The North Carolina state House passed legislation this week requiring equal treatment for mental illness as compared with physical illness. For example, insurers would have to cover anti-depressants and talk therapy just as they do allergies or heart conditions. The bill is headed for the state Senate where it will hopefully be passed, a long overdue step in the direction of accepting that mental illness is no less real, and certainly no less damaging, than many physical illnesses.
I took an intro to philosophy class (stick with me - I promise this is related) in college - one of those "how do we know what's real, including us" kinds of classes. I was a psychology major and could never wrap my head around why those kinds of thought exercises matter... I am firmly of the perception-defines-reality camp. If something makes you feel a certain way - like if delusional thinking makes you violent, or distressing thoughts make you feel like you can't possible take a step into the next day - then it's real and it matters and something should happen to change it.
Mental illness, by definition, is "all in our heads"... but we say that as though our brains aren't mysterious and amazingly powerful.
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