We, from the mental health community, basically believe that emotional illness is due to a biochemical imbalance of the brain.

It seems to make sense; after all, emotional illness is due to aberrant thoughts and feelings. And where do these originate from? Well, they’re products of brain processes. These functions are the result of biochemical reactions. For it must be remembered that the brain is, in a sense, a biochemical factory.   All these chemicals, working together in very complex ways, produce our thoughts and feelings.

So, if you’re having serious problems with abnormal thoughts and feelings, they’re due to the biochemistry of the brain, of course. This biochemistry has something wrong with it—“a biochemical imbalance”—which plays havoc with thoughts and feelings.

The “cure” for this “biochemical imbalance” is to “fix it” with remedial chemicals—medicines. In a sense, these “pharmaceuticals” restore the biochemistry to a “normal balance.”

Our experiences reinforce this belief. For example, five years ago I was very psychotic. I was experiencing severe delusions and hallucinations, so I was hospitalized for six weeks. My medications regimen was altered, and the voices and paranoia lifted. And it was totally due to the medicines. The “biochemical imbalance” was repaired. I’m sure many of us have experienced similar episodes or know people to whom this has happened.

This process—chemicals producing thoughts and feelings—makes for interesting speculation. It must be the same for “normal people” with their thoughts and feelings; however, they’re generated by “normal biochemistry.”

According to this philosophical viewpoint, thoughts and feelings—what makes us humans—are out of our control. They’re all chemical reactions which, like those of people with mental illness, can’t be controlled by the individual. Consequently, who we are, such as our morals and thoughts, are the products of a biochemistry that an individual can’t control. After all, those with mental illness can’t control them either.

If we’re the products of an independently functioning set of chemical processes, then we are not responsible for what we do—and now I’m referring to “normal people.” Let’s say you lead a criminal lifestyle. You can say it’s not your fault—you’re not responsible. It’s simply one of the many versions of “normal biochemistry.” In the same way, liars, manipulators, the indolent are not responsible for their reprehensible behaviors. It’s due to biochemistry, which individuals can’t control—like their heartbeats.

What is the final implication of this philosophy? There is no free will; we’re incapable of making moral choices, for our behaviors are controlled by mechanistic, predetermined chemical processes.

Therefore the concept of morality—knowing right from wrong and acting accordingly—is now null. It’s a mere fantasy. We can’t choose our moral behaviors. After all, the way chemistry works is in a predicted and necessary manner. Chemical processes, it must be remembered, work systematically and cannot choose how they will unfold. It’s a chemical reaction. This must be stressed and always kept in mind.

But, again, back to those with mental illness. “Regular people” have trouble understanding what mental illness is. If we say it’s due to a “biochemical imbalance,” it seems to make it more intuitively comprehensible. It makes us less “alien,” for we are suffering from an illness like diabetes—a disease of the biochemical imbalance of insulin. Consequently, we now suffer from “physical disease.”

Other theories of emotional illness, specifically psychological theories, are difficult for the layman to understand; after all, psychological theories deal with the unconscious, a concept that makes matters obscure. People ask, “What is the unconscious?” but in the end, all we can say is that everybody has it, but they’re not aware of it. 

I, however, think that psychological theories, as opposed to “medical” ones, can not only explain mental illness - they can cure it. They also bring back free will and personal responsibility into the picture.

But those are for other essays.

 

 

 

 

 

Fountain House is currently enjoying the many and varied fruits of the hard work done in High Point Farm’s gardens and orchard. Two acres of the farm are devoted to growing a variety of produce. Half of this is cultivated each year for vegetables and flowers and half contains the orchard from which we produce gallons of delicious apple cider each fall. The effort needed to plan, prepare, maintain and harvest a garden is huge and has involved a large and diverse group of Fountain House members.

The gardens have been expanded over the last 3 or 4 years as we have sought to increase the amount of produce that we can provide to Fountain House. This is part of a ‘closing the loop’ strategy which the farm has adopted and which seeks to ensure that the work that we do here at High Point results in an end product that can be returned to Fountain House in New York. The expansion means that we now have more than 20,000 sq ft of land under cultivation producing delicious and healthful veggies as well as beautiful cut flowers every week from the beginning of June right through into the fall.

As any gardener will tell you the work is never over. As soon as the last crop is harvested in the fall, we begin plans for the following season. Learning from past mistakes we decided to focus this year on crops that could easily be transported from northern New Jersey to Manhattan. With this in mind we have grown onions, leeks, garlic, beets, carrots, potatoes, kale, broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, watermelons and cantaloupe melons. All of these crops are robust and easily survived the two-hour trip. Without exception, we’ve been very pleased with our crops, and many members have commented that the flavor of our produce is superior to anything they can buy in the supermarket.

Our produce is grown without chemicals. Whilst not certified organic, we use only the manure provided by our alpacas, llamas and chickens to condition our soil. During the growing season we supplement this with a few other organic products to ensure that our work does not go unrewarded with a poor crop. Well, at least most of the time.

A universal gardening experience is confronting the reality that there are a multitude of critters out there which like the things you want to grow and have no respect for property rights. Imagine this gardener’s displeasure when more than 200 broccoli plants - plants that had been lovingly tended to by staff and members - were devoured in a matter of hours one morning this June.

The culprit was undoubtedly a four legged criminal such as a woodchuck or a rabbit, and I don’t mind admitting that I wanted blood. I was persuaded to resist taking any drastic action by my Buddhist leaning co-manager, and since then we have managed to protect our crops with a solar powered electric fence. However I can still sense that anger when I see a rabbit or woodchuck loitering with intent near recent transplants.

Sadly, there was no protecting our apple trees from the effects of a sharp frost at the end of April, and our apple crop will be much reduced from the one that produced over 100 gallons of cider last year. The vagaries of the weather or the appetites of wild animals are just two of the challenges that face us as we strive to play our part in improving the health and well being of the members of Fountain House. However, it’s clear that the pleasure derived from growing the crops, from turning the veggies into a nutritious meal, or from simply eating such a meal is more than enough justification for taking time this fall to think about how we are going to meet those challenges next year.

Steven Pike
Manager, High Point Farm