Brain Damage?

InfiniteSadness · Apr 16, 2018 at 09:52 AM

I read somewhere mental illness is caused by brain damage.
Or that the meds cause brain damage.
I really hope not.

Apr 16, 2018 at 10:10 AM

I believe that mental illness can be caused by damage to the brain and nervous system. My psychiatrist practices 'neuralpsychiatry' and his clinic includes patients with brain injuries. He deals with clients who have birth injuries like CP to those having traumatic damage.

An acquaintance who suffered a horrible injury to his head has bipolar.

Shazerac · Apr 16, 2018 at 10:22 AM

What I’ve read is the untreated mental illness can cause brain damage. My brother has a traumatic brain injury and he’s definately not playing with a full deck. However he was not right in the head and was an alcoholic before he damaged his brain so it’s hard to tell.

Aviza · Apr 16, 2018 at 01:44 PM

I was in a car accident and hit my head prior to losing my mind. I'm certain with no family history of this illness that is what caused it.

InfiniteSadness · Apr 16, 2018 at 01:50 PM

I also read depression can cause brain cell deterioration.

Emotionally Dead · Apr 16, 2018 at 02:13 PM

I would assume it could be, sure. I definitely don't believe that that is always the case, though.

cool09 · Apr 16, 2018 at 02:31 PM

In the hospital there were people in our group who had traumatic brain injury and had symptoms similar to BPD. Not sure if meds can cause brain damage, I doubt it. They wouldn't be marketed if they did.

*Laurie* · Apr 16, 2018 at 04:37 PM

Brain damage (head trauma) can cause mental illness. But mental illness certainly does not always come from brain damage.

Untreated mental illness can definitely do damage to the brain.

No one at this time knows whether psych meds cause brain damage or not.

eskielover · Apr 16, 2018 at 10:33 PM

I was very lucky that the OD'S i did didn't cause any brain damage though I never had migraines or even headaches before that....thkugh my neuroligist at that time (late 90's) thoughtbfore sure the migraines came from a neck injury years before but made it necessary to have neck fusion.

My major depression got better when I left the bad marriage environment I had lived in for 33 years. It was amazing because without living in the stressful environments, my brain could remember more, learn more & converse better & even realize the emotional connections that had been missing all my life. It was like starting life completely over at the age of 54.....

So what I realized in my situation was that living surrounded by stress all my life was the cause of my problems even though I got my degree & had a computer engineering career for 15 years before the breakdown....it had beem building up to that point all my life. Being free from that environment let the internal me out to be free to be what I always thought life should be like.

InfiniteSadness · Apr 17, 2018 at 03:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cool09

In the hospital there were people in our group who had traumatic brain injury and had symptoms similar to BPD. Not sure if meds can cause brain damage, I doubt it. They wouldn't be marketed if they did.

what is Bpd?

downandlonely · Apr 17, 2018 at 04:03 AM

BPD is borderline personality disorder.

I think that traumatic brain injury can cause mental illness, but it certainly isn't the only cause. I'm pretty sure the depression is genetic for me.

*Laurie* · Apr 17, 2018 at 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InfiniteSadness

what is Bpd?

Borderline Personality Disorder.

still_crazy · Apr 17, 2018 at 08:58 AM

hi. meds -can- cause brain damage. im not saying that to scare you, its just...it can happen. tardive dyskinesia, the tics and such that come from long term tranquilizer/antipsychotic treatment, is one obvious example.

some people w/ brain damage end up w/ various mental illness labels. others do not. some people benefit greatly from psych drugs, others end up w/ adverse effects and few, if any, major benefits.

i wish i could give you better information or...answers, lol. sorry. it is known that some people on high dose, long term antipsychotics/tranquilizers develop "tardive dementia." its a loss of IQ points, overall functioning, etc., clearly caused by "Treatment." It may be more from the heavy-handed doses used up until the 90s or so (20 grams of Haldol per day was once standard...kind of ridiculous...), but its possible that the newer drugs can cause problems, too.

I'm not trying to scare you or anything, its just...there's a whole lot of unknowns in the world of mental health, in part because...very few (important) people feel like asking basic questions.

eskielover · Apr 17, 2018 at 02:25 PM

The problem also is that each perdon reacts to drugs based on their own personal body chemistry & make up so it is difficult to say what effect one person has will be the same as others.

I don't know what psych drug my pdoc gave me in i
The hospital one time at night but I woke up the next morning unable to move any of my joints or sit up in bed. That was the beginning of realizing that I had bad reactions to any chemicals put into my body....you just never know & my pdoc had never seen that reaction before.

marvin_pa · Apr 17, 2018 at 07:59 PM

I have it on good authority that life, stressful situations & watching reality TV can be major causes of brain damage!

Seriously though, whilst i've read of studies where sustained MI led to reduced cell development in the brain, those studies also indicated recovery from the MI also allowed recovery of cell growth - the brain is a complex & impressive piece of kit, but that complexity also makes it prone to issues where it's chemistry & programming can go out of whack. Meds are a rudimentary way to try to tweak that situation, but as with any external intervention, can sometimes have unintended/undesired consequences. In the greater scheme of things, being able to function on a daily basis is worth more to me than any long term risks that the meds may entail.

