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Showing posts with label Mental health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mental health. Show all posts

Boston Globe ✏ Eliminating everyday annoyances may be creating the most risk-averse generation in history by Kat Rosenfield. Considered a worthwhile read by Christopher Owens. 

Twenty years after the D.A.R.E. program failed to scare straight the middle schoolers of the 1990s, it seems that Gen Z has accomplished of its own accord what decades of earnest government messaging could not. A 25-year study has found that risky behaviors, including underage drinking, smoking, and drug use, have sharply declined among teenagers today.

Some have positioned this as an encouraging development, another sign of the emergence of a new, improved “generation sensible” to correct for the destructive excesses of the twerking, White Claw-swilling millennials who came before them. But scratch the surface of this new Zoomer temperance movement, and one notices that it’s not just substances from which they’re abstaining. Today’s teens are less sexually active than any generation before them. They also drive less — just 25 percent of 16-year-olds in 2020 had a license, as compared with 50 percent in 1983 — and work less, with the share of teens participating in the labor force having declined 17 percentage points since 2000.

In short, teens are doing way less of what used to be the activities that bridged the gap between them and adulthood and autonomy.

Continue reading @ Boston Globe.

The Illusion Of A Frictionless Existence

Valerie Tarico ✒ Popular forms of social justice activism are creeping into psychology training programs and therapist offices. 

15-December-2021

Even if woke theory is your preferred path to social justice (there are others), this creates a “buyer-beware” situation.


(adapted for CTA from An Excess of Woke Thinking May Harm
 Mental Health or Relationships at Valerietarico.com)

Unlike friendships, intimate partnerships, parenting or collegial teamwork, psychotherapy is a relationship that is all about one person—you, the client. The job of a therapist is to clarify your individual goals and then mirror back your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in ways that help you to change the ones that are getting in the way. To do this, the therapist has to set aside (as much as possible) their own developmental priorities and ideologies—their religion, their culture, their politics, and their own hang-ups or life goals.

The American Counseling Association Code of Ethics puts it this way: 

Counselors [strive to be] aware of—and avoid imposing—their own values, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Counselors respect the diversity of clients, trainees, and research participants and seek training in areas in which they are at risk of imposing their values onto clients, especially when the counselor’s values are inconsistent with the client’s goals or are discriminatory in nature.

But this is very different from how political activism works, in particular contemporary woke or critical social justice activism. Woke theories and cultural norms encourage adherents to be in social/political activist mode all the time, even in their work as therapists. To be sure, some people may seek therapy specifically to process experiences of, say racism or sexual violation, and may want a therapist who helps them to frame these experiences through a historical-political lens. In this case, the client enters therapy with this as part of their goals. But others tell of poor care from therapists who imposed their own agenda—promoting a version of feminism, anti-racism, or “sloppy” gender care that made the client’s marriage or mental health worse. In each case, trust was broken.

There is another way that a woke approach in the therapy office can undermine growth and healing. We know from decades of research that certain kinds of emotional regulation and habits of thought promote individual mental health and positive relationships. But some of the psychological and social dynamics in woke social justice activism encourage the very habits that psychotherapy seeks to undo. Here are some examples. In each of the pairs of statements below, the first represents a woke social justice activism approach. The second represents an approach from evidence-based therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy or dialectical behavior therapy.

On Emotions and Reason 

➤Woke, Social Justice Approach: Feelings are reality. If a member of a traditionally oppressed tribe (someone female, queer, disabled, or black, for example) feels violated, they have been violated; if they feel unsafe, they must be protected; if a member of a traditionally powerful tribe feels guilty, they should own it. We shouldn’t question another person’s feelings if they are from a traditionally oppressed tribe.
Evidence Based Therapy Approach: I am not my feelings. My feelings are one indicator of what is real and important, and they are worthy of attention. But they can be wrong or simply out of proportion.

➤WSJ: If we are not white, straight, able-bodied and male, being asked to examine our assumptions is invalidation. People who genuinely respect us will accept what we say about ourselves or our tribe as truth. It’s insulting to have people doubt or question our memories or interpretation of events.
EBT: People who respect me will listen to my experiences and self-perceptions but also will challenge me. They will validate my feelings but won’t always assume those feelings and the story I am telling myself are the final word on reality. Being asked to examine my assumptions is a sign of respect for my strength, integrity and capacity for self-reflection.

