By Very few people are aware of psychiatry and its contributions, nor do they realize the importance of sound mental health. People seldom accord prominence to psychiatry. One reason could be that people believe that the treatment procedures follow a lack of scientific evidence that would improve knowledge in clinical practice or the outcomes of the treatment programs. This has also given rise to uncertainty about the effectiveness of psychiatric diagnostic systems and the international classification of diseases.
Even with such uncertainties, modern psychiatry has grown by leaps and bounds where researchers have made considerable contributions through articles, journals, and studies that have helped people understand the symptoms better and how to treat them. However, preventive measures and recovery methods still remain elusive. Diagnosis of a mental health illness is not linked to any form of physical test or a biological marker. Psychiatrists depend largely on their experience and expertise as well as patients’ self-reported symptoms. This is why there has been a lot of debate about the applicability of neuroscience to psychiatry, where the role of the neuroscience framework in understanding mental functioning has been greatly discussed.
Mental health educational reviews explore the possibility that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) should be clinically evaluated from a neuroscience framework. The researchers highlight how the different biological, psychological and social factors impact the brain’s mechanisms and how they can assist clinicians in treating PTSD. The review highlights the ‘key neuroscience themes’ that are relevant to understanding PTSD, i.e., fear conditioning, memory reconsolidation, dysregulated circuits, epigenetics, and genetic factors. According to the researchers, these themes can contribute to planning and treatment and bridge the gap between different viewpoints of researchers and clinicians.
While further exploring the connection between the brain neurons and their intricate network that forms the hardware for mental phenomena allowing people to think, feel, remember and act, some experts believe that the symptoms of mental illnesses are more connected to the neural hardware rather than being just intuitive. Patients complaining of chest pain may be suffering from a physical ailment like a heart problem or pneumonia, or a broken rib. After ruling out such possibilities, a doctor may connect the chest pain to mental conditions that may include anxiety or PTSD, depending on the personal life experiences of the patients. Thereby highlighting that the network of neurons is closely linked with the symptoms of mental illness. This information can be treated as a clinical tool in treating symptoms with multiple causes with precision.
Providing quick-fix solutions by focusing on a handful of symptoms is not always a good thing. It is important to develop a pragmatic approach to understanding and treating mental disorders by looking beyond the inner experience to brain cells at work. The balance between the two is of utmost importance for holistic healing.
There is a treatment for PTSD and other mental disorders. Mental health conditions can make one’s life a living hell leaving a negative impact on the near and dear ones as well. Timely interventions can help a person regain control of his or her life and be productive and responsible. An untreated mental disorder can cause untimely death.
