My Opinion

[Andy73]

I think that only about 10% of the total number of people who see psychiatrists have genuine brain disorders. The other 90% are comprised of two groups - one group consists of those with varying degrees of psychological impairment/problems (some severe, some not) and the other group consists of those suffering from a term I myself have coined called RATIONAL DISTRESS

I believe that most people who consume the services of the mental health system are suffering from rational distress - in other words they are responding to the injustices of society and the realities of the world either consciously or unconsciously.

I have always wondered why psychiatrists do not more often send their patients to neurologists - if the mentally ill have brain disorders they should be tested to determine the presence of such, which is what a neurologist would do. Most people with ADD, bi-polar, schizophrenia, etc. have nothing scientifically wrong with them.

[MattInVegas]

You're partly RIGHT Andy. Most disorders are caused by either a Chemical imbalance, or Environment. A child who grows up in an environmet devoid of parental LOVE, won't know how to love others, or how to communicate with others effectively. Much like myself. Many people take my words as "Offensive" or Whatever. It's just the way they come out. (Using myself as an example)
I was raised for all intent and purpose, ALONE. Because of that, I'm not good with relationships, and am VERY insecure.

[MattInVegas]

Bottom line here is that...
The SANE people get put away because we can't handle the way things are.

[Althea]

Well, the question you pose is still to this day a confusing one even to the medical community. Although great strides have been taken through the use of brain imaging, it's still not an exact science. Depression, bipolar disorder and a host of other illnesses can not only be the result of a chemical problem in the brain or as you said in your own words Andy, "Rational Distress", it also can be brought on by factors such as stroke or brain injury (a hard blow to the head for example). For example damage to the left frontal cortex can hinder the "feel good" part of the brain. A PET scan MIGHT be able to detect certain types of depression, but not all. So, sending someone to a neurologist for depression/bipolar disorder etc. doesn't guarantee the actual problem will be detected, especially since the brain scan (PET) is still in the experimental stage. The new findings should go a long way in helping to end the long-standing debate over whether depression is organic (physical and chemical changes in the brain that produce depression) or functional (purely psychological). It used to be thought that there was nothing really physical in the brain that caused depression, but now they're making strides in locating an organic reason for these behavioral problems and are trying to locate where they are.