This is long and not that well-written, but here's a few of my thoughts on this topic.
It looks like consciousness operates as a means to direct us to particular kinds or types of information in the environment (both physical and mental) and tell us how to interpret that information. Consciousness is a kind if attentional, perceptual, and interpretive bias. We can, of course, adopt different biases at different times. Some biases are more effective for particular problems or situations, some are not.
I have been conceptualizing of mental disorder as a particular set of attentional, perceptual, and interpretive biases. In other words, I've been thinking about mental disorder as a particular frame of consciousness. The issue with disorder is that certain frames are destructive or ineffective. The other issue with disorder is people are "stuck" in these particular perceptual frames.
One element of consciousness that I haven't described is its ability to shift. Yes, consciousness is a particular perceptual frame, but consciousness also has to capacity to shift frames. Some people are more effective at certain times in shifting their perceptual frame. As it turns out, so-called altered states of consciousness are associated with the ability to shift perceptual frames more readily. One such state is something called a flow-state. Entering into a flow-state, whether via meditation, prayer, or hallucinogens greatly increases one's capacity to shift one's perceptual frame.
If we conceptualize a mental disorder as a particular perceptual frame that someone is stuck in, we find some new, interesting treatments. Namely, the above interventions of meditation, prayer, or even hallucinogens. Maybe unsurprisingly, these interventions in consciousness are turning out to be far more efficacious than any treatment that we currently have today.
The likelihood of a decrease in self-referential processing in meditative/hallucinogenic states is pretty mind-blowing as well. I have to think more about it before I comment further there.
