Hello.

What we need to become well is insight into our self defeating nature. I have a abundance of empathy for sufferers . I do fully understand the pain as I have been there myself many times .


There are two mechanisms we have to understand first.

One is foreign spotting. This is inborn in all human beings.It is the ability to understand others when they have issues.Like when someone comes here and tells there issues. We can easily understand and have a quick solution to the difficulty.Insight in forgign spotting is inborn.

Self spotting is different. It is usally very unpleasant and easily dismissed.

Self spotting is insight into our old habits of temper.

Self spotting takes practice and all important it takes a determined will.

We have to take charge into our own being.

Knowlege gives you the information ,practice shows you how to do it.
Again information will do no good unless you practice.

This might seem overwhelming to some but a good clue is to look into your past .Were you always sick and most importantly what were your thoughts and actions when you did get sick.

A disease is a disordered organ.In the case of mental illness ,it is disordered thought.

Fear and anger are our worst enemy humor our best friend.

Fear and anger were always there when i got sick


Best,
john

I have a chemical imbalance which I take medications for. They work pretty well.
bizi

this is philosophy, an ideology, not fact.

i am curious about and open to different ideologies, as many here are. often even if one does not "subscribe" one can glean useful information, or skills. such curiousity is unfortunately dampened when someone starts presenting their beliefs as facts.

please remember these forums are for support, not ideological evangelism - of any kind. it would be nice if, bearing this in mind, you could indicate at very least the origin (book, person) of your ideas. if possible, you might specify sources by indicating specific books or linking articles.

------------------

In the DSM "thought disorder" (sometimes stated as "disordered thought") is a term used to describe severe symptoms prevalent in, but not limited to, psychotic or pre-psychotic states. psychosis is defined as being completely out of touch with reality.

neither thought disorder, as defined in the DSM, nor psychosis are necessarily present in a bipolar episode at all.

just so you know where we are coming from.

i would love to be a fly on the wall if you wanted to explain to my doctor that the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual is completely WRONG, and that the terms used in it are nonsensical... you could start by explaining to him as you have here what "thought disorder" is and its role in "mental illness." from there it's a short hop to modern medicine being a total wash and calling him a quack. you would definitely be asked for a source. he is a nice guy so he wouldn't throw you out of the office before giving you a chance at least to provide references regarding your beliefs about illness.

~ waves ~

I'm not sure how disease is a disordered organ. I guess it depends on the definition of "disordered." Even accepting that, to say that mental illness is disordered thought presumes that mental illness is thought.

There's a fallacy here, because mental illness is organic. Thought is ... Well, there's a world of opinion as to the basis of consciousness. Phenomenology stretches way back & has many schools.

If you're suggesting that we can think ourselves well, then I agree wholeheartedly with ~ waves ~.

We are here because we want to be well and we are willing to work toward that end. These forums exist so we can do that in an environment of mutual support, which has been proven beneficial.

Your comment that humor is our friend does have scientific research backing it up. In all areas of health, humor aids recovery.

Yes, ~ waves ~, I'll be back with actual, proper references re: support groups & humor . Just don't have them handy.