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Something that has emerged for me over this semester is the sense that mental illness, yes, exists along a continuum, but that depression and schizophrenia in two different people with equal “capacity” to participate in life are really quite similar. That is to say, that it’s all kind of the same. I understand that individual experiences are different, but they are anyway, given that reality is itself illusory in the sense of one “reality.” The task of coming to grips with what is “mental health” seems less daunting when seen along a continuum, Tourette’s syndrome, migraine, depression and schizophrenia are all attempts by the storyteller to reconcile information from tacit knowledge and sensory information. If this is so, perhaps not exactly as I’ve described it, but to the extent that the similarities exist more than we currently acknowledge, there is so much hope for a more holistic approach to mental health, one that nurtures individual strengths and does not fault people for non-normative behavior that is not dangerous. I think taking normative measures as a goal of mental health treatment is a potentially dangerous undertaking. As I’ve mentioned before, I think the more we shape peoples’ behavior to a “norm” the more we narrow the range of acceptable behaviors and the more alienated and disenfranchised those who do not fit the mold, in one way or another, are likely to feel. Besides life is more interesting in color than in black and white alone. The very goal of “fitting in” is a cultural one, I think. In cultures where there is greater acceptance of a variety of behaviors, a variety of mental states, as we know them, “fitting in” is likely not even a part of the calculus.

In thinking about migraine, Didion’s reference to migraine as “friend” intrigued me. We are so prone to seeing pain, illness (mental and physical) as enemy that perhaps we miss the parts of these experiences that can be useful. I know Lisa disagrees with me on this, so please fire away! This is not meant to trivialize the anguish, disconnectedness, discomfort, etc. of mental illness, but there is something to be said, in certain instances, for seeing pain as a means to an end. For if it is, in the most literal sense, a way for the mind to reconcile conflicting signals than it may not be foe at all, rather a remarkably resilient and resourceful, albeit imperfect, system for creating meaning out of disparate bits of information, many, many disparate bits of information, making the entire system so very remarkable, despite its imperfections. Just because I think pain is a signal from the body (the mind) that something is amiss, I would never wish a mental illness upon anyone, just as I wouldn't wish diabetes or a dislocated shoulder on anyone. However, if dis-ease is a signal to reevalute one's course, our brain's are shouting at us that we need to re-learn something. So, yes, crafting a new story, making new meaning and responding to the distress signals of our bodies are de facto "learning." Whether one sees that as "good," "bad, " "necessary" or something else is another matter entirely. 

Should a migraine strike, it’s doubtful I’ll utter the phrase, “Welcome back, friend.” However, it may in fact serve one not to fight pain, or illness, but to come to terms with it in a meaningful way, meaningful for the individual, not by an outside standard. And, in this sense, medication alone as an antidote may not be the best long-term, expansive treatment for mental illness. Creating new meaning from existing stories is not something that comes "naturally" or "easily" to people with various mental illnesses, so if the goal is to create a story that uses the same information, but crafts a story that enables an individual to reach her potential (yes, a vague and indefinable entity, but nonetheless, a "real" one) than mental "health" has been achieved. Mental health is a journey, not an endpoint alone. I'll never be an olympic athlete, but I can certainly train to be in better condition than I am (perhaps, my laziness cannot be "cured").