There seems to be a common
problem with mental illness. That problem is that people either think that you
are crazy or that you are faking it. Neither of these are true. Mental
illnesses are just illnesses only they affect your brain and who you are. The causes are different for each
disease/disorder and they can be the hardest to deal with.
Since there seems to be some
confusion I went directly to the source that doctors use for mental illnesses.
This source is the same one that our psychologist called the bible for mental
health. It is the DSM, and otherwise
known as the Diagnostic and StatisticalManual of Mental Disorders. I think it is an eye opening experience to read
some of what the DSM has to say about
conversion disorder.
The description of the disorder was
“Conversion disorder is characterized by the occurrence of certain signs or
symptoms that are clearly inconsistent with what is known about anatomy and
pathophysiology.” So yes it is physical symptoms appearing for no physical
reason. It goes on to say “Patients who find themselves with such symptoms,
however, are not to be confused with malingerers or those with factitious
illness. Patients who suffer conversion symptoms do not intentionally feign
such symptoms, as malingerers do; they experience them as genuine, and their
distress over them may be as genuine as that of the patient whose unsteadiness is
produced by a midline cerebellar tumor.” So they are not faking it. If someone
has lost feeling in their toe you can poke them with a needle and they will not
feel it. This is happening even though there is no physical reasoning for it.
I also want to impose the person
impact that this devastating disorder and have. I went to the facebook page
that the Conversion Disorder Foundation is using while they set up their
webpage. One quote took my breath away.
Tom posted “Why do the people that are meant to help me,
the so called "professionals" always abandon me.” I can tell
you this is exactly how I felt when my husband was sent away from doctor after
doctor with no explanation. One doctor actually told him
“I do not want to tell
you this is all in your head, but . . .” That is exactly how he said it and
left the room. I wanted to scream. He say my husband on his examination table
convulsing and that was all he could say. It took us 2 months to get into a
neurologist, and the psychiatrist did nothing other then try to push
medications that did nothing. It wasn’t until we sat down with the psychologist
that things changed. After three visits we finally moved into a better place.
Dr. Stambaugh cared. He listened and he actually cared! He went above and
beyond to get my husband back to work before his time to keep his job was up.
So not a whole lot of research this time on why
it affects people differently, but I think it is important to point out how
difficult mental illnesses are.
Thanks for addressing the issue of mental illnesses being faked or just in someone's head. It seems that when the medical and/or scientific community cannot explain an illness, they dismiss it or do not take it seriously.
ReplyDeleteHopefully as you start researching in the library databases (through D2L), you will be able to find some articles that DO take the illness seriously.
There are many that do, but the funding to do full research seems to be a small. There are few studies being done because conversion disorder is not a common problem. Funding money tends to go to areas that affect more people.
ReplyDeleteI am mainly using peer reviewed articles to gain knowledge and news magazines and other resources to show the daily nature of the disorder and how people deal with it.
I have never heard of this before and I find it rather interesting. Perhaps hypnosis, or some practiced lucid dreaming can help with this disorder since its seems to be in the subconscious? I have had a few experiences of something called Sleep Paralysis. What happens on a basic level is your brain wakes up before your body does and you have a very vivid nightmare that feels as if you are being attacked by some evil force that wants to kill you. I have no idea why this happens, or why it is expressed this way but it is very terrifying. I have explained this to people sometimes and they just look at me funny like I am making it all up so I understand your frustration with that.
ReplyDeleteI know that look quite well. It can be extremely frustrating to deal with people. I actually did not tell my family about it until I had to because of how mental illnesses are viewed.
DeleteOur psychologist is working with my husband to connect self hypnosis with a certain action. He has worked with profession athletes (especially golfers) to do the same for them. Basically how it works is you connect a certain action to your hypnosis so when you complete that action you are in a relaxed state immediately.
My husband's conversion disorder was brought on by internalizing the bipolar symptoms. Now that he has been diagnosed bipolar and is on medication for them his conversion disorder is getting better. However learning meditation and other stress management techniques are helping as well.
I know exactly how frustrating it can be when people think your disorder or illness isn't real, or is being exaggerated, or that you're just faking it. I have read countless web posts from terrifyingly ignorant people who are still convinced that Asperger Syndrome (my disorder) isn't real, and that people who have it are just looking for attention and trying to take the easy way out. I really hope that eventually people can become enlightened enough to understand that problems like your husband's and mine aren't just made up, they're real, and they need attention, not ridicule and disbelief. I am very interested to see what else you discover about this disorder; I had never heard of it before, and as psychology is my field of expertise, I need to stay up to date. I'll keep reading your blog to see what else you find.
ReplyDeleteThey are definitely real. I don't know how people can say that Asperger Syndrome is not real.
ReplyDeleteI think the key to enlightening people is to educate them. I have become very vocal about Conversion Disorder. We had no idea it existed, and that led to more suffering for us.
I think it is funny that people think that he might be faking it for attention. He hid away in the house until he was in better control because he was so embarrassed. How can that be doing it for attention? People like that are ignorant and think everyone should be like them. The best we can do is educate ourselves and those who are trying to learn about the world around them.
It really is frustrating that people don't have a clear understanding of mental illnesses. Even depression is an illness caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. All it takes is a traumatic event to through off that balance. If you think about how complex the brain is, then it makes sense that one tiny little thing being off is going to effect you.
ReplyDeleteI fully agree. Just because we do not understand them fully yet does not mean they are not devastating and that patients do not need help.
ReplyDeleteThe more I research the angrier I get that there is not more being researched. I just found an organization trying to get the DSM changed (the new one comes out in 2013). The way it talks about conversion disorder and other mental illnesses is degrading