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Hello Everyone! For those of you who are new my name is Lisa Lamprou and I am a biology major here at BMC! I wanted to let all of you in on a recent seminar I attended and some thoughts I took with me! The seminar was at the University of Pennsylvania and the discussion was based around the link between mental illness and physical health. 

The talk basically presented the idea that many of the physical problems people are facing in the United States today are a direct result of not enough mental health education. This may at first seem unclear but let me elaborate.

Individuals in the United States today are suffering from a number of different diseases such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes. These diseases thus far have been treated as physical ailments, with the treatment being medication or surgery. At the seminar I attended the idea was put forth that perhaps the American people should be treated not as individuals who are physically ill, but instead as individuals who have mental health disorders. 

Lets take obesity as an example. The popular treatment for this disease is either a strict diet or gastric bypass surgery. This surgery although physically treats the individual - does not mentally do so. An obese individual's eating habits many times has to do with their mental and emotional health.  The seminar insinuated that perhaps many physical illnesses should be treated using mental health professionals and not necessarily physicians - or at least in a combination. 

Gastric bypass surgery will solve the problems of individuals with respect to their weight, but will it help solve their need to eat. Or their desire to be comforted by food? Many hospitals around the country now are implementing new rules regarding gastric bypass surgery mandating that those individuals who want the procedure must first prove that they have the mental capacity to control their eating habits. In order to qualify for the surgery these individuals must attend meetings in which they discuss the mental component of their illness.

Many times it is obesity that leads to diabetes, would it be possible to start treating people earlier using mental health and avoiding the epidemic all together. This is not meant to be controversial but I would love to get your thoughts on the matter. Would the American public be found healthier physically if the government took stronger measures to increase individuals mental health. 

Studies have been done showing that even children will consume larger amounts of candy because they are sad, or unhappy with their social circumstances. Perhaps the problem is that these days we partake in far fewer activities that release endorphins and in order to create artificial happiness we consume 'comfort food'. 

Any thoughts?