Etiology of Mental Illness
This blog will now consist of not only updates on my study,
but will also be heavily focused on raising awareness about mental illness in
general. While reducing stigma and informing and educating the public remains
the crux of my project, my blog will also be used to record my learning
experiences and minimizing my own stigma.
Psychiatry and psychology are overlapping professions
and practitioners in both psychiatry and psychology are mental health
professionals and both often work together to help prevent, diagnose, and treat
mental illnesses. However, they are a lot of differences between psychology and
psychiatry and people sometimes find those differences confusing.
Defining Terms – Types of Mental Health Professionals:
Psychiatrist: A psychiatrist is a medical doctor (M.D. or D.O.) who
specializes in preventing, diagnosing, and treating mental illness. They are
trained to differentiate mental health problems from other underlying medical
conditions that could present with psychiatric symptoms.
Psychologist: A psychologist has a doctoral degree (PhD, PsyD, or EdD) in
psychology, which is the study of the mind and behaviors. Licensed
psychologists are qualified to do counseling and psychotherapy, perform
psychological testing, and provide treatment for mental disorders. They are
not, however, medical doctors.
Social Worker: A clinical social worker has at least a master's degree in
social work and training to be able to evaluate and treat mental illnesses. Social
workers can also provide case management as well as work as an advocate for
patients and their family.
Causes
of Mental Illness (from mayoclinic.org)
Mental
Illnesses, in general, can be caused by both genetic and environmental factors:
Inherited traits: Mental illness can be a
lot more common in people whose biological relatives also have a mental
illness. There are certain genes that may increase your risk of developing a
mental illness, and events/situations in life may trigger it.
Environmental
exposures before birth: Exposure to environmental stressors, inflammatory conditions,
toxins, alcohol, or drugs while in the womb can sometimes be linked to mental
illness.
Brain
chemistry:
Neurotransmitters are chemicals that carry signals to other parts of your brain
and body. When the neural networks involving these chemicals are damaged, the
function of nerve receptors and nerve systems change, leading to depression.
For my research, I started handing out questionnaires to upper school students, aged 14-17.
