Is my brain lying to me?

I spent my last 15 days in the department of Psychiatry. It takes enormous courage to come for a psychiatric consultation. One of the things that my medical textbooks haven't taught me is to look into their eyes to truly understand them. Grief, anger, hopelessness, it's all in there, wanting to be seen. To be felt. When I looked into the eyes of a patient admitted to our ward, I couldn't help but think, "Who were you before what you are now?" Honestly, it's terrifying. Every patient with psychosis (those who have lost touch with reality) was neurotic (those who haven't) once. What is it like, losing the sense of reality? These people would have given their everything to stop it from happening, to stop someone else from taking control. But they failed. Is the real you trapped in there somewhere? We will bring you back. I hope so.

Why do our brains do this? Why do our brains lie to us? Why do they implant wrong ideas, wrong notions, wrong conclusions? It feels as if adversity triggers a self-sabotaging cascade. This is where our social fabric comes in. An isolated brain is bound to go down this dreaded path. But a social setting where one is free to express oneself, without any judgement, can prevent some irreversible organic changes. Yes, some people are genetically prone, but even for them, an environment with minimal triggers can help delay the symptoms.

Next time you see someone with errant behaviour, try sitting beside them. "It's okay. I understand." can go a long way. Consider giving them a safe space to vent, but don't be intrusive.