Crazy, nuts, bipolar, schizophrenic, manic depressive, depressed…
Ever notice when it comes to mental illness or mental injury, the words used are, “You are…” fill in the blank.
Now consider this scenario: you are attempting to recapture youth by learning to skateboard, when your balance gets lost in the memories of time and you end up in the ER. What words do the doctor use? Does he say, “You are a broken ankle?” or “You have a broken ankle?” Of course he uses the latter, because you are not a broken ankle, you have a broken ankle. There is a difference.
This is true with any injury or other illness such as cancer. Why then are individuals who have a mental injury or a mental illness labeled with “You are…” Is there a difference? Would changing the language used determine the outcome?
When “you have” is used, the mind and body receive the words and begin to process how the condition can be healed. Not managed, not drugged, but healed.
When “you are” is used, the mind and body receive the words and believe nothing can be done to heal, and therefore, it’s just who you are and therefore, it must be managed or drugged.
What if we used the words “you have,” for mental injuries or mental illness instead of “you are.” What if we changed the dynamics and approach from managing to healing. Going back to the broken ankle, or cancer, or heart disease, or other physical illness, the doctor pinpoints the cause of the illness and proceeds to create ways to heal or eliminate the illness, with the person’s input. For the broken ankle, the doctor doesn’t tell the patient to take some pain medication and go home and learn to live with the broken ankle. He resets, or sets, the bone, places it in a cast or wraps it in such a way that allows the bone to heal so in six weeks, give or take a few, the ankle is healed and the person back to attempting to recapture youth, or just walk.
Just as when a person “has” a physical ailment or illness, what if we approach the brain the same way? A person with cancer is seen as a whole person, and the treatment reflects the whole person: mind, body, emotional, spiritual… what if that same approach was applied toward those who have mental injury or mental illness. Instead of a “take this drug, and this drug, and sit on a couch…” approach, imagine if the mental health industry viewed the totality of the person. What if those doctors, in consultation with the individual, accepted the four pillars of that person: mind, body, emotional, spiritual?
It does require more work, more effort, but imagine if instead of masking with drugs, the ‘professionals’ took the time to determine the root cause, created a treatment plan that includes the four pillars of the person, so true healing could take place?
Just imagine the healing difference that could be made… Just imagine…
ycharper 