➤WSJ: For those who have been wounded or who feel wounded, people and situations that trigger strong negative emotions are harmful. Classes, books, public art and such should provide trigger warnings. Schools should cancel speakers who make students feel triggered.
EBT: My sense of threat—even getting emotionally flooded—may or may not signal real danger because trauma causes people to overgeneralize and get triggered by superficial similarities. Staying away from triggers lets the past define me and may make me less resilient. One way to know I am getting healthy is that external people and situations lose their power to trigger me.

On Identity

➤WSJ: We are born into intersecting tribes of oppressors or oppressed, and these inherited memberships define us. We cannot get away from them regardless of how or where we live or which parts of ourselves we embrace.
EBT: I have the power and right to choose my tribes, my family, loves and loyalties—or to reject tribal ties in pursuit of something that better fits my nature. My own preferences and actions define me.

➤WSJ: When bad things have happened to our tribe; that is the key to who all tribe members are—victims.
EBT: Bad things have happened to my parents and grandparents and me; but they don’t have to define me. I do best when I center on my strengths, successes and the ways that I can chart my own future.

➤WSJ: People who have victim identity shouldn’t be seen as victimizers even when they harm others. Lashing out at members of oppressor tribes is justified, righteous punching-up. Collective guilt means this is true even if the oppressor is individually less powerful than the oppressed.
EBT: People who harm others very often have experienced similar harms themselves. Often a goal of therapy is to break the cycle. Being a victim doesn’t prevent me from victimizing others.

➤WSJ: If our ancestors and other members of our inherited tribe did horrible things, we are guilty of the harm they caused and undue advantage accrued whether or not we personally participated or benefited. This guilt never goes away.
EBT: I am not responsible or guilty for my parent or ancestor—no matter how awful he or she may have been. Since power and responsibility are two sides of the same coin, if I didn’t have the power to change what happened, I’m not guilty for it. I am responsible to examine where I might continue to play out hand-me-down patterns that harm me or others, and I am responsible to use my own power to correct old wrongs and break these dynamics where I can.

On Agency and Causal Attributions 

➤WSJ: When members of traditionally oppressed tribes feel stuck, thwarted, violated, or pain, assume that somebody outside the tribe is to blame.
EBT: Causes are complicated. When I experience frustration, injury or pain, there may or may not be someone to blame. Getting rid of self-blame doesn’t mean there has to be a guilty party. Sometimes seeking to pinpoint blame just severs relationships or distracts from solving problems.

➤WSJ: Since other people caused our injuries, our afflictions will be healed only when other people change. Our role is to call them out, stop them, and demand redress or punishment.
EBT: Even when a person or system has harmed me and needs to be stopped or served justice, they won’t be the ones who make me healthy and whole again. Even when I have truly been violated, I can nurture myself. I have power to heal no matter what other people may do. My challenge is figuring out what parts of flourishing are in my power and how to move forward.

➤WSJ: If someone hurt or insulted us, they were aggressive or micro-aggressive and we are free to aggress back. Intentions are beside the point.
EBT: Whether someone hurt me deliberately, through a pattern of carelessness, or by accident matters. These differences can guide how I respond and process the experience. Understanding motives is crucial to moving me, them, or us forward.

➤WSJ: All interactions are competitions for power. Our injuries and anger and the collective guilt of other people are at the center of our power in relation to tribes that have hurt us.
EBT: I am much more than my scars and wounds. I can recognize the weight and severity of past injuries—even serious traumas—and still center my power in my strengths and accomplishments.

On Conflict and Disagreement

➤WSJ: Disagreement about social issues mean that someone is either ignorant or bad (i.e. sexist, homophobic, transphobic, or racist), and our only options are to educate, fight or shun them. Shouting down or publicly shaming people who refuse to see how wrong they are is virtuous.
EBT: People are complicated, misunderstanding is easy, and reality is rarely a forced choice between two all-or-nothing options. Instead of mindreading (assuming I know what another person thinks), I should ask enough questions to test my initial assumptions. Decent people won’t always agree with me. It’s OK to lean into the areas where our values and goals do align.

➤WSJ: Compromise is weakness or moral failure. “Agreeing to disagree is for things like what kind of pizza tastes best.”–Facebook
EBT: “Remember, you can only be influential if you accept influence. Compromise never feels perfect. Everyone gains something and everyone loses something.” —John Gottman, father of evidence-based marital therapy

➤WSJ: We should surround ourselves with like-minded people. “Viewpoint diversity” is just a right-wing excuse letting people with dangerous ideas get airtime.
EBT: Each of us carries only partial truths; other people represent different parts of reality. I can learn something from almost anyone. Listening carefully in the presence of disagreement is key to deepening my knowledge—and key to effecting change in my friendships and partnerships.

