I think i may be on to a solution for treating illnesses of all kinds, i was thinking about how all of our individual perceptions of reality are simply what we believe to exist. of course with a mix of what everyone else believes makes our common realities. That thought got me wondering as well are mental illnesses simply beliefs of perception that don't compute with the "norms" most others decided on? I personally don't think there is a particular "normal" beyond what we agree, and our opinions change as to what normal is as things change so there really is no normal. could a mentally ill person simply have a different set of beliefs that allow them to perceive differently? sometimes for the good, sometimes not. for e.g.. my roommate is schizophrenic, he has a hard time with it. he also has this major belief he's not good enough, it's this self defeating belief he takes with him, no one likes him, he didn't do good enough, his son doesn't like him, etc. (non of it is true to anyone other than him, and he knows this, but i don't think he believes it yet) and when he is not on meds he hears voices out of other sounds such as traffic on the highway, as cars go by they say mean scary and hurtful things, or misleading things, such as his hand is idle and needs to be cut off. i think it all stems from his self-defeating belief of him self, if he had some self-esteem then he'd be as "normal" as those that don't think that way. medication only blocks him from realizing this, overcoming the condition, it quiets the condition but doesn't deal with as it is only a way to avoid the situation of his self defeating beliefs so he will always be that way untill he stops his med, has a safe environmet to overcome his fear of himself and "magicly" he's normal again. probably how the shamans dealt with stuff, i swear alot of their abitities to see stuff stems from herbs that influence those perseptions and since the herbs become illegal, we in modern times think it was magic. anyways, just a though, but i think an important one, if people recognize their beliefs, analize the integrity of their beliefs, organize their beliefs into meaningful perseptions, and just generally account for themselves with esteam and respect for those sharing common realities, then wonderful things can happen, independant people networking, conecting and redirecting energies into meaningful patterns that create purpose in life. It's a dream, but the only reason it wont happen is because some people don't believe it can happen, or just haven't been shown that it can.

"Today a man on acid realized that all matter is purely condensed into a slow vibration. That we are all one conciseness, there is no death, life is only a dream, and that we are the imagination of ourselves. Here's tom with the weather." - Bill Hicks

“Any destruction he [Hitler] ordered, he rationalized as being only for the sake
of the survival, growth, splendour of the German nation: it was in defence
against enemies who wanted to destroy Germany. In other words, when Hitler gave
his orders for destruction he was only aware of his “duty” and of his noble
intentions; these required destructive acts, but he repressed the awareness of
his craving for destruction. Thus he avoided confronting himself with his true
motivations.” – Erich Fromm