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What really is a Mental Illness?

Every person from one time or another may suffer some form of situational depression, but please do not confuse this with clinical depression, which is far more serious and has no cure. Situational is as the name suggests situational or based upon a sequence of situations but not life threatening and will disappear with lifestyle changes. Clinical on the other hand is deep within the DNA and requires a more educated, medicinal, compassionate and needs more supportive requirements, which are the proverbial wheelchair for the mind.

Whether you desire to call it an illness, mood disorder or disease per se matters not a hoot because in reality it signifies the disconnection between mind body and spirit. This disconnection manifests in many ways from cancer to diabetes, heart disease to addictions, and gossip to intolerance, especially economic upheaval to mental disarray.

Everything in the universe boils down to unity and understanding that all matter is linked. Maladies occur when we practice the vain habit of separateness and egotistical individuality at the expense of other forms, even of like form. We must get it through our thick skulls that we are all the same whether gender, colour of skin, location on planet or proclivity for whatever practices enjoyed.

Our world is built within and around the framework of religions and this applies to remote au-natural villages to the wildest city in any country. This in itself serves to add to the confusion of separateness because each denomination believes they know more than the others do. We see this especially in fundamentalism where this extremism leads to brutality, murder and wars.

Extremism is a form of mental illness because any practice or belief system that demotes the value of others is insane, and most definitely forged through the belief of separateness. Therefore, whether one is referring to political systems, religions, business structures or the family unit there has to be reverent freedom.

This lack of reverence builds within our DNA and overtime evolves into fractures within the body that manifest in various formats. What causes a cold-blooded killer to walk away from the death scene to join his family for dinner and family time? What is behind the drive of a determined real-estate investor to posses at all costs that which she believes she must own and the community will be served properly by the use to which the property shall function. No one can say that the gambling scene in Atlantic City, New Jersey serves the community as a whole, which was its original argument. This is an example of Economic insanity at work through serving the needs of business at the expense of the people.

A family member is fighting and stumbling heavily with bi-polar that has wreaked havoc throughout her life. She constantly reaches out to her family but in their ignorance, they treat her quite abominably believing she is a fraud. Now which do you think is the most insane – the family member or the others who treat her with disdain?

If you have a Bible handy, read the first letter to the Romans 1:29-32, which describes the injustices of society. Now, this was written almost two thousand years ago but sadly is as relevant today as any time throughout history. Then if you flick a few pages in reverse to ACTS 20:35 you will read this: ‘Happiness lies more in giving than in receiving.' This is a double entendre, because if you cannot give to yourself then how may you give sincerely and lovingly to others. Thus, when someone is ill their sustenance is derived through the unconditional love, compassion and generosity of others.

You can see from the above that to describe mental illness in terms towards lack of mental acuity the majority of society may be classified as insane.

The bottom line is that if you have unconditional love in your heart, no malady shall adjust your mindset in any direction except towards the Light of Truth. Allow mental acuity in all its manifestations to commence within you then your love shall reap more than rewards of simply moving mountains. Meditation shall provide the peace through which life shall evolve harmoniously. God bless! Namaste!