Mental illness is the second leading cause of disability because success rate of conventional treatment is too low and relapse rate reaches 89%. In addition, using psychiatric medication causes side effects and drains patients’ finances without a good outcome.
Based on scientific evidence (see references below), a person who suffers from depression/anxiety can heal without medication. Mastering the Mental Wellness Coaching Program enables patients to heal, stop depending on psychiatric medication, prevent relapses, and make the best out of their lives.
In the past 12 years, the Mental Wellness program has been very successful in helping thousands of clients in BC and around the globe to heal from depression or anxiety. In addition, the Coaching Program teaches many skills needed for personal growth and success in social life and professional career.
By the help of a Mental Wellness Coach, patients discover their issues and address them, follow a healthy life style, manage their stress, replace their unhealthy habits with healthy ones, and learn new skills to help them succeed in life.
Finding out the root cause of mental illness should be the first step to understand the healing process.
Two theories explain the cause of mental illness. The first relates mental illness to a chemical imbalance in the brain. The second attributes it to learned behavior and conditioning since birth (analytical rumination hypothesis). Today, the first theory (the chemical imbalance in the brain) is the foundation of the conventional treatment of mental illness and consequently, the huge psychiatric medication industry.
Chemical imbalance and Use of Psychiatric Medication
Conventional treatment of mental illness is based on a hypothesis that chemical imbalance in the brain causes depression and use of medications such as SSRIs restores that balance.
The concept of chemical imbalance in the brain is just a hypothesis. No medical research has proved its validity, but the medical community talks about it as if it is a fact. Mental health professionals, the media, and the pharmaceutical industry keep promoting it because it is the foundation of their industry. It generates billions of dollars for all involved in the mental health business, but patients get the short end of the stick. They waste their precious time and money, and suffer from medication’s short- and long-term side effects.
Since 1950’s, some mental health professionals have been challenging the fallacy of the chemical imbalance. Since 1960, Professor Thomas Szasz discussed in his book, The Myth of Mental Illness. Szasz indicates that mental illness is not a disease of the brain and attributes it to personal behavior. He continued his fight against conventional psychiatry until he passed away in September 2012 at the age of 92.
In his recent research, Professor Scott M. Thompson of the University of Maryland, School of Medicine challenged the chemical imbalance theory. He concluded that depression stems from miscommunication between brain cells, rather than lack of serotonin in the brain.
Over the past century, treatment of mental illness has been failing patients and contributed to the stigma of mental illness.
Some psychiatrists believe that mental health patients would have to take medication for the rest of their lives, but they do not tell patients that medication would not resolve their underlying issues.
Despite its side effects and high relapse rate, mental health professionals are not taking notice. On the contrary, when a patient relapses, they suggest changing medication without examining the big picture. If depression is due to chemical imbalance, why does the medication stop working?
One can conclude that treatment of “mental illness” with psychiatric medication is unfounded, and the high rate of relapse shows that this approach is evidently ineffective.
Depression/Anxiety is Learned Behavior & Can be Healed without medication
In the past century, many mental health professionals believed that mental illness is not a brain disease. It is triggered in some predisposed individuals by chronic stress, personal habits, and behaviors, which have been developed since birth. We can heal if we replace old habits with good ones, prevent chronic stress, and learn new skills to help along the way.
This theory is the foundation of the Mental Wellness Coaching Program and the result of the work at H.R. Mental Wellness Centre can speak for itself. Patients succeeded to stop using medication without relapses (some of them have taken it for 30 years or more). They are more successful in their personal life, social life, and professional career. By using the Mental Wellness Coaching Program, there is nothing to lose and a lot to gain.
Should you have any questions about the Mental Wellness Coaching Program, please call us at 604-630-6865 or contact Dr. Rayes at drrayes@mentalwellnessbc.ca.
References:
Andrews, Paul W., J. Anderson Thomson, Jr, July 2009, The bright side of being blue: Depression as an adaptation for analyzing complex problems.
Thompson, Scott, March 2017, Depression stems from miscommunication between brain cells: Study challenges role of Serotonin in Depression, Science News.
Kevin Loria, February 2017, Depression may be our brain’s way of telling us to stop and solve a problem, Business Insider.
Medical Disclaimer
The information in here is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in here.