The death of mental illness

From PsychCentral, Will Meecham MD writes a beautiful post  (and it’s well worth reading the whole thing!) about his transformation and the insights he’s gleaned about how those labeled with mental illness in our society are treated. I’ve watched and read Will since he started blogging. It’s been great to watch his growth, healing and insights over the last couple of years. With his MD attached to his identity he’s listened to in corners of the blogosphere where many of us are not. This is a very good thing even if it is also representative of how the rest of us are often ignored as “disgruntled patients.”

He also has the post mirrored on his own personal site where you can find archives of his journey.

The Death of Mental Illness

In writing this post, I may be crashing the American Psychological Association’s annual blog party. Naturally, I’m in favor of joining others to increase awareness and reduce stigma around psychiatric problems. But despite the spirit of solidarity, I’m perhaps an outsider, because I no longer believe ‘mental illness’ serves as a helpful concept.

In this era of burgeoning diagnoses, it’s a bit awkward to declare our great emperor, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), naked and unfleshed. Especially at a party.

Let me be clear: people sometimes behave in ways that look incomprehensible or even insane. Suicidal behavior, profoundly delusional speech, and irresistible compulsions represent severe behavioral problems for individuals and society. No doubt they stem from cognitive activity and emotional tones that differ from average day-to-day awareness. These sorts of disordered conduct do indeed derive from ‘mental’ processes, but do they qualify as ‘illnesses?’…

….Only during the past few years, as I took up meditation and began exploring holistic methods of healing, did I begin to feel well. In fact, the change occurred rather quickly once I started meditating, tapered off the cocktail of psychiatric drugs, and quit hanging out at the mental health clinic. My once rock-solid conviction that my mind was ill gradually dissolved, and I began to wonder if I’m perhaps one of the healthier persons around, simply because I’ve worked so hard to achieve balance and peace. And if my ‘symptoms’ forced me into this growth, shouldn’t I be glad they afflicted me? (read the rest here)

h/t Holistic Recovery From Schizophrenia