Psilocybin and meditation can have a huge impact on our predictive organ. This can make a new person of you, provided it is used the right way.
Families, genes, and psychiatric disorders
Genetic variants and mutations can increase the susceptibility to psychiatric disorders. But the DSM does not really apply to the real world of genetically determined presentations. Hospital departments for DSM categories are outdated. Clusters of families would make better units for research into and care for severe mental disorders.
Delusions and conspiracy theories: belief in conceived logic
Delusions are distorted models in your head about the world around you. Facts, arguments or perceptions will not correct this model. A person with delusions will fit the facts to the model. People with psychoses can entertain delusions, but so do people who believe in conspiracy theories.
I can’t recall your name, am I getting dementia?
I am not good at recalling names, and never have been. Is my brain not working as well as it did? Is it dementia? Or does everyone have weaknesses that get progressively worse as you age?
Autism is hereditary, but you don’t inherit autism
The probability of having autism is greater for an individual if it runs in their family. This suggests hereditary factors. But what do you actually inherit? What you inherit is a predisposition for a specific development of your brain. This, together with what you experience while growing up, can lead to the development of a mild to severe form of autism.
Hallucinations: seeing what you expect
Someone who is hallucinating will see things, whole scenes and events which are not actually there, and experience them as real.How can this be? Because you see what you expect, unless it is corrected by your perceptions. Which is where things can go wrong.
The new crystal ball: predicting future disease
Disease can be seen as the antechamber of death.
Are there reliable tests for predicting disease? The short answer is: not for Alzheimer’s or other common diseases. Tests do exist for some specific diseases, most with known familial predispositions, such as Huntington’s disease, cystic fibrosis, Duchenne’s dystrophy and many more.
Where are the new medicines for psychiatry?
I do not foresee any new medicines for psychiatry coming any day soon.
Everybody wants fast acting psychotropics, but that is not possible for most psychiatric disorders.
But integration of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy can be extremely rewarding.
The basis for most of the severe mental disorders is clear
The basis for most of the severe mental disorders is in your genes and the early development of the brain. But we will not be able to find THE cause of these disorders. Why not?
What causes depression: serotonin or your experiences?
What causes your depression: serotonin or what you experience? The answer: the question is invalid! Both play a role, and are interconnected. You cannot say that one of these is the cause.
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