What do cancer and mental illness have in common?
We often look at things in terms of black and white
You're good or you're bad
You're introverted or you're extroverted
You're wrong or you're right
But if you dig deeper, we often realize that things aren't as clear cut as we think. It's more of spectrum and constant balancing between the two opposite ends.
Illness is the same way. (You're either sick or you're not... wait what?)
I'm going to use cancer as an example.
Cancer by definition is "the disease caused by an uncontrolled division of abnormal cells in a part of the body." But if you ask anyone that studies cancer, they'll tell you that we all have these "abnormal cells" that could potentially develop into this disease. These abnormal cells are formed as a result of regular every day cellular functions (if you want to know more click here and here). There's just no way to avoid it. The reason we don't all have cancer though is that our body has defense mechanisms to find these abnormal cells and get rid of them before it gets out of control. Cancer just develops when our body can no longer defend against the growth of these abnormal cells.
I think mental illness is very similar. We all have these "abnormal cells" of depression, anxiety, anorexia, whatever, that form as a result of every day life functions (work, relationships, society). And we do have defense mechanisms to battle them. Similarly to cancer though, sometimes we struggle to defend against these thoughts which breeds more negativity that spirals out of control... and then you have a full blown mental illness.
You would never tell a cancer patient to just "get over it, it's all in your head."
And with both there are genetic and environmental factors involved but just like how we take care of our bodies to prevent cancer (or any type of disease for that matter- our body is always fighting), we need to take care of our minds to prevent mental illness.
We can also be more supportive and understanding of those who are dealing with mental illness just like we are with cancer patients. Because it's a constant battle and not simply a "you either have it or you don't" problem.
You're good or you're bad
You're introverted or you're extroverted
You're wrong or you're right
But if you dig deeper, we often realize that things aren't as clear cut as we think. It's more of spectrum and constant balancing between the two opposite ends.
Illness is the same way. (You're either sick or you're not... wait what?)
I'm going to use cancer as an example.
Cancer by definition is "the disease caused by an uncontrolled division of abnormal cells in a part of the body." But if you ask anyone that studies cancer, they'll tell you that we all have these "abnormal cells" that could potentially develop into this disease. These abnormal cells are formed as a result of regular every day cellular functions (if you want to know more click here and here). There's just no way to avoid it. The reason we don't all have cancer though is that our body has defense mechanisms to find these abnormal cells and get rid of them before it gets out of control. Cancer just develops when our body can no longer defend against the growth of these abnormal cells.
I think mental illness is very similar. We all have these "abnormal cells" of depression, anxiety, anorexia, whatever, that form as a result of every day life functions (work, relationships, society). And we do have defense mechanisms to battle them. Similarly to cancer though, sometimes we struggle to defend against these thoughts which breeds more negativity that spirals out of control... and then you have a full blown mental illness.
You would never tell a cancer patient to just "get over it, it's all in your head."
And with both there are genetic and environmental factors involved but just like how we take care of our bodies to prevent cancer (or any type of disease for that matter- our body is always fighting), we need to take care of our minds to prevent mental illness.
We can also be more supportive and understanding of those who are dealing with mental illness just like we are with cancer patients. Because it's a constant battle and not simply a "you either have it or you don't" problem.
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