Is it possible that bipolar disorder and schizophrenia have more in common with autism and other brain developmental disorders than they do with what we traditionally think of as illnesses?

That’s what Dr. Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, suggested Wednesday night at the National Alliance on Mental Illness national convention in Chicago.

I’ve just returned to my hotel room after hearing his thought provoking talk, which I hope NAMI will reprint. Insel said that we need to stop thinking about bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depression as ILLNESSES and recognize them as disorders that appear to be tied to developmental problems that happen when a child’s brain is being formed. By the time that the acute symptoms of the disorder actually appear (often in the early and mid-20s), doctors are seeing the disorder in its final stages and treating its symptoms — not the cause. Some studies suggest that by the time a person has their first manic attack or schizophrenic breakdown, the disorder itself might have been festering for a dozen or more years.

He specificially mentioned how some studies suggest that ADHD is now thought to begin forming in children as early as age five when specific parts of the brain are being developed. However, the symptoms do not appear until the teenage years.

The problem today, he said, is that we are diagnosing and treating symptoms. We don’t have the scientific knowledge yet that will allow us to pinpoint actual causes. Without knowing that, we can’t fix the impairment — possibly damaged brain cells. We can only try to find ways to alleviate the symptoms.

In his wide ranging talk, he also discussed suicide, stating that in the U.S., suicide claims twice as many lives as homicides and more than all traffic accidents in a year. He added that most suicides in the military happen before someone is deployed to war, not after. And that suicides cause more deaths than the current deaths caused by combat.

That’s sobering stuff.

Tomorrow (Thursday), I will appear with NAMI Executive Director Michael Fitzpatrick at the convention’s official opening session. I will interview him on stage about NAMI and the issues that it is facing in the coming months with massive federal budget cuts. We’ll also discuss the ongoing problem of the criminalization of persons with mental disorders as well as stigma.

Television newsman Bill Curtis will speak too. More than 2,000 NAMI members are attending the convention and it has been great for me to see so many familiar faces and friends.

Insel ended his talk by optimistically predicting that in the next twenty years, we should make significant progress in identifying what actually causes mental disorders and finding ways to better treat — if not eventually — cure them.

Those are hopeful words. I pray he’s right.