On Relating to Other People and Outside Tribes

➤WSJ: We can assume the worst interpretation in what people from certain groups say if it relates to race, gender, etc.
EBT: I should give people the benefit of the doubt, start with an assumption of good intentions, and not engage in mindreading.

➤WSJ: The ugliest things people say or do represent how they REALLY feel.
EBT: People are complicated and multidimensional. People say and do things all the time that are contradictory and what someone says or does in a worst moment may not represent how they think, feel and operate most of the time.

➤WSJ: The people and tribes around me are either good or bad, allies or enemies, for or against me. If they are on my side, they will support me no matter what.
EBT: Nobody can be counted on never to hurt or harm me, but many people can be counted on most of the time. It’s healthy to start with an assumption that I am wanted and cared for.

➤WSJ: If people want to understand me and my tribe, they need to figure things out for themselves. I shouldn’t have to tell them. That is doing their emotional labor.
EBT: If I want other people to understand my experiences, feelings and preferences, I need to take the risk of putting these into words.

Social activism and psychotherapy are two very different endeavors.

Liberal and progressive approaches to social activism differ in important ways, as I have discussed elsewhere, and not all promote the thought patterns described above. Woke theory creates more challenges than most when it seeps into the therapy office because the worldview it prescribes is all-encompassing and evangelistic, akin to some religions. This worldview encourages harm inflation and promotes habits of mind that can run counter to psychological and relationship health.

To learn more about these patterns, check out the now-iconic list developed by the father of cognitive psychotherapy—Aaron Beck’s list of Cognitive Distortions. Beck’s list includes all-or-nothing thinking, discounting the positive, emotional reasoning, labeling, overgeneralization, and more. Decades of research confirm the mental health benefits of challenging these patterns. If a therapist can’t help you to do that, or—worse—if their own beliefs and passions lead them to actually implant or reinforce cognitive distortions or solidify a victim identity, your therapy may do more harm than good.

As a therapy client, you put yourself in a vulnerable position. Healing requires trust that the therapist is knowledgeable and prudent, and that during your sessions they have only your objectives at heart. You trust that your objectives will guide their questions, observations and suggestions. That is what makes therapy a safe place to open up about feelings and experiences that you keep under wraps elsewhere. Before entering a therapeutic contract, it’s worth exploring whether your therapist can carve out this kind of space for your work together. And if they can’t, it may be worth looking elsewhere.

Valerie Tarico
Valerie Tarico is a psychologist and writer in Seattle, Washington. 
She writes about religion, reproductive health, and the role of women in society.

Why Your Woke Therapist May Be Doing You More Harm Than Good

Gowain Reid Patrick McKenna writes On the mental health and suicide epidemic in Ireland: the war continues but the map is no longer the territory.
 
To set the scene for this article let me first provide an introduction to myself. My name is Gowain Reid Patrick McKenna and I am an academic, writer, community activist and republican socialist. But this article is not about me, this is about the failure of the state, and the onus republicans and loyalists have to address what is a mental health and suicide epidemic in uncertain times. We have a collective responsibility to rise up and let it be heard that this is unacceptable. So let me set the scene. 

Since the inception of the Good Friday Agreement, 22 years ago, more people have died from suicide than all the fatalities spanning the 29 years of what was known as ‘The Troubles’ in the North of Ireland. The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) produces statistical data on suicide deaths. Indeed in the 18 years spanning 2000 and 2018 a total number of 4,783 deaths were registered as suicide in the North of Ireland. In contrast, the total number of deaths registered as a direct result of the conflict spanning 29 years is recorded at 3532, although some sources vary on this it is within the region of 3500. This is telling in so far that during a time when bombs and shootings were commonplace, and over a longer period, there were less deaths than in a time of so called peace facilitated by the Good Friday Agreement and Stormont. It is clear that Stormont and its Executive has failed lamentably, and continues to do so, and worse still perhaps unbeknownst to themselves. 

Obviously it would be extremely ‘black and white’ of me to point the finger of blame at the Good Friday Agreement alone. For the cause for this worrying trend is in no way deterministic and is therefore complex in nature. But the current government infrastructure and the subsets thereof (policing, health care, education, social security etc.) have a lot to answer for, especially in terms of financial expenditure and resources. Too much time has and continues to be wasted on ‘the past’ as well as unhelpful rhetoric which reinforces duality (us versus them). 

