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Paul B's picture

The need to establish mental illness as a medical disease

I really liked the message behind the 3rd ad that Ryan posted: mental illness is a medical disease.

In order to get rid of the stigma behind mental illness, it's important to establish that it is indeed a medical disease with biological causes. Without understanding the biological foundations of mental illness, some may presume that mentally ill individuals can just snap out of it. Understanding that mental illness is a medical disease, like diabetes, causes one to understand why depressed individuals can't just not worry and be happy without proper treatment.

To demonstrate my point, look at diabetes. Individuals with untreated diabetes exhibit symptoms of mental illness because their brains are not getting much needed insulin. Before we knew about diabetes, these individuals were considered mad and placed in assylums. Today, we know that diabetes is caused by a biological basis. Suppose someone today suffered from symptoms of mental illness due to diabetes. Do you think there would be such a stigma after it was discovered that s/he has diabetes rather than a mental illness? (I don't think s/he would have such a hard time getting insurance to cover the treatment costs)

I believe this is why it's so important to establish and publicize the biological basis of mental illness.

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