Humans began to urbanize at the turn of the nineteenth century. People rapidly moved to cities in search of better opportunities that their rural homes could not provide. This shift in way of living has induced radical changes in the way that humans have previously lived. Is urbanization good? Yes, urbanization has created tons of opportunities as well as providing people with better access to health care. However, urbanization has also created a host of complex problems. People living in urban environments have increased prevalence of mental health disorders such as schizophrenia. Individuals living in cities have a 39% higher prevalence of having psychiatric disorders than individuals living in rural areas (Lederbogen et al., 2013). However, these statistics might not be fully accurate as there is better access to healthcare in urban environments and thus a higher rate of diagnosis.
Researchers have recently found that urban social stress can be a risk factor for mental health disorders. Urban environments have a lot of events that may trigger social stress. An example of social stress is failing in front of others. These stressors can become problematic when they are chronic. Researchers found that social stressors lead to abnormal activity in the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal gland resulting in dysfunction of dopaminergic pathways which interact with schizophrenic pathways (Lederbogen et al., 2013).
Should we immediately pack our bags and leave for the countryside? No. There are many other factors that contribute to the risk of developing schizophrenia. Unfortunately, these factors are often beyond our control. Individuals with a rare genetic mutation involving the deletion of the DBH5 gene are at an increased risk for schizophrenia (Hui et al., 2012). In another study, researchers found that physical and emotional trauma from childhood also increases one’s risk for developing schizophrenia (İngeç & Evren Kılıçaslan, 2020).
So what can we do? Genetic predispositions and childhood trauma is unfortunately out of our control. We can however lessen the social stress we experience. All without leaving for the countryside. Social stress is subjective, it is ultimately a construct within ourselves. We can lessen the risk by finding healthy ways to cope and changing our relationship with the stress so that it doesn’t become something chronic. For example, we can start seeing a licensed therapist to improve cognition and to better deal with our problems.
Ken,
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely an important matter that should be addressed. I feel that mental illness is looked over more so than some may thinks, so thank you for choosing this article. I found this article that also primarily talks about maternal stress and that this could cause onset of schizophrenia in offspring. This could be caused by physiological stress during the pregnancy and/or not enough weight gain, along with other stressors. Do you think that there is a good way for expecting mothers to focus on keeping stressors at a low? I know that therapy is an option, but that is also something that could be difficult for some to partake in. Would you recommend other options such as meditation? Also, how is is that we can provide options for young children that may be struggling and possibly on their way to developing mental illness?
https://www.psychiatryadvisor.com/home/schizophrenia-advisor/early-stresses-contribute-to-schizophrenia/
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your blog! There is a large stigma regarding the topics of mental health and psychiatric disorders in the society and it is important to acknowledge and discuss them as it plays a large role in health. As you stated in your blog, there are other factors that contribute to the risk of developing schizophrenia, and I wanted to add a few additional environmental factors that could contribute to the risk of developing schizophrenia such as maternal malnutrition, fetal oxygen deprivation, prenatal infections (such as Herpes), psychoactive drug use, or traumatic brain injuries. For an individual, these are some factors that were out of their control as they developed in utero, however I believe with the proper education to those with schizophrenia who may want children discussion regarding risk factors and heritability is very important. When this individual is fully educated on what we currently know on Schizophrenia along with these environmental factors and genetic dispositions they will be able to have that control over the environmental factors when attempting to have offspring. I agree with your statement that social stress is subjective, and I found a study conducted by Urbanska, Moritz, and Gaweda that aimed to investigate the impact of social and sensory stress on cognitive processes along with delusional thinking (2019). Their study involved 19 individuals with Schizophrenia and 15 healthy controls and assessed them under 3 different experimental stress conditions which resulted in patients mentalizing accuracy decreased and higher conviction in their paranoid ideas (Urbanska, Moritz, & Gaweda, 2019). Therefore, yes individuals should have equal accessibility to physicians and licensed therapist to discuss their social stress and life stressors to decrease their likelihood of developing mental health disorders, however there are many factors such as finances, insurance, and the social stigma that still plays a large role preventing individuals from getting the proper care they need. Hopefully, the stigma revolving around mental health and psychiatric disorders ceases in the future but finances and insurance will always play a role in healthcare.
ReplyDeleteReferences
Urbańska, D., Moritz, S., & Gawęda, Ł. (2019). The impact of social and sensory stress on cognitive
biases and delusions in schizophrenia. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 24(3), 217–232.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13546805.2019.161155