This has to stop. The exact same social issues and pressures are being faced by people on ‘both sides of the proverbial fence’ - we are not so different yet our educational system makes us believe otherwise. For example: Where is the education in schools on the role Protestants played in the formation of Irish Republicanism in the late 18th Century? Where is the education in schools on the role Catholic’s played in the Monaghan Militia in the torture and murder of United Irishmen? Why isn’t William Orr taught in schools across the country? Such a founding Presbyterian revolutionary would surely eradicate the ‘us and them’ mentality that appears to be on the rise for our young people today. This is just one facet of a myriad of profound problems faced by our society today, and worse still all such things can be addressed if we had unity and direction and a cohesive and well-funded committee dedicated to alleviating these issues, step by step. 

Although the root cause of the suicide and mental health epidemic is highly complex in nature, a war continues, albeit the map is no longer the territory and the battlefield has changed. The majority of suicides are from young men in working class areas. The figures continue to rise year on year both in the North and in the South of Ireland, yet mass media has swept such pressing matters under the proverbial rug and dares not bring attention to what is a tragedy of epidemic proportions.
 
Over the last week there have been rumours of 30 plus suicides in rural areas in the West of Ireland, also relating to the impact of COVID-19 regulations. The Irish Health Service (HSE) denies this, and perhaps they are right to do so, but there can be no doubt that some residual effects have played a part. I have spoken to a lot of local people on my travels who are convinced that there is an underlying and malicious agenda at play behind inordinate COVID-19 regulations, local rural economies have been devastated and cancer treatment and A&E departments have effectively been shut down. There are no resources for mental health and elderly people are being held prisoner in their own homes by what can best be described as fear mongering on a massive scale. 

The question we must ask ourselves is whether Covid-19 remains a health issue or has it been hijacked for some underlying agenda of control and behavioural modification. Although extremely hard to gauge, what I want to see, and others like me, is the number of deaths caused by the impact of lockdown, the shutting down of the health service along with inadequate furlough and benefit schemes during a time of crisis, manufactured or not.

So how can we as a collective fight this battle? As a republican socialist I believe in a complete revolutionary overthrow of the current system in all it’s forms, the subsets thereof, and in the emancipation of the working class. It is telling the majority of suicides are in rural or working class urban areas where jobs are few and resources scarce. If true republicanism is to flourish, it can no longer put its head in the sand and adopt the ‘hard man’ approach. This is unhelpful. There is nothing ‘hard’ about being unable to express ones feelings and face reality amidst a ‘murder machine’ facilitated by the state, north and south. 

To conclude, we must fight this as if we were fighting a war, collectively alongside the loyalist and unionist community who suffer on an equal basis. It is time for every political group to have dedicated mental health training and mental health officers, for their own members and the community they represent. In addition an understanding of stigmatised disorders that go beyond ‘depression’ such as personality disorders is paramount. The evidence shows that in approximately 60 percent of cases, depression and anxiety are reactive symptoms to underlying personality disorders and trauma, that are not understood and horribly stigmatised. People will forgive you for falling and breaking your leg, but they won’t forgive or see past behaviours they cannot understand. 

I hope this provides food for thought to all readers from all backgrounds and walks of life. To quote Cicero: ‘where there is life there is hope.’ 

Gowain Reid Patrick McKenna is a M.Phil. M.Sc B.Eng (Hons).


A Mental Health And Suicide Epidemic In Uncertain Times

From Healthy Mind ➤ A survival psychologist on the effects of social isolation on mental health. By Erin Bunch.

In most parts of the United States, we’re living under conditions unprecedented in our lifetimes. Never before have millions of Americans been asked to “shelter in place,” and yet many of us have been doing just that for upward of two months now, with varied amounts of additional time stretching out ahead of us—and then, perhaps, a year of sporadic lockdowns to follow. It’s uncharted territory and experts are still debating how the effects of such long-term social isolation might impact our mental health.

While public health experts agree that this scenario is best for our physical health, no one could argue it’s doing any favors for our mental health. You may have seen a meme or two comparing what you’re being asked to do—”stay home and watch Netflix”—compared to, say, being asked to go to war in Vietnam, with the implication being that you should stop whining because you have it relatively good. In some ways, this is absolutely true; however, downplaying the difficulty of the situation we’re in is problematic. The risks we face are very real, and uncertainty remains as to how we can expect them to unfold over time.

Continue reading @ Healthy Mind.

How Weeks Of Social Isolation Is Affecting Your Mental Health

Christopher Owens teases out hypocrisy in the suicide discourse.

When, when we were young
We had no history, so nothing to lose
Meant we could choose, choose what we wanted then
Without any fear or thought of revenge 
➨Swans

It's often claimed that Twitter is not real life.

