The Brain is a Computer

What causes Mental Illness

Unbeknownst to many people, I have struggled with what people consider mental illness. However, since I never let it gain control over me, I lack a clinical diagnosis. It is also why I don't look like what i have been through.

For nearly 30 years I have wrestled with 'dark' thoughts. Wanting to end my life, fantasizing about being hospitalized for a break, and daydreaming about what my funeral would be like. Daily I would hear that I wasn't wanted, wasn't needed. That I was not enough or too much. That I wasn't worthy. When I would share those thoughts and feeling with others, they would counteract them, reminding me of all the good I have done in spite of my thoughts.

I was finishing my bachelor's degree in psychology ten years ago. While studying cognitive function and biology, I read something that has stayed with me, a piece of a bigger picture that I didn't know existed. Cognitive psychology termed the phrase 'the brain is like a computer'.

The brain has been likened to a computer because: It processes information (input → processing → output) It stores data (short-term and long-term memory) It uses networks of neurons, like circuits

It has an operating system (consciousness, attention, executive function)

What a computer can't do, is what it isn't programmed to do. A computer can't create without outside influence. And the brain can't create thought; it also must come from an outside source.

That outside source can only be one of two places. Either the thought is coming from God to create healing and love, or it is coming from the darkness to create shame, guilt, or regret.

So much has been revealed to me as I took accountability for how my choices created my hell. How I let what was easy dictate my actions and how I let the darkness control my reality. I can tell you from experience that you get nowhere in life when you let shame, guilt, regret and fear guide your choices.

Its never easy to do what is right, but it is more rewarding.

Take a moment to think about your computer:

• Is it time for upgraded motherboard?

• Is it time to delete old programs that are outdated?

• Is it time to clear out stored memories, to make room for new ones?

Keep what is working and remove what doesn't, and you will find mental wellness.