InfiniteSadness · Apr 17, 2018 at 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by still_crazy

hi. meds -can- cause brain damage. im not saying that to scare you, its just...it can happen. tardive dyskinesia, the tics and such that come from long term tranquilizer/antipsychotic treatment, is one obvious example.

some people w/ brain damage end up w/ various mental illness labels. others do not. some people benefit greatly from psych drugs, others end up w/ adverse effects and few, if any, major benefits.

i wish i could give you better information or...answers, lol. sorry. it is known that some people on high dose, long term antipsychotics/tranquilizers develop "tardive dementia." its a loss of IQ points, overall functioning, etc., clearly caused by "Treatment." It may be more from the heavy-handed doses used up until the 90s or so (20 grams of Haldol per day was once standard...kind of ridiculous...), but its possible that the newer drugs can cause problems, too.

I'm not trying to scare you or anything, its just...there's a whole lot of unknowns in the world of mental health, in part because...very few (important) people feel like asking basic questions.

whats the solution then?. ive been going in and out of hospitals recently.

Shazerac · Apr 19, 2018 at 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InfiniteSadness

whats the solution then?. ive been going in and out of hospitals recently.

What are your doctors telling you? I think it’s more important to get treatment then to try to figure whether or not brain injury causes illness, or if Meds damage the brain. There is no definite answer. Of course we all want answers but they just aren’t always there.

The important thing is to get help! Be it Meds, therapy or whatever works for you.

InfiniteSadness · Apr 26, 2018 at 06:59 AM

i read something about anti psychotics or psych meds shrinking the brain...
Now I'm paranoid.

Apr 26, 2018 at 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shazerac

What are your doctors telling you? I think it’s more important to get treatment then to try to figure whether or not brain injury causes illness, or if Meds damage the brain. There is no definite answer. Of course we all want answers but they just aren’t always there.

The important thing is to get help! Be it Meds, therapy or whatever works for you.

Thank you for this. This thread had me worried bc I take meds. My best advice too, is to talk to your doctor. My doctor is awesome, ethical, and super intelligent, and I know will tell me what she knows.

eskielover · Apr 26, 2018 at 10:20 AM

Honestly....meds will do more damage to the body than to the brain. The excessive weight gain some meds cause is totally unacceptable IMO. the drug companies developing the drugs should work on solutions to this. I iften wonded when taking ond drug ends up causing disbetes. Diabetes is known as the silent killer.

More proven negative physical effects to meds than anything relsted to possible brain damage. I often wonder if drug companies plan it this way....more meds needed for the rest of one's life treating a new ailment that wouldn't have existed if the other drug wasn't needed.

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InfiniteSadness Grand Member Member Since Aug 2012 Location: USA Posts: 985 11 58 hugs given	Apr 16, 2018 at 09:52 AM #1 I read somewhere mental illness is caused by brain damage. Or that the meds cause brain damage. I really hope not.
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justafriend306 Guest Posts: n/a	Apr 16, 2018 at 10:10 AM #2 I believe that mental illness can be caused by damage to the brain and nervous system. My psychiatrist practices 'neuralpsychiatry' and his clinic includes patients with brain injuries. He deals with clients who have birth injuries like CP to those having traumatic damage. An acquaintance who suffered a horrible injury to his head has bipolar.
	Reply With Quote

Aviza Magnate Member Since Jan 2013 Location: Midwest Posts: 2,456 11 86 hugs given	Apr 16, 2018 at 01:44 PM #4 I was in a car accident and hit my head prior to losing my mind. I'm certain with no family history of this illness that is what caused it. __________________ Son: 14, 12/15/2009 R.I.P. Daughter: 20 Diagnosis: Bipolar with Psychosis. Latuda 100 mgs.
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InfiniteSadness Grand Member Member Since Aug 2012 Location: USA Posts: 985 11 58 hugs given	Apr 16, 2018 at 01:50 PM #5 I also read depression can cause brain cell deterioration.
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Emotionally Dead Veteran Member Member Since Jul 2009 Location: USA Posts: 518 14 87 hugs given	Apr 16, 2018 at 02:13 PM #6 I would assume it could be, sure. I definitely don't believe that that is always the case, though.
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cool09 Poohbah Member Since Feb 2012 Location: Eastern MD Posts: 1,473 12 17 hugs given	Apr 16, 2018 at 02:31 PM #7 In the hospital there were people in our group who had traumatic brain injury and had symptoms similar to BPD. Not sure if meds can cause brain damage, I doubt it. They wouldn't be marketed if they did. __________________ I know why you wanna hate me! Cause hate is all the world has seen lately! - Limp Bizkit
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Laurie Account Suspended Member Since Jan 2015 Location: California Uber Alles Posts: 9,150 (SuperPoster!) 9 5,382 hugs given	Apr 16, 2018 at 04:37 PM #8 Brain damage (head trauma) can cause mental illness. But mental illness certainly does not always come from brain damage. Untreated mental illness can definitely do damage to the brain. No one at this time knows whether psych meds cause brain damage or not.
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downandlonely Legendary Member Since Mar 2018 Location: United States Posts: 10,760 (SuperPoster!) 6 10.6k hugs given	Apr 17, 2018 at 04:03 AM #11 BPD is borderline personality disorder. I think that traumatic brain injury can cause mental illness, but it certainly isn't the only cause. I'm pretty sure the depression is genetic for me.
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InfiniteSadness Grand Member Member Since Aug 2012 Location: USA Posts: 985 11 58 hugs given	Apr 26, 2018 at 06:59 AM #18 i read something about anti psychotics or psych meds shrinking the brain... Now I'm paranoid.
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