Whenever you hear the term “mental health”, you always hear discussions about whether the cause of them is biological, psychological, or environmental. Research suggest that the cause of mental health is a combination of all 3. This has been the case for many years and I could never seem to wrap my head around the three concepts until now. I took some time to think and always wondered “what comes first?” Before writing this, I believed that biological would come first since it’s something that has been with you forever. You had it since the day you were born. After doing some research, my perspective changed and it started with critics.
Critics’ Perspective: 100% Environmental, 0% Biological & Psychological
There are many critics out there that talk negatively about mental health. Most say that it does not exist and that we should stop bringing it up, like it is a new world phenomenon. Others state that it is not real, it is just an illusion where you’re being labeled with a disorder or illness because of the situation or environment that you’re currently in. As someone that is heavily involved in mental health, I would have to agree with most of it. I don’t agree with the mental health being an illusion, but I see what they mean.
Here’s the thing that critics don’t look into clearly: it’s close to impossible to fix the environment that people are in, but way easier to work with someone on how to deal with that environment. This is why so many therapists work with their clients on what caused them to feel a certain way and ways to help them interpret the situation in a positive way. Doing so, makes the client feel better about themselves and give them the strength and courage to face the environment.
My Perspective: 100% Environmental, Biological & Psychological
I believe that a lot of mental health illnesses and disorders start with environmental factors. Biological and psychological factors may come first internally, but environmental factors is what triggers them. Let’s take a look at depression for example.
If someone felt very sad and upset about something, they would be labeled as someone who has depression or at least symptoms of depression. The same can be said for someone that lost a job, got bullied, or even cheated on. The list goes on and on to the point where every event in your life can be labeled towards something. What does this have to do with the process?
Environmental & Psychological
Well, let’s take a step back and look at things. The process begins with an event that happens from the environment that we are in. Then, the feelings and thoughts that you get from that event are the results from how you interpreted that event. This is where mental health issues become classified as psychological, since it is created from the mind and your thought processes. It has nothing to do with something seriously wrong with a person, but everything to do with how they interpreted what has happened to them. I talked about the environmental and psychological part of things. What about the biological side of things?
Biological
My personal opinion would be that biological factors are not noticed until environmental and psychological factors are present. You would never know if there is something wrong with you if you did not experience something “off” about you. You don’t feel like your normal self anymore, but have no idea why that is.
For example, your son, Jonnie, has autism. How did you find out he was autistic? You went to a mental health professional to find out what’s wrong with him. What led you to think that there was something wrong with him? He’s been having difficulty in school regarding his behavior with his teacher and his peers (environment). You would have to had noticed a behavior change in order to look and see if they had a mental health problem or if something was wrong with them. You don’t just go and see a mental health professional and ask them to see if they have anything wrong with them. Some people do when they get a check-up, which is a good thing to do for yourself.
The Final Verdict
I do believe that biological and psychological factors do come into play when a mental health problem arises, but when it becomes more severe. The development of mental health disorders begins with a social factor, whether environmental or situational. Then, the person interprets how the event made them feel. If they interpret the event as positive, then they are good to go. If they interpret the event as negative, then they might gather some negative thoughts, feelings, and emotions about themselves, which is psychological. Signs of genetic patterns or family history of a particular health issue would be considered biological.
All of these are correct terms to use when talking about someone with a mental health problem. It’s just important to understand what comes first and what follows after.
