A Theory of Mental Illness: Integrating Social and Emotional Aspects

The theory developed here locates mental illness in a biosocial context involving social bonds. Because of the inclusion of both social and emotional elements, light may be shed on how mental illness originates, the part played by family, agents of social control, and society. Labeling and stigma may rest on strong unacknowledged emotions, particularly shame and anger. The shame construct is used to provide a model of mental illness at the intra/interpersonal and societal levels, which involves a bilateral relationship between the labeled and the labelers. I use excerpts from a psychiatric interview to illustrate my model. Although preliminary, the findings point to the role of shame in mental illness; it may figure in both the formation of symptoms and their maintenance.