To a certain extent, that's true. On Twitter (or any social media platform) we present the side of us that we consider our best. A thoughtful, amusing side with the correct views and a killer taste in pop culture.

But the ugly, hate filled, nihilistic side that we find all too often in real life is on Twitter as well.

And all too often, the boundaries between the two sides are blurred.

Because the ugly side, if it has the right viewpoints, can be accepted.

***

On Sunday 16th February, while scrolling through the various posts about Love Island/X Factor presenter Caroline Flack taking her own life, I came across an article, written by Douglas Murray about the renowned Canadian psychologist and best selling author Jordan Peterson. In it, Murray discusses the recent video posted by Peterson's daughter Mikhaila:

She revealed that her father...was in intensive care in Russia after being hospitalised following a severe dependence on benzodiazepines – a class of anti-anxiety pills.
'He nearly died several times,' she says solemnly in the clip that has been viewed more than 2.4 million times. 'He almost died from what the medical system did to him in the West.' Explaining why he was in Russia, not exactly a free society, Mikhaila Peterson says: 'The doctors here aren't influenced by the pharmaceutical companies.
They don't believe in treating symptoms caused by medications, by adding in more medications and have the guts to medically detox someone from benzodiazepines.

Of course, for the Canadian psychologist's family, the notion that he's been left with 'neurological damage', as Mikhaila says, is a tragedy."

Reading that, I couldn't help but reflect on how Peterson could have taken the same approach taken by Flack.

And, honestly, who would blame him?

***

A massively misunderstood, misinterpreted and misquoted figure, he has helped imbue meaning into the lives of people crying out for a sense of direction, be they male, female, liberal, conservative, whatever. He's also been a relentless champion of freedom of speech, coming to prominence for openly stating that he would not be obeying Bill C-16, a Canadian human rights legislation that prohibits discrimination based on gender identity or expression. While the bill covers the government and industries like banks or airlines, it also extends hate speech provisions under the law to transgender people.

"I've studied authoritarianism for a very long time - for 40 years - and they're started by people's attempts to control the ideological and linguistic territory," Peterson told the BBC in 2016. "There's no way I'm going to use words made up by people who are doing that - not a chance."

Whether or not you agree with this stance or any of his viewpoints, the fact that he has helped change so many lives for the better (as well as beginning the public debate about the state of free speech in the 21st century) is something to be celebrated.

In a place like Belfast, where suicides are at an all time high - more people are being diagnosed with some form of mental illness and our recent conflict is used to wield control and stifle discussions (be those of republicans, loyalists or security forces) - we need the likes of Peterson. Someone who understands that history and life are messy, but is prepared to accept these contradictions by contributing something positive to the world, therefore finding meaning in chaos.

***

Those vilifying Peterson while crying crocodile tears over Flack should be ashamed of themselves.

They won't be, however.

Why?

Because Peterson is an old white male. A part of the patriarchy.

Whereas Flack (a young, conventionally attractive woman) was a reflection of what people wanted from celebrity culture at one point before the tide turned. Someone who lived out vicarious fantasies about instant fame, instant status, instant wealth and sleeping with younger hook-ups. Someone who was once celebrated for doing so quickly saw that her lifestyle was no longer en vogue.

Becoming someone for people to hate.

Someone to turn their frustrations onto whenever the contradictions of the world ate away at them.

Of course, there has always been a gladiatorial element to celebrity status (and the advent of reality TV and social media has exacerbated these facets). But there is something undeniably ugly and primeval about how the mob mentality can suddenly sway public opinion. Just ask Bill Clinton, Jeremy Corbyn or Jolene Bunting.

***

This leads me to the following thought. 

People aren't that serious about tackling suicide.

That suicide is, merely, the final act in the wheel of fortune that is public life. An act which allows people (who were, at one point, gleefully getting stuck into said public figure) to show how solemn and reflective they are when such news is delivered.

You want proof of this? Look at how Peterson's situation has been covered on places like Twitter (i.e. with utter glee). Yet there have been numerous testimonies as to how his work has saved the lives of young, directionless men.

Whereas The Sun has, reportedly, been deleting negative articles about Flack from their website. Because such articles helped contribute to the nihilistic mob mentality that, arguably, drove her to take her own life.

Yet similar articles and think pieces about Peterson remain online.

The double standards are sickening.

Just like real life.

⏩ Christopher Owens was a reviewer for Metal Ireland and finds time to study the history and inherent contradictions of Ireland.

Jordan Peterson Vs. Caroline Flack

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