Posted by SLS on September 7, 2010, at 6:16:04
In reply to biology vs psychology » SLS, posted by violette on September 6, 2010, at 20:53:44
Hi.
I guess I like the idea of there being a spectrum of relative contributions of biology versus psychology in the pathogenesis of mental illness.
> I'm sure you could think of dozens of other scenerios why it can't be proven.
Whether or not it can be proven is a matter of awareness and perspective - opinion
> http://www.heartcenteredtherapies.org/go/docs/Journal%205-1%20Attachment.pdf
It looks like a nice article. Unfortunately, I couldn't read it all.
Do dogs and cats demonstrate maternal attachment?
We are animals, too.
Can there be any psychology without biology? Is the progression of attachment hard-wired into our programming?
> There's some percentages in the article above. No one really knows, but attachment theory might be the best we have.
I don't know about attachment theory as being the best explanation we have for understanding affective and anxiety disorders. However, it is an attractive model for understanding human development. Thanks for posting the link.
> But I think it is possible that you could get closer to becoming well again one day if you ask yourself different questions:
I wish this were true.
> Why place so much importance in rationalizing that some MI can be purely biological?
Because, for me, at this point in time, it is. I'm sure that for other people, this is their truth, too. I can't possibly be so unique. My PET scans showed near global hypofunction. Witnessing ultra rapid cyclicity with an invariable period of 11 days is very persuasive. Very. I don't need to have an explanation for anyone else except for me in order to pursue an effective treatment. However, it is nice to interact with others who have similar illnesses as I do. Hopefully, I will find my healing here as all of us share information, perspective. and emotional support.
> Why devote much time and energy to finding and defending any and every angle of this possibility?
You mean like psychotherapy? I've had quite a few years worth.
Although you have expressed in some of your previous posts what I consider to be a nicely balanced description of the interaction between biology and psychology, you abandon it here. You are spending a bunch of time and energy expounding the validity of a monolithic psychological basis for MDD and BD. Historically, I have expostulated the extant interaction between the biological and the psychological. That's why I wrote that silly little essay. In any event, I feel that your perspective is important to verbalize. I think it offers great insight that I'm glad I had the opportunity to read.
- ScottThe measure of achievement lies not in how high the mountain,
but in how hard the climb.The measure of success lies only in how high one feels he must
climb to get there.
poster:SLS
thread:960391
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100829/msgs/961542.html