Could this piece of research be PROOF of a single cause behind all mental illness?
A few months ago, I recorded an interview with my friend and colleague, board-certified psychiatrist Dr Bill Pettit. During the course of one of our conversations, he revealed something which stopped me in my tracks. If, as we believe, what Dr Pettit shared is proof of a single cause behind all mental illness, the implications are enormous…
Let me set the scene for you…
Bill has successfully treated thousands of patients (many of them people with severe clinical diagnoses) by sharing the principles behind clarity with them.
In the process, he’s come to the conclusion that there’s one cause (and one cure) to all mental illness.
Stop and think about the implications of that for a moment…
Over 500 different diagnoses in the DSM-5, but one cause that explains all of them (The DSM-5 is The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the handbook used by health care professionals in the United States and much of the world as the authoritative guide to the diagnosis of mental disorders).. Of course, this flew in the face of the prevailing beliefs of the psychiatric community. Or at least, it did, until 2018…
Bill came across an April 2018 issue of The American Journal of Psychiatry. It contained a paper titled, “All for One and One for All: Mental Disorders in One Dimension”.
This article’s authors – Avshalom Caspi , Ph.D. and Terrie E. Moffitt , Ph.D. – make the case for a single cause (which they refer to as ‘Factor P’) which underpins all mental health issues.
They state that, “a single dimension is able to measure a person’s liability to mental disorder, comorbidity among disorders, persistence of disorders over time, and severity of symptoms.”
One factor. One cause.
You may be aware that the field of psychology is currently undergoing a ‘replication crisis’ – basically, many of the experiments and studies that the field has been grounded in can’t be replicated. More and more anomalies are showing up.
Is this cause for alarm? No!
It’s normal when an old paradigm is crumbling, and a new paradigm is starting to emerge.
The article Bill referenced looks like an early marker of scientific validation for this new paradigm.
Of course, the authors are identifying one cause, but they don’t yet realise there’s also one cure!
As you probably know, our company’s mission is to inspire and educate a generation to experience lives of clarity, resilience & wellbeing. We believe that the most valuable things a person can discover are how their mind works and who they really are.
Why? Because seeing that for yourself is the remedy for the ‘one cause’ of mental illness described in the Caspi and Moffitt’s article.
You can find the article at the ‘American Journal of Psychiatry’ website and read the abstract here: https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.2018.17121383
And I’d love to know – are you interested in seeing more research that provides validation for the understanding we’re sharing? Let me know in the comments.
Big love
Jamie
PS I’ve posted the clip where Bill and I talk about this above. I love the bit in the video where Bill says this:
“Darkness is the absence of light. And all you need is a few photons of light for the darkness to start to dissipate.”
In my book CLARITY, I used the metaphor of Wembley stadium with tens of thousands of people in total darkness, each holding a candle. Then one person lights their candle, and uses it to light the candle of the person next to them. I said,
“The moment your candle starts burning, you increase the amount of light available for everyone, and the darkness is further diminished.”
Bill’s statement reminded me of that. Thanks for letting your light shine.
Comments
I definitely agree that the more research we can curate the better for this understanding.
I agree, Helen – I’ll keep my eyes peeled!
I love this! I’ve quoted Bill quite a few times on ‘the one cause of all mental illness’ claim but I’d never seen the evidence before and that’s really exciting to me because my previous career was in medical science. Really excited about the idea of more research.
I have just read the original article and thank you for bringing it to my attention. I think it offers a real breakthrough in our understanding of mental health.
There are many mental health disorders that co-occur. There are also many manifestations of mental distress that are now being labelled as a ‘mental health disorder’ when in fact they may be early symptoms that never translate into a mental health crisis. For example, someone may be overwhelmed and distressed one day, and labelled as anxious, stressed or depressed the next. Particularly if they need a note from the GP for a period of absence from work.
The reality of mental distress and ill-health may be better understood in terms of a generalised p factor which is raised through the emotional reactions and thought patterns in the moment; but has capacity to be reduced through appropriate intervention, without the need to label and signpost to mental health services.
I do, however, think it is dangerous to suggest that there is one cure though. On any continuous single factor model, there are two extremes, in this example the other extreme of a single p factor is severe psychosis and I would respectfully suggest requires medical intervention, not coaching.
I agree Joselyn. In the moment of severe psychosis, medical intervention is more than likely the most appropriate, immediate response. It seems to me though, that from that point, if guiding the patient towards future mental stability includes understanding how the mind really works and who the patient really is, there would be more likelihood of success than the current medical treatment model?
Interesting but Eastern traditions have known this for hundreds if not thousands of years.
Every now and again I have a good chuckle when psychologists come up with a “new” theory that has been known for eons.
I would really like to see any more research that you can source relating to this area of exploration and understanding.
It makes so much sense. It is imperative that the level of awareness is raised and perceptions are altered.
This is such fascinating work – thank you for sharing it.
Jamie, this is a fascinating and outstanding article. Thank you for sharing it. The authors provide several strong theoretical arguments in favour of both looking to a common underlying cause for all mental illness and approaching treatment in a similar generic fashion, pointing out that historically that was commonly the approach
[ie before the expansion of the DSM into multiple subcategories led us astray.] And thank you for spreading Bill Ps pragmatic good sense to a wider audience.
I certainly think Dr Bill Pwrrit is onto something hey
Your inner light shines when you believe that it can. It’s not as difficult as we make it.
Maybe I missed something but what did they say was the possible “one cause” of all mental diseases?
They state, ” a single dimension is able to measure a person’s liability to mental disorder, comorbidity among disorders, persistence of disorders over time, and severity of symptoms.”
I actually haven’t read the article yet (!) but on face value, I believe the “single dimension” or Factor P (perception?) is the level of a person’s understanding about how their mind actually works and who they really are.
Without this understanding, humans are more likely to experience more severe symptoms related to so-called “mental disorders” or a combination of disorders, which persist over longer lengths of time, is this right Jamie?
I agree Joselyn. In the moment of severe psychosis, medical intervention is more than likely the most appropriate, immediate response. It seems to me though, that from that point, if guiding the patient towards future mental stability includes understanding how the mind really works and who the patient really is, there would be more likelihood of success than the current medical treatment model?
How do environmental conditions factor into this (e.g. bio-toxins)? My understanding is that a lot of psychological “disorders” can have their root in moldy buildings and that 25% of the population cannot easily recover just by removing themselves from the toxic environment. Coaching will struggle if this isn’t known for the individual. What do you think?
As I understand it, this is not about a single cause of mental illness at all! It is about a single, unified metric for understanding the severity of a condition which can have many diagnoses.