Is it normal to have mental illness?

When we approach mental health from a clinical standpoint, we have a standard. This standard must contain most people or else it may not be correct. Insofar as this happens, we assume that there actually exists a definitively healthy operation of the brain and definitively not healthy ways. Whereas in extreme cases this is true for the most part it is not. We use the term mental "illness" to point to a phenomenon that is not ideal to be sure, but how much of this dynamic is a brain functioning as this particular brain does and how much is it not functioning as a brain ought to? This question may be re-expressed in analyzing how mental illnesses are categorized, weighed, or expressed differently in other cultures. Indeed, what is the "norm" is different in every group of people.

The effect of the narrative has always been interesting to me. I think we can answer the question by also asking an additional question. Why do religious individuals tend to have better inner influence/governance over themselves than others who prioritize what their local society proposes to them (the people they encounter and what they believe is most important)? More concisely, how do the narratives we live with and their conformity to reality influence how we react to situations? Further, is this either affected by or only controlled by our biology/physiology? This study reveals that there is some aspect of our biology that receives the state of our spirit and reacts accordingly in some respects: Søren Ventegodt, and Joav Merrick, “Clinical Holistic Medicine: Applied Consciousness-Based Medicine,” _The Scientific World Journal_ 4 (2021). Not only do our actions and words follow how we think but so does our body. Materially impoverished cultures (a) (circles of people that value similar ways of thinking) tend to value interpersonal connections more than business-centered cultures (b). In (b) the narrative revolves around the self and is often inhumane. In areas where (a) is common, love tends to pervade each other’s lives, and there is no effort to break away from critics as in (b). In (a) there is no preoccupation with what others think but it is still considered, but in (b) contrary/conflicting narratives are often superimposed upon the personal narrative (how we see ourselves) through inhumane criticism, and then what once was flourishing is made to be at odds with who they once thought they were. Is it any wonder then how traumatic events that redefine ourselves for us can cause great interior antipathy? 

In (b) general dissatisfaction with self becomes easy to maintain and may result in other problems. Exposure to modern industrial toxins may affect brain biology and hormone levels. In (a), community-based cultures, there tends to be much more unity and naturally derived means of survival, harshly negative and self-interested influences are far less prevalent, etc. Thus, in (b) it would make sense that psychological disorders are more diverse and occur much more frequently because certain personal narratives are stigmatized and others imposed, there are more diverse possibilities for biological interference, and there are negative conceptual influences in contrast with what may be expected for (a) where these extreme influences are not present.

In conclusion, how much of what we consider antithetical to the norm i.e. despisable is actually more common than not? Are we capable of realizing just our perspective at large shifts and allowing for certain objectively disordered norms to be considered the norm and vice versa for a well-ordered living? Indeed, no brain is perfect. Our desire to make pharmacy the answer to everything i.e. a "take this once daily" solution may not be in our best interest. If our current psychological/physiological state needs correction, should we opt for the path of least difficulty or an actually lasting change that is not born of immediate chemical alteration? What if we are trying to correct something that actually only slightly differs from the average instead of the supposed norm? Indeed, where grace is concerned, we are called to transformation into the mind and heart of Christ, no chemical will ultimately make this happen but rather the psychological healing that results from genuine encounters with Him who loves us. Without a well-ordered relationship with one's Creator, that flows into relationships with one's fellow human and the rest of creation, one cannot know what mental health finally consists of. It is in having such a well-ordered relationship that we can be well-ordered, conformed to reality, joyful, and at peace.

From a Hymn:

At the Lamb's high feast we sing
Praise to our victorious king,
Who has washed us in the tide
Flowing from his pierced side.

Where the paschal blood is poured,
Death's dread angel sheathes the sword;
Israel's hosts triumphant go
Through the wave that drowns the foe.

Easter triumph, Easter joy!
This alone can sin destroy;
From sin's power, Lord, set us free,
Newborn souls in you to be.