jmfriedman

I have worked in a state hospital as a Social Worker. Have found that patients are too often told they have a brain disease. Generally its a series of life events that led to their hospitalization. Most of the staff in these establishments believe that a patient's success in the community upon discharge is primarily based on whether the patient is compliant with their medication. There is a large body of evidence that suggests viewing mental distress as a brain disease increases social stigma. Any thoughts?

It is definitely both. The brain aspect is over emphasized due to the ties with big pharma. The medications that are given are toxic to the brain and shrink the brain over time. The dangers of the medication are minimized. Perhaps with a better understanding over the brain there will be drugs that better target the symptoms. As I of now most of the drugs function to sedate people.

Also mental illness does not exist solely in the brain. It is closely tied to economic and political factors.

People fake hearing voices all the time to get admitted to these places. It is very easy to get admitted. Often homeless people fake it so they can get a bed and free food. The reason it is so easy to fake is that there is no objective biomarkers to diagnose and assess psychiatric conditions.