Mythbusting - Part 5

Myth: Most mental illnesses are actually schizophrenia.

I just want to say that schizophrenia is more a category of poorly-understood conditions than it is a single disease. My hope is that within the next few years, researchers can isolate several distinct brain diseases, with distinct causes and distinct cures/treatments, all of which are currently being diagnosed as schizophrenia.

For now, let's say that schizophrenia involves a naturally-occuring checmical imbalance of the brain fluid. The embalance causes hyper-activity of the impulses we call "thoughts." This is counter-intuitive, because when you observe people with untreated schizophrenia, they frequently seem flat, lethargic, even vacant of thought. What apprently is going on here is that they have too many thoughts - so many that they can't sort out what is real and what is not.

There's lots of stuff going on in my brain as I type this: A conversation in the next room, overly-oud stereos on Nicollet Avenue, other work I need to do, the ballgame on TV tonight, food, sex, etc. But, not having this checmical imbalance called schizophrenia, I have the ability to focus enought brain power to finish this article. People with untreated chemical imbalance often find themselves unable to focus sufficiently to complete even the simplest of tasks; that's schizophrenia.