Illness of the Soul

I ran out of meds! What am I going to do? The inevitable despair caused by the empty medicine box, as if the only way to fight a mental illness was a pill. As useful as it may be, pharmacological treatment represents only one of several types of treatments available. A large-scale study 1 in the United Kingdom (2018) has shown that antidepressants used to treat Panic Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder offer moderate efficacy depending on the severity of the illness. The issue of effectiveness is addressed in better details in the 'Clinical Analysis' section below. Even with moderate benefits, medication is recommended during the most acute phase of the illness. It should nevertheless be accompanied by therapy and changes in habits. Unfortunately, health professionals rarely take the time to inform the patient in a satisfactory manner about all the treatments and prophylaxis methods available to them. Criticism towards the so called 'alternative' medicine, wh...

Between 5 and 15% of people 1 report perceptions or experiences that seem to defy what is understood as 'reality'. To hear voices or see shadows are the most common of such experiences, and they are present in the history of all peoples and epochs, from the most sublime inspirations and visions of the prophets, to the most tragic cases of madness. Those who experience such phenomena rarely state it publicly, thus avoiding mockery or social contempt for being considered 'crazy'. However, the voices and shadows are sometimes very 'real' for the individual and may even be confused with objective reality. Mental confusion often arises as a result of the conflicting information between the physiological senses and what is actually perceived. This phenomenon is considered normal to a certain extent and only becomes pathological when its frequency or intensity affects normal mental processes. The voices of Joan of Arc, the transfiguration of Christ and the uni...

To all of you who folks are suffering from mental illness and asking themselves why, here are some unconventional ideas worth considering: 'Mental illness' is a label, a name given to yet misunderstood conditions by men who think (read believe) that the mind is a product of neuronal activity. Therefore, all mental illnesses are attributed to either external factors, such as in the case of post-traumatic stress disorder, or to hormonal or chemical imbalances in the brain (nearly all other illnesses). Yet in most cases, the alleged neurological alterations are NOT the cause of mental illnesses, but the effect of an underlying cause: the mind. This is clearly demonstrated by the variety of psychosomatic symptoms or the effect of the mind on the body. Unless true men of science reverse their conceptualization from body>mind to mind>body, they will only skim the surface, keeping the population in the dark about mental issues and of course, the Big Pharma...

In times of desperation and extreme mental anguish, when all hope is gone, people naturally seek a means to end suffering. In what seems to be logical reasoning, some consider taking their own lives. Yet, suicide is a false solution. Those who hope to free themselves from suffering by committing suicide are terribly mistaken: bodily death does not represent the end of consciousness, let alone the end of suffering. 1 Destroying the transient vehicle that should serve as a means of learning, trials and atonement of past faults is the greatest aggression that can be perpetrated against someone's own individuality. A little too late and to their greatest confusion, the people who commit suicide soon realize that it has solved absolutely nothing. To the contrary, the individual is still very much 'alive', but somehow bound to a body which now lies dead.     The suffering resulting from suicide far exceeds the one used to justify it. The skeptics will claim that 'n...

Depersonalization is an altered state of awareness about oneself or one's surroundings, giving the impression of being outside one's own body or that the world is unreal or dream-like. Although it may cause an impression of impending madness or loss of control, such outcomes never occur and the individual recovers shortly afterwards. It is considered normal and only becomes pathological if it is recurrent and debilitating. Despite the fear and confusion it can cause, there is no greater threat to the individual. Within the context of the panic syndrome, depersonalization appears as a symptom 1 , when the mind unconsciously resorts to dissociation as a means to escape unbearable internal conflict, excessive anxiety or fear. Proper therapeutic and pharmacological treatments for anxiety reduces the strength and recurrence of panic attacks, and consequently, the related symptoms like depersonalization. Understanding the disorder allows a calm and patient reaction, thus prevent...

A natural manifestation of the instinct of conservation, the fear of death is common in all living beings. In some individuals, this fear is so intense that it becomes pathological and prevents them from having fulfilling lives, forcing them to reduce their activities to a state of anguished survival.     But what exactly is death? The intuition of an 'afterlife' or continuity of consciousness after bodily death is present in all peoples and eras of mankind, including the most isolated communities on the planet.¹ Most religions are unanimous in some form of survival of the soul in the afterlife. With the emergence of science, many beliefs and superstitions have been demystified and discarded for not offering tangible 'proofs' to justify their existence. Nevertheless, if science has enlighten mankind on many subjects, it also managed to obscure it on others. The fact is that both the experimental method and human reasoning are limited and fallible, especially whe...