and the pervasive stigma surrounding mental illness.

“Compartmentalizing the Brain and the Stigma Attached to the Term Mental Illness” invites you into the complexities of neurodiversity, challenging preconceived notions and reimagining our relationship with mental wellbeing.

From cultural influences to historical shifts, we unravel the threads that bind us to outdated beliefs while illuminating the path toward empathy and understanding.

Therefore, let’s abandon the societal belief that the brain is a rather lazy organ, leisurely sitting behind the eyebrows in a mental compartment. Yes, the cranium holds it in protective custody, but it’s not the cellmate it appears.

The brain is a physical part of the body, about 60% fat, a bit portly, you might say. But the brain is not just a mysterious glob of fat sitting and twiddling its neurons.

Many embrace the ideation that the brain is unconnected from the rest of the body.

We have forgotten that the brain and body are not separate entities but rather two parts of a whole, each relying on the other to function at their best.

And there are trillions of chemical reactions per second going on in the body, including on the top shelf, the brain. Not much leisure time there.

In fact, if something goes awry in the body, it affects this miraculous, complex organ—the brain. Likewise, if the brain experiences turbulence, so does the body.

Furthermore, when an organ in the body becomes dysfunctional, it is termed a disease by the medical establishment.

A diagnosis might read that the patient has kidney disease, liver disease, or heart disease.

I’ve never heard anyone say, “heart illness, kidney illness, or liver illness.” Have you?

But, when the brain becomes dysfunctional or diseased, we plaster it with a single label, “mental illness.”

Labeling a homeless drug addict and a person with depression with the same term, ‘mentally ill,’ is like comparing a thunderstorm to a misty day. Should someone with seasonal affective disorder or panic disorder wear the same label as a psychopath?

The term’ mental illness’ blankets the marked differences in severity, cause, and treatment, often contributing to stigma and misunderstanding.

That’s like trying to cover a rainforest with an umbrella.

Enter the Rainforest: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

When its first edition appeared in 1952, the manual was a slight, spiral-bound pamphlet that required just 32 pages to define all of its 106 diagnoses. The most recent edition, the DSM-5, was published in 2013; it is a massive 947-page tome that defines about 300 conditions in precise detail.^[1]

Shedding the Gorilla: The Term Mental Illness

Most of us are aware of the stigma that the term mental illness carries.

And the humiliating cliches attached, like being a little off your rocker, a few screws loose, not playing with a full deck, or crazy.

That is pretty heavy, like carrying around a gorilla on your back.

No wonder someone experiencing obsessive or intrusive thoughts is reluctant to seek help or dares to utter it aloud.

The sufferer doesn’t understand what’s happening but knows something is wrong.

So, they endure in silence. 

Their condition worsens.

Have you ever been in the same room with someone with a toothache or an earache? I am sure you have. Their cries burst out like thunder. 

So, where is the outcry when a vastly more complex organ needs attention? Where’s the storm?

Why do we live in excruciating pain?

The reality is this is where we live—in our brains. In our minds. If our brain is not working properly, how will our mind react?

We need to shed the gorilla!

The Brain’s Purposeful Design

Science tells us the brain has about 100 billion neurons (cells) and thousands of synaptic connections per cell.

There are about 500 trillion synapses in the brain’s network, which the brain uses to signal chemical messages from one cell to another.

What is a Synapse?

A synapse is like a tiny gap between brain cells or neurons. Neurons are the cells in your brain that help you think, feel, and do things. Neurons are remarkable because they can send messages to each other. But they never actually touch each other. That is where synapses come in.

The synapse is like a meeting point or a checkpoint where these messages get passed along. Imagine it as a unique bridge between two neurons. When one neuron wants to send a message to another, it combines electricity and chemistry.

How Does This Communication Happen?

The neuron generates an electrical signal that travels down its axon, a long tube-like structure. When this signal reaches the end of the axon, it releases tiny chemical messengers called neurotransmitters.

Neurotransmitters are like little information packages and are crucial to the whole process. These neurotransmitters disperse into the synapse, the gap between the two neurons. Once in the synapse, they must find their way to the next neuron to deliver the message.

To do this, the neurotransmitters bind to special receptors on the surface of the second neuron. Think of these receptors as tiny suction cups that grab onto the neurotransmitters. This binding is essential because it triggers the second neuron to receive the message.

Some neurotransmitters hang around in the synapse for a while, while others get recycled. Particular proteins called transporters help round up the neurotransmitters still floating in the synapse and return them to their original neuron. This recycling process is called “reuptake.”

The whole system is essential because it’s how your brain communicates and works. Without these neurotransmitters and synapses, our brains couldn’t think, learn, or control our bodies. So, synapses and neurotransmitters are messengers that make your brain function and let you be you!

Neurotransmitters Mission

Imagine the brain as your trusty mail carrier, who delivers mail about the neighborhood so all the residents receive the necessary information.

In this analogy, the old faithful mailbag represents a brain cell or neuron containing vital messages known as neurotransmitters.

The neurotransmitters, metaphorically, are the letters or packages within the mailbag (brain cell), and they have a specific destination containing precise information.

This information has a target (target cell). Imagine the target cell is a resident. If the delivery of the letters or packages goes to the wrong addresses or goes missing, the mail carrier is now dysfunctional.

The precise information did not reach the correct resident.

Havoc occurs.

John receives a cancelation letter in his insurance policy, which belongs to Charley down the block. On the other side of the street, Candace gets a $700 refund check, which belongs to Cathy on the other side of town. Phil thinks he has diabetes because he received the wrong lab values. And, poor Arnold, well, he finds his electricity unexpectedly shut off. 

