mental illness

[joshua72]

BismillahAs salam alaikum

I agree with Josh on the possibility that medication will be needed but counseling is important in helping the person cope with the disease.  Counseling also serves to help gauge whether the proper diagnosis has been made.  May mental problems can result from a traumatic experience like abuse or being in an accident.  Many times these events occur while the person is young and the mind sets up a defence mechanism that persists into adulthood when it may no longer be needed.  These type of metal illnesses can many times be rectified through counseling to where medication may no longer be needed.  If the mental issue is a result of exterior trauma then medication is not really the answer because it is only treating symptoms.  It is like hitting yourself over the head with a hammer and taking aspirin for the pain.  Initially, many mental diseases appear the same but once some counselling has taken place a more specific diagnosis can be made.

Insha'Allah, your friend will get the help they need.

As salam alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu

Salam,

I agree with you, to an extent.

I definitely agree that counseling sessions need to take place to determine what the problem is so a diagnosis can be made, and then later to make sure whatever method of treatment is working, but with this disorder, counseling alone is very rarely, if ever, used as actual treatment.

Counseling may help one cope with bipolar disorder, but it will not affect the disorder or provide any cure for it.

Bipolar disorder is a bio-chemical mental disease, not just a personality flaw.

An offset in certain enzymes in the brain - namely Dopamine and Seratonin in bipolar disorder - can only be corrected by medication, which for bipolar disorder would be lithium carbonate.

I definitely agree that many mental problems come from trauma and people need therapy to help, but that is all therapy will do in some cases - it will only help, and not assist in correcting the the initial problem.

No ammount of therapy can "teach" someone's brain to control the enzymes properly.

People with bipolar disorder are given medication, very rarely if ever is counseling a method that is used. With this disorder, counseling/therapy would only be to inform the individiual and their family of this disorder, and the importance of medication.