John Read summaries causes of psychosis

John Read starts by telling us of two events early in his career (the first includes some strong language) that perhaps helped him appreciate the need to better understand the causes of emotional distress. I remember that John has written about his experience in New York in “A Straight Talking Introduction to the Causes of Mental Health Problems” (Page 2).

John goes on to share, slide-by-slide, research that proves schizophrenia (and I believe therefore bipolar too) is caused by what happens to us and has nothing at all to do with genetics.

The first 7 minutes is just the introduction to the talk so it is best to start watching from 7 minutes into the video:

When we see the scans of damaged brains it is not surprising that recovery from trauma and from over-medication (anti-psychotics are known to destroy brain cells) takes time. Really though, when on a good diet, brains repair themselves. People who have been unwell for decades and largely written off by traditional health services can make remarkable recoveries when they are helped to get good nutrition.

As a food chemist, recovery through better nutrition now interests me more than anything else.