Words for mental illness

By Vassiliki Leredde

Mental illness is the result of one or many emotional shocks that come after that an overwhelming truth or reality strikes the individual and cuts him/her out of her usual perception of reality built by language, education, and society. In some cases though mental disease is induced by street drugs, deficiencies, maternal infections while in the womb, heart, blood sugar or blood problems, allergies, neurological issues or any other health problem that seriously stresses or deprives the body from nutrients.  The consequent state is what the French medicine calls ‘décompensation’, literally meaning broken compensation.

Looking into the Ancient Greek language we find that the word for “soul” is “ψυχη” ­(psychi) and that the word for “freezing” is “ψυχος” (psychos), something that might suggest that “soul” and “freezing” have the same verbal structure, something that probably means that for Ancient Greeks the soul was probably something in low temperature.

In modern Greek, there are expressions such as “παγωσε το αιμα μου”, literally “my blood has frozen”, used for describing what happens after an emotional shock. When this happens there is a freezing sensation throughout the blood circuit, given that the only emotion that give us a cold sensation is fear. So, when one is shocked by the view or the sound of something, the body produces fear and then a freezing sensation so that the body can cool down and not feel the pain that will usually follow the shock which, for the body, resembles a physical ‘punch’. In the meantime, while the whole process is going on and the blood flow slows down due to freezing, cells are starting to run out of glucose and oxygen and stress is produced.

Going back to the reaction of the body to the fact that it has suffered an emotional shock that will turn to be felt like a physical one, this will bring a sensation of tide node somewhere in the most tender part of the abdomen – the lower stomach or the belly, as well as at the bones. The process of breathing too will be hindered. The Greek language confirms the previous claims, stating that when something is not easy to accept what happens is that “δεν μπορω να το χωνεψω αυτο”, literally “my stomach can’t break down that” and “μου κοπηκε η ανασα”, literally “by breath has been cut off”. Moreover, in case of hard truth to deal with, one can say in Greek “δεν μπορει να το χωρεσει το μυαλο μου αυτο” literally “my brain hasn’t enough space for that”, or even “η αληθεια σπαει κοκκαλα”, literally “truth can smash one’s bones”. The last expressions suggest that there is a smashing effect on bones and indeed for the French language who tends to be more descriptive, when someone is having a hard time because of someone else, the consequence is that his/her feet, especially the bone structure of them, get “broken” in a sort. The right expression then in French is “tu me casses les pieds”, literally “you are breaking my feet”. The effect of the emotional shock on the bones seems to be known from ancient times as the ordinary word to talk about a mentally ill person is “ανισορροπος” in Greek, “unbalanced” in English and “déséquilibré” in French, knowing that the part of the body that mostly can or cannot be unbalanced is the skeleton.  

Looking on the other hand at what was thought to prevent or cure mental illness in ancient times, this was only time and rest. Nowadays, new advances in psychiatry and the use of holistic, orthomolecular and oriental therapies tend to improve the life of millions of sufferers but in all those methods the common tool that tends to be cultivated is the need for love and kindness of the sufferer. Indeed, what is important in the healing process is that the sufferer starts to care for himself/herself or for someone or something else and that he or she gives every proof to the Self that he/she cares for it, by doing physical exercise for instance, meeting friends, eating healthy foods, avoiding allergens, not having addictions and so on.  

Mental illness is an old problem that no civilization has ever solved. It may simply be patience, effort and love that could do it.