Addressing Mental Disorders: Fix the Social World, Not the Person's Brain

Mental disorders are a concern that, lately, is gaining acknowledgment in society. In a recent study, researchers have explained that some of the most common mental disorders might not belong to that category at all.

According to a recent report, commonly recognized mental disorders like PTSD, depression, and anxiety need a contemporary point of view to be truly understood. The main purpose of the study is to deliver mental healthcare that is effective.

The research was conducted by a group of biological anthropologists from Washington State University. The report indicated in their findings that antidepressant treatments are not helping to slow down the condition of mental disorders.

One of their arguments, as published in the Yearbook of Physical Anthropology, is that from 1990 to 2010, there was a worldwide prevalence of depressive disorder at 4.4 percent and anxiety disorder at 4 percent.

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The group also speculated that depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder could only be treated if we understand its underlying causes. As these types of mental disorders are mainly a person's reaction to a certain hardship, we usually only act according to the unpleasant feeling that created the situation.

Not a Disease, but a Phenomenon?

One of the researchers, Kristen Syme, explained what the problem really is. "The pain is not the disease; the pain is the function that is telling you there is a problem," she said. "Depression, anxiety, and PTSD often involve a threat or exposure to violence, which are predictable sources for these things that we call mental diseases. Instead, they look more like sociocultural phenomena, so the solution is not necessarily fixing a dysfunction in the person's brain but fixing dysfunctions in the social world."

Given these points, she and her colleagues advocated for a study that centers on the "disease of the mind" in order to acquire emphatic results as most of the problems are triggered by social factors.

Co-author Edward Hagen expressed his affirmation stating that:

"Mental health research is still very much stuck in a view that comes out of the 19th century, and revived in 1980, of classifying everything by symptoms in the hopes of revealing underlying patterns that would lead to solutions, but it really has not. Even though we're using new measurements, like genetics, biomarkers, and imaging, these still haven't added up to the insights needed to really improve people's lives."

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Both authors admitted that one of the study's main dilemma is the idea that depression is linked to "chemical imbalance". This old and accepted doctrine fanned the flame, causing a boom in antidepressant drugs.

These drugs were meant to fine-tune the neurotransmitters found in one's brain. But despite the increasing number of people who use antidepressants, results showed no measurable change.

As a solution, Syme and Hagen propose to address mental disorders by addressing their stimuli instead, pertaining to the social world.