Sunday Musings -January 8, 2023
Mental versus physical?
Most of us talk as if there is the physical body and the mental part of the body; the physical which body can be viewed directly or indirectly and the mental or emotional part of the body which is something other than physical. Some may also believe we humans have a spirit or a soul the essence which continues to exist even after the end of the physical body.
The mental or emotional part of the body is often spoken of as if it exists independently of the physical body. Some professional healers may talk about certain chemicals affecting one’s emotions or mental health but even then, it often it is thought the chemicals affect or influence the emotions, but emotions and the thought process are still separate from the physical body.
Thinking of emotions and the thought process as non-physical makes it easy to tell people who are depressed or otherwise impaired emotionally to “suck it up” or “just do it” no matter how much they might insist that they are unable to “just do it”. It also makes it easy to chastise we or others for being “lazy, irresponsible or unmotivated.” One may cite as proof of choice the fact some people seemingly unable to function suddenly jump into action when a “crisis” presents itself. Some of we humans have been known to accomplish amazing feats when an emergency or cultural imperative demands it. Thus, some seemingly unable to move might rescue a child from a burning building; some might walk on hot coals without apparent injury. Being able to do one of these feats may be attributed to a “mental” state of being. While this may be true, it does not, however, negate the physical processes which make it possible or impossible for someone to function. The fact that there may be a reserve which can be unconsciously called upon in an emergency is a “magical” fact or physical process in the brain which is a subject of research.
Anyone who has ever experienced clinical depression, anxiety or any other so called mental illness will attest to being able to experience these conditions as a physical event. While it may be true that thoughts or how one responds to the sensation of depression or anxiety may change how the body handles or processes the physical sensation the thoughts themselves are a result of extremely complex physical processes. Many neurons must fire in a certain order. Information must be retrieved from the physical memory. Environmental factors affect the process. The food one eats, the exercise one gets, the people with which one surrounds oneself, genetics, and a host of other factors impact the physical body which includes that part of the body which we loosely call the brain.
Despite the improvement in “mental health” understanding, we, as a society. continue to act as if choice is an option for those who are experiencing depression, anxiety, addiction, or other diseases which prevent one from functioning. Such illnesses are not visible to the naked eye or measurable with various devices as are tumors, blood pressure level, clogged arteries, or a host of other conditions. (We can, l however, increasingly measures differences in brain activity.) Consequently, we may label them as mental and not physical.
We sometimes allow for the fact that some diseases affect the thought processes and, thus, behavior. The most common of these are brain tumors, hydrocephalic conditions, schizophrenia, and advance dementia. Yet, for the most part, we treat the inability to have a shared reality as if one has a choice and need to be held responsible for one’s decisions. Even when it is determined that a person is not “mentally competent” to stand trial our judicial system often dictates that person be treated and then brought to trial. We continue to jail many whose primary diagnoses is an illness which affects the ability to have a shared reality or the ability to consider how one’s action affects others. We often act as if the “mentally ill” have free will and the freedom to choose to hurt or not hurt themselves and others,
Recently, so called advocates for the rights of others have been outraged over the decision by certain government officials to increase the parameters for who, among the homeless, can be forced to undergo evaluation and potential treatment. I do not pretend to know where the line should be drawn, but I do know that we cannot expect any of us to make healthy decisions for ourselves and to consider our effect on others when our brains are not physically able to conceptualize a shared reality.
Have said all this on might reasonably asked why talk therapy can, at times, be helpful. That is a logical and important question which I will address in a future blog. Suffice it to say that talk therapy results in physical changes in the brain and is itself a physical process.
Written January 8, 2023
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
Mental versus physical?
Most of us talk as if there is the physical body and the mental part of the body; the physical which body can be viewed directly or indirectly and the mental or emotional part of the body which is something other than physical. Some may also believe we humans have a spirit or a soul the essence which continues to exist even after the end of the physical body.
The mental or emotional part of the body is often spoken of as if it exists independently of the physical body. Some professional healers may talk about certain chemicals affecting one’s emotions or mental health but even then, it often it is thought the chemicals affect or influence the emotions, but emotions and the thought process are still separate from the physical body.
Thinking of emotions and the thought process as non-physical makes it easy to tell people who are depressed or otherwise impaired emotionally to “suck it up” or “just do it” no matter how much they might insist that they are unable to “just do it”. It also makes it easy to chastise we or others for being “lazy, irresponsible or unmotivated.” One may cite as proof of choice the fact some people seemingly unable to function suddenly jump into action when a “crisis” presents itself. Some of we humans have been known to accomplish amazing feats when an emergency or cultural imperative demands it. Thus, some seemingly unable to move might rescue a child from a burning building; some might walk on hot coals without apparent injury. Being able to do one of these feats may be attributed to a “mental” state of being. While this may be true, it does not, however, negate the physical processes which make it possible or impossible for someone to function. The fact that there may be a reserve which can be unconsciously called upon in an emergency is a “magical” fact or physical process in the brain which is a subject of research.
Anyone who has ever experienced clinical depression, anxiety or any other so called mental illness will attest to being able to experience these conditions as a physical event. While it may be true that thoughts or how one responds to the sensation of depression or anxiety may change how the body handles or processes the physical sensation the thoughts themselves are a result of extremely complex physical processes. Many neurons must fire in a certain order. Information must be retrieved from the physical memory. Environmental factors affect the process. The food one eats, the exercise one gets, the people with which one surrounds oneself, genetics, and a host of other factors impact the physical body which includes that part of the body which we loosely call the brain.
Despite the improvement in “mental health” understanding, we, as a society. continue to act as if choice is an option for those who are experiencing depression, anxiety, addiction, or other diseases which prevent one from functioning. Such illnesses are not visible to the naked eye or measurable with various devices as are tumors, blood pressure level, clogged arteries, or a host of other conditions. (We can, l however, increasingly measures differences in brain activity.) Consequently, we may label them as mental and not physical.
We sometimes allow for the fact that some diseases affect the thought processes and, thus, behavior. The most common of these are brain tumors, hydrocephalic conditions, schizophrenia, and advance dementia. Yet, for the most part, we treat the inability to have a shared reality as if one has a choice and need to be held responsible for one’s decisions. Even when it is determined that a person is not “mentally competent” to stand trial our judicial system often dictates that person be treated and then brought to trial. We continue to jail many whose primary diagnoses is an illness which affects the ability to have a shared reality or the ability to consider how one’s action affects others. We often act as if the “mentally ill” have free will and the freedom to choose to hurt or not hurt themselves and others,
Recently, so called advocates for the rights of others have been outraged over the decision by certain government officials to increase the parameters for who, among the homeless, can be forced to undergo evaluation and potential treatment. I do not pretend to know where the line should be drawn, but I do know that we cannot expect any of us to make healthy decisions for ourselves and to consider our effect on others when our brains are not physically able to conceptualize a shared reality.
Have said all this on might reasonably asked why talk therapy can, at times, be helpful. That is a logical and important question which I will address in a future blog. Suffice it to say that talk therapy results in physical changes in the brain and is itself a physical process.
Written January 8, 2023
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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