Tons of diseases are non mental but there are only a few mental illnesses. Maybe a good thing.
there are actually a lot of types of mental illnesses the DSM book is pretty big…
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Not many actually a lot are subtypes and similar. You can’t even put non mental illnesses in a book bcz of how many there are.
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Well the brain in one part of the body while the rest of the body is huge compared to the size of the brain, I mean think of it… The more surface area the more it can get illl/sick
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There are a fair amount in the DSM 5 but you are right that there are significantly more physical ailments than mental.
I would guess that’s a little like asking “why are there so few heart conditions compared to other conditions”. The brain, while important, is only one organ while many things can go wrong with other things in your body. IDK. Thats all I can think of.
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Are neurological diseases considered mental? I guess they’re not psychiatric. The brain is so complex one would think it has more psychiatric illnesses than physical illnesses.
Just the infectious diseases alone are more than the DSM.
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Think of it like this, a car with a high tech computer is complex and some things can go wrong and happen but but more things can happen to the rest of it including body damage and different things but the computer has less things going on than the rest because there is less surface space in the computer so even though it’s complex don’t mean it has more things that can go wrong
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That’s a good analogy @Twialine
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Thank you @Bowens
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This morning when I went getting my 2nd covid shot the nurse asked me if I have any illnesses, I asked him mental too?, he said no physical only. But aren’t mental illnesses physical too?
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Sort of. Some mental illness may not be physical but may be a result of trauma.
But I agree that Schizophrenia has a physical component to it.
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They call Alzheimer’s a mental disorder too and it definitely has physical things going on with the brain.
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You actually make a good point. there isn’t enough research into the actual origins of mental illness. I dont think schizophrenia is a psychological illness on its own. and its not ptsd on its own. So its some kind of physical change in the brain. I think there is a link between prefrontal seizures and bipolar at least in some studies, and it does have to do with chemicals and neurotransmitters.
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Im pretty sure I know the cause of my schizophrenia. Its related to CMT which is a nerve/muscle disorder similar to muscular dystrophy. Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT) - Diseases | Muscular Dystrophy Association
I have actual genetic mutations related to this disease. Its the sole cause I can think of, since this mutation causes my nerve endings to deteriorate over time…and affects the spinal cord and brain.
I have two copies of a certain gene PMP22 I looked at the records recently of my test results.
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What does your pdoc say about this?
I haven’t really brought it up. I just thought of it…its difficult because the CMT is a more invisible chronic illness. But my mom has it and she also has schizophrenia…and she has CMT worse/and schizophrenia worse. So I think there is a link for certain. I have asked and my parents asked when I was first diagnosed but we were dismissed about it. There is newer research being done…if specialists weren’t so expensive it would be eaiser to see one. CMT is also extremely rare…
There isn’t any real treatment for CMT that I know of other than physical therapy and vitamins. There’s no magic pill that reverses the tissue and nerve degeneration and it gets worse with age/but now that I think about it its something worth looking into.
CMT is a form of peripheral neuropathy , meaning it affects the nerves and muscles in the arms, legs, hands, and feet. The Social Security Administration (SSA) has a standard disability listing for this type of neurological disorder.
In a study of a mouse model of CMT1A, researchers used a virus to deliver a functional version of the NT-3 gene. That gene is involved in the survival of Schwann Cells, which maintain the protective myelin sheath that surrounds nerves. Delivering a functional gene appeared to promote nerve regeneration.
The PMP22 gene provides instructions for making a protein called peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22). This protein is found in the peripheral nervous system, which connects the brain and spinal cord to muscles and to sensory cells that detect sensations such as touch, pain, heat, and sound.
So if I have a duplicate expression of PMP22 its like an over-expression of sensations and that might be whats happening, the protein also causes nerve degeneration and tissue degeneration…
Many physical illnesses cause psychosis. I don’t know if you remember my topics about organic causes of psychosis?
To name a few:
Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, ALS, Alzheimer’s, Korsakoff’s, Addison’s (in adrenal crisis), hypothyroidism, adrenal insufficiency, multiple sclerosis, etc
The body is wired very close to the brain. When something goes wrong, our brains function less and cause psychosis.
In a way, physical health dx means= mental health dx added. And not only that, people with disabilities are prone to depression. I’ve heard of so many people with SCI develop depression after their injury.
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