Mental Illness is Worse than Physical Illness

Forgive the tongue-in-cheek title; I wanted something eye-catching. The point of this article is not to diminish those that live with any type of physical illness or physical disability. My aim is to give people who are debating whether or not to pursue treatment for their mental illness a greater push toward getting treated.

Diabetes is diabetes. A broken leg is a broken leg. A mind on fire is a Mind on Fire.

I think it is a false equivalency to continue making statements like: “Depression is just like diabetes,” or “Bipolar Disorder is like breaking your leg, why wouldn’t you seek treatment?” Those kind of statements never resonated with me, and I feel frustrated when I hear someone comment at one of my talks with: “Mental illness is just as difficult as having a physical illness.”

No. It’s not.

It’s worse.

Recently, I had a conversation with a good friend. At some point I joked: “The brain is the most complicated organ in our bodies, no wonder things go to hell when it breaks down.”

That joke contained a nugget of truth. Consider the following from Simon Laughlin, professor in the department of zoology at Cambridge University:

“For the average adult in a resting state, the brain consumes about 20 percent of the body’s energy. The brain’s primary function — processing and transmitting information through electrical signals — is very, very expensive in terms of energy use.”

Twenty percent of your body’s energy is used to power the brain, and keep your synapses, connections between neurons, firing with chemical neurotransmitters so you can think. That is a not-insignificant power drain, and that fact explains why you have a difficult time thinking when you don’t get enough water or healthy food.

The synapses are another level of complexity. Every human on this planet has more synaptic connections than there are stars in the Milky Way.

I live in Roswell, GA, and the treatment center where I’ve been going is south of the connection between the highways 400 and 285. Normally, there is traffic to deal with, but generally, it’s within a mile or so of that connection. Think of that as healthy synapses in your brain, doing what they’re supposed to do. For the past several months however, there has been construction creating new over and underpasses that will increase the ability of cars to navigate the highway connections (supposedly).

During this construction period, traffic has extended to several miles on a good day. During rush hour, you better have a long, quality podcast ready. The brain has billions of highways, and much like construction blocking access or an accident that shuts down several lanes; when mental illness invades the mind, the traffic within the brain goes haywire.

For those with Anxiety - there is no speed limit! Cars rush everywhere, accidents abound, and no emergency vehicles are coming.

For those with Bipolar Disorder - every highway goes up until you get a gorgeous view, and then plunges into a destitute area.

For those with Depression - the highways are working, but there is a cop every half-mile, and the speed limit is 8.5mph.

Every part of your body is affected by mental illness. Your appetite is either too much or not at all. You either sleep all day or you don’t sleep for a week. You have boundless, uncontrollable energy, or you can barely shuffle to your front door. In all cases, you cannot think logically, nor can you think long-term. You’re stuck in traffic, and the exit ramps have all disappeared. This also means that twenty percent of your body’s energy is going to fuel your brain that is actively harming how you think and how your body reacts.

This is more than a significant problem. It is a crisis in your brain that has biological causes and is treatable.

You do not have to stay on an endless highway of pain, misery, and suffering. Each injury or chronic illness brings about a unique set of symptoms, many of which may require permanent adjustments to how one lives their life. Although I chose a deliberately provocative title, I do not believe that mental illness is worse than a physical illness or disability. Every internal and external injury involves the body breaking down or getting broken, and they are all terrible in their own way.

You break your leg - you go to the hospital, get the bone set and a cast.

You find yourself with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) - you relearn how to do things and attend physical therapy.

You develop high cholesterol - you see a doctor and prescribed medication and get lifestyle change recommendations.

You smoke - you work on nicotine cessation methods, attend meetings, and eventually quit.

You develop a mental illness - you see a therapist, psychiatrist, or go to a hospital.

Interesting… there is a common thread throughout every physical and mental illness — Other people are involved in recovery.

That I heartily agree with!