Skip to main content

Mental Illness...It's more than perception!

By Stephen C. Schultz


We have all heard the saying, "perception IS reality".
Have you ever wondered where “vision” actually takes place? I went blind in my right eye when I was twenty four. (I did have lens implant surgery.) During that time I decided I was going to learn as much about vision as I could…without going to medical school.


I came to realize that vision, simply stated, is light reflecting off objects, traveling through your iris, and then through your lens, hitting the back of your eyeball. At this time, the light hits the rods and cones and travels through your retina as electrical impulses. These electrical impulses then enter the brain and move along the neurons, cross the synapses as chemical neurotransmitters and then back into electrical impulses once they cross the synapses. This happens millions of times over fractions of a second.

So, where does vision happen? There is no movie screen in our eyes or our head. If you think of your brain as a computer, there is no computer monitor. Even though I know the brain organizes these impulses into some kind of order, where is the picture? Kind of makes you think!

When someone suffers from a visual or auditory hallucination, they are simply having the neurons in their brain function without any external light or sound waves. As a society, we tend to generalize and call people “crazy”. There is a collective feeling of being uncomfortable around the issues of mental illness.


In my work, I have witnessed upstanding leaders in the community enter an emergency room in what is diagnosed as a “Brief Psychotic Episode”. These men and women have come in to the hospital out of touch with reality. They generally receive a shot of an anti-psychotic medication, sleep throughout the night and return home the next day. Usually there is no precipitating event or use of drugs or alcohol.

When the elderly gentleman next door is diabetic we show compassion and understanding. When your 9 yr old daughter’s friend has a seizure disorder, we are interested in learning more about it and how we can help. When the woman walking towards us on the street is “babbling” to herself, we cross the street.

The reality that we must all come to grips with…is that we are all just one neuron away from being “crazy”.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Young Boy and the Rattlesnake

By Stephen C. Schultz (Editors note: This is a story used in a Wilderness Treatment Program for Young Adults . Many come to this program having struggled with substance abuse and interacting with unsavory friends.)   Many years ago there was a young Native American who lived in the very land you are residing in. He decided to seek wisdom by journeying to the top of Indian Peak. As he approached the base of the mountain he came across a rattlesnake that slithered beside him. The snake coiled as if to strike and the young boy moved back quickly in fear of being struck by the snake’s deadly venom. At that instant the snake spoke to the boy saying, “Don’t be afraid of me, I mean you no harm. I come to you to ask a favor. I see that you are about to traverse to the top of Indian Peak and was hoping that you may be willing to place me in your satchel so that I don’t have to make the long journey alone.” The young boy surprised by the snake’s request quickly responded b

Navigating the Highway of Healthy Communication

By Stephen C. Schultz “I was on the road in my car last week. It was a long stretch of highway where it is easy for your speed to creep up. I looked in the review mirror and saw blue and red flashing lights. I watched as the right hand of the officer extended to lift a microphone to his mouth. He was obviously running my plates. I glanced at my driver’s side mirror and observed as his door opened and he stepped around the edge of the door and closed it with a single, fluid motion. In a cautious and calculated manner, with his right hand resting about hip high on his revolver and his left hand carrying some paper, he was at my door in ten easy strides.” Ok…now that you have read that first paragraph, what are you feeling? Did reading that stir any emotions? Could you relate to my experience? How many of you are smiling? You’ve been there…right? You know the feeling. Often there is dread. Sometimes there is fear. Most times there is frustration because you were just goin

Video Games, Anxiety and ADHD - Free Family Resources

 By Stephen C. Schultz Video Games, Anxiety and ADHD - Is there a common theme? Aloft Transitions Home for Young Adults This is simply a complimentary resource guide for parents of teens and young adults who struggle with ADHD, Anxiety and Gaming. ADHD:   • Russell Barkley,  Taking Charge of ADHD • Hallowell & Ratey,  Delivered from Distraction • Harvey Parker,  The ADD Hyperactivity Workbook for Parents, Teachers, & Kids • Bradley & Giedd,  Yes, Your Teen Is Crazy!: Loving Your Kid Without Losing Your  Mind  • Gurian, Michael,  The Minds of Boys Saving Our Sons from Falling Behind in School and  Life, 2005. • Hanna, Mohab,  Making the Connection: A Parents’ Guide to Medication in AD/HD • www.CHADD.org  (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) • www.help4adhd.org • www.aap.org (American Academy of Pediatrics) • www.aacap.org (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) Young Adult caring for new baby calf Anxiety: The following websites