As I said, there is always a reason for a particular emotion. Depression, for example, means a lot of things to a lot of people; rather than ask people, we do brain scans. Then we medicate feelings with drugs that have side […]
As I said, there is always a reason for a particular emotion. Depression, for example, means a lot of things to a lot of people; rather than ask people, we do brain scans. Then we medicate feelings with drugs that have side effects similar to the symptoms we’re trying to treat. But, as one psychotherapist says, depression is the pysche’s way of saying, “I’m not going any further until you stop this bleeding.” So how do we stop the bleeding? (more…)
Disclaimer: to make it clear from the beginning, I am not a gun nut, I have never fired a gun in my life and don’t ever intend to. I am for sensible gun laws. I am not obsessed with the 2nd Amendment. […]
Disclaimer: to make it clear from the beginning, I am not a gun nut, I have never fired a gun in my life and don’t ever intend to. I am for sensible gun laws. I am not obsessed with the 2nd Amendment. My main concern here is with how we are talking about gun control.
I cannot join the bandwagon clapping their hands at Pres. Obama’s speech regarding the massacre in Oregon on Thursday. And I’m pretty disappointed that The New Yorker called it powerful – no wonder we’re “numb” if that’s what we think “powerful” is – but I guess you can’t really expect much different from mainstream media anymore. Mostly what struck me about the president’s speech is how hard it was for me to distinguish his talk about those with mental illness from Donald Trump when he talks about Latinos, Syrian refugees, women, the poor, etc.: Pres. Obama continues to demonize and stigmatized those suffering with mental illness even though there is a TON of research that deeply problematizes the categorical link the president reinforced between mental illness itself and violence like this. There are, however, plenty of studies (that are, of course, being suppressed) that conclusively show a statistically significant link between psychiatric MEDICATIONS and acts of violence. This is not the only factor here, but I’m from Columbine town: after that iconic massacre, drug companies were required to put black-box labels on their drugs. That’s it. Yet we bicker and fight about gun control as if it’s this solve-all god. I’m sorry, but if your medication causes the same side effects as the “illness” you’re trying to treat (homicidal and suicidal thoughts being the relevant ones here), you are doing it wrong and we’re the ones left holding the (body) bag(s). (more…)
“My feelings, they don’t matter.” “Worship anyway.” “Feelings lie.” If those are various answers, the question might be something like “How are Christians encouraging one another when one is going through a hard time?” or “Name some song lyrics from contemporary worship […]
Alberta, Canada – before and after a tar sands project
“My feelings, they don’t matter.” “Worship anyway.” “Feelings lie.” If those are various answers, the question might be something like “How are Christians encouraging one another when one is going through a hard time?” or “Name some song lyrics from contemporary worship songs.” Emotions in the church are increasingly scary, powerful and not to be trusted and most expressions of such are met with “encouragements” to recite “the truth” “despite” emotions, which apparently can’t ever contain truth, until you’re able to “calm down” about something legitimately upsetting. Or, best-case scenario, people will offer to pray for you, which has felt more and more like distancing, passing the buck to someone else (just like directing someone to their counselor). Whatever the case, demonizing feelings is considered legitimate, even Christ-like; we are, as a result, unable to care for each other effectively when complicated emotions come up that cannot (and should not) be ignored. (more…)
“If you don’t know at least three people in crisis right now, you need to have more coffee dates.” This was a line from the best sermon I’ve heard all year, preached at a lovely Presbyterian church in Yakima this past weekend. […]
“If you don’t know at least three people in crisis right now, you need to have more coffee dates.” This was a line from the best sermon I’ve heard all year, preached at a lovely Presbyterian church in Yakima this past weekend. It turns out, I may need to have more coffee dates. But even more importantly, I need to know how to respond to those in crisis. We collectively need to know, and, at least for one crisis in particular, we seem to be especially non-informed. (more…)
“No one asks you why you cry but if you kill yourself, they all ask why.” A few weeks ago, during the Friday afternoon soiree we had at my office for a co-worker’s last day, this was how she explained her capstone […]
“No one asks you why you cry but if you kill yourself, they all ask why.” A few weeks ago, during the Friday afternoon soiree we had at my office for a co-worker’s last day, this was how she explained her capstone research project that she was expecting to spend this coming school year finishing. That line was how she introduced her plan of interviewing people who live outside around Seattle investigating the question “Can love really change the world?” That line is the first thing one of her first subjects said to her (she’s already started some interviewing) and it arrested her. Honestly, it should. That line.
Two weeks ago now (sorry about that), I mentioned that a friend who read my op-ed in Real Change’s May 27th issue had asked some good follow-up questions, specifically what my suggