Posted by jay on April 6, 2006, at 17:06:45
In reply to I'm such a geek sometimes... » FredPotter, posted by Racer on April 6, 2006, at 1:51:36
I agree that this whole 'pigeon-wholeing of people who either have a 'chemical imbalance' or don't is just not good science, period. In my experience as a counsellor in social work, I've worked with people who suffer from conditions that mimic many mental illness conditions. This includes brain injured and developmentally handicapped people. The latter suffer usually from complications caused by everything from premature birth, to asphyxia at birth, complicated pregnancies, and now with genetic research, they are investigating if there are mutations in cells going right back to the sperm and egg. I fall into the developmental handicapped, as I had many problems as a child, and they carried into my adulthood..and will likely be with me for the rest of my life. BUT, I think there are probably MANY more people out there who suffer from these things that they do not know of. It takes very expensive, time consuming testing of a child, very thorough investigation. Hence, it's easier to throw the 'ADD' label on a kid then to investigate psycho-motor imbalances, retardation, co-ordination, etc. I was lucky..my parents paid to have special needs therapy for me..such as a speech therapist, and special physical orientation classes to work out my finer and gross motor skills. Mind you, this was in the early 1970's. Sure I went on to attend college, but it was always a struggle. My doctor has been very, very helpful, caring and open in this respect.
From what I understand, traumatic life events can also cause brain 'injuries'...or trauma. The actual physical mechanisms in the brain change shapes, sizes, and in their activities. So, it may be true that more people may be actually suffering from 'Brain Injury' brought on by life stress than is currently diagnosed.
So, basically, I think that there is way more to the story than a "chemical imbalance". As I said, many people may not realize it, but it is quite possible there where some of the above factors at work that led to mental illness symptoms. I think most people may not know about their birth condition, or any complications, and a post-traumatic brain injury is not exactly something you can just go into the doctors and get a simple test for. Yes, it is true, though, that nature, other events caused by other people can bring on this traumatic brain stress. PTSD is but one of many examples.
Anyhow..just my .02 cents,
Jay
poster:jay
thread:629458
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060403/msgs/629769.html