Re: Anti-Psychiatry

I have not red Szasz's book, but I also believe that mental illness does not exist. But this is a question of definition. Most people understand the term to mean literally "an illness of the mind", and as such this is a illusion. If we have a biochemical disorder that interferes with the synthesis of feel-good neurotransmitters - such as serotonin - then we are not going to be happy and content but these feelings are the results of a physiological illness and not a "mental Illness".

It is quite common in medicine to confuse symptoms with causes.

People find it much easier to accept that Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder are physical diseases. But most people find it difficult to believe that depression, anxiety attacks, Post Traumatic Stress Disorders PTSD, or OCD are physical diseases. Most of these have powerful psychological consequences and hence are seen as "mental" rather than physiological.

The traditional professions dealing with "mental Illness" - such as psychiatrists and psychologists - have an ambivalent view of mental illness. Psychiatrists believe that it is physiological; otherwise they would not be prescribing drugs. But drugs are so ineffective in "curing" "mental illness (see here), that they have to refer their patients to "psychologists - who mainly believe that mental illness is "psychological" problem, which also is a misconception.

There are in fact many "silent diseases" that can cause "mental illness". Fortunately the most common silent disease affecting our minds is hypoglycemia, so that depression, anxiety attacks and a host of other common mood disorders (classed as "mental illness") can be treated without recourse to drugs and/or psycho-babble. See Gyland.

Thus yes, mental illness does not exist, but certain diseases that affect our mind do exist. It is a matter of people becoming more educated as to what causes "mental illness". This is what this web site is all about.