You get the picture.

Just as the neighborhood residents need to receive vital information from their trusty mail carrier, neurotransmitters must communicate precise information to other target cells in the brain for a well-functioning brain and body.

Why did the mail carrier become dysfunctional? Was it poor diet, poor sleep, excessive stress, worry, exhaustion, a physical illness such as an infection in the body, a disease, or toxic overload?

All we know for sure is that the mail carrier did not deliver the letters to their precise destination, and hundreds of letters were lost. Someone did not receive crucial information. The result?

Lights out for Arnold, and no more pie for Phil!

How are Neurotransmitters Produced?

In his book Nutrient Power, William J. Walsh, Ph.D., explains that nutrients are the amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and other biochemicals we get from food.

For those of you who are not familiar with the terminology, here are a few of the primary neurotransmitters that are essential to our wellbeing.^[2]

• Tryptophan: An amino acid. It is a precursor for serotonin, the happy neurotransmitter, among others. Therefore, it is a vital messenger for other cells. Although, 90% of serotonin is made in the gut.

• Tyrosine and l-theanine: Amino acids that are dopamine precursors for sharp focus, learning, and motivation. Vitamin D, magnesium, and B vitamins are also required to make dopamine.

• Then we have gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a neurotransmitter made from glutamate. GABA’s job is to help control anxiety, stress, and fear. A diet that includes cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, and even sweet potatoes may help increase GABA.

It simmers down to what we ingest, then travels up to that mental compartment—you know—the lazy fatso hiding behind the eyebrows.

Keeping our diets in check is just one path to a healthy brain.

The Impact of Stress, Relationships, Environment, Sleep, Toxins, Loneliness, and Purpose in Life

It’s a long subheading, but in short, it all tallies up.

What if our sleep is poor?

Then, our brain is unable to repair cells to get rid of old, dying cells. When the dumpster gets full, things will clog up, and the trash won’t be emptied!

And if we’re not careful, our brains might begin to decompose while still in use. Let’s leave the living dead scenario to the filmmakers.

So, you see, the brain is a busy organ, a far stretch from lying leisurely behind the eyebrows. It is a workaholic, even when we sleep.

If we are stressed, we cannot sleep. If we cannot sleep, our brains store the trash instead of clearing the way for new brain cell growth.

A lousy relationship, harsh environment, unhealthy food, and even loneliness and having no purpose in life all share one commonality—toxic overload. We must resolve these issues, especially entering our senior years—the earlier we start, the better.

Our brain is a masterful communication system that enables our thoughts, feelings, and actions. So, when we talk about “brain health,” we are talking about the wellbeing of this miraculous network of connections. The brain is top shelf. We should treat it that way.

By shifting our mindset from “mental illness” to “brain health,” we can shake off the gorilla and promote a better understanding of the complex workings of the brain.

So, let us ask two questions:

1. Is there really a one-size-fits-all label for the brain’s complex network?
2. Is there an umbrella broad enough to cover a rainforest?

Success Story: Mildred—It’s Never Too Late!

Excerpt from Dr. Chistopher M. Palmer’s book, Brain Energy, page 253. Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Mildred had a horrible, abusive childhood. There is no doubt that she suffered from symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression. At age seventeen, she was also diagnosed with schizophrenia. She began having daily hallucinations and delusions. She became chronically paranoid.

Over the ensuing decades, she tried different antipsychotic and mood-stabilizing medications, but her symptoms continued. She could no longer care for herself and was assigned a court-appointed guardian. She was miserable. She tried to kill herself numerous times, once drinking a bottle of cleaning fluid. On top of her mental symptoms, she was obese, weighing 330 pounds.

At age seventy, after fifty-three years of being tormented and disabled by her schizophrenia, her doctor encouraged her to go to a weight-loss clinic at Duke University. They were using the ketogenic diet as a weight-loss method. She decided to give it a try.

Within two weeks, not only did she begin to lose weight, she noticed significant improvement in her psychotic symptoms. She said that for the first time in years, she was able to hear the birds singing outside. The voices in her head were no longer drowning them out. Her mood was also improving, and she began to have hope.

She was able to taper off all her psychiatric medications. Her symptoms went into full remission. She also lost 150 pounds and has kept it off to this day.

Now, thirteen years later, she remains symptom-free, off medication, and doesn’t see any mental health professionals. Having learned to take care of herself, she got rid of the guardian, too.

When I last spoke with Mildred, she said she was happy and excited to be alive. She asked me to share her story with anyone and everyone willing to listen. She hopes that her story might help others escape the living hell that she had to endure for decades.

Stories like Mildred’s. . . just don’t happen in psychiatry. Even with the best traditional treatments that we have to offer, this is unheard of. Mildred’s story and the theory of brain energy say it is possible. It is a new day in the mental health field, one filled with hope for more stories like Mildred’s.

Final Thoughts

Take care of your brain. You only have one. Imagine your garden. To keep your garden healthy and make it grow, you can’t simply plant the seeds and expect a good result. You must water and fertilize it and occasionally pluck the weeds. Your brain requires the same upkeep.

I dedicate my first article to my brother Ed.

I am grateful for the opportunity to care for you in the last three years of your life. You are sorely missed!

Sources

^[1]DSM: A History of Psychiatry’s Bible | Hopkins Press (jhu.edu)

 ^[2]Neurotransmitters: What They Are, Functions & Types (clevelandclinic.org)

Disclaimer: The information on this blog is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your qualified health professional before changing your health or wellness routine. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you have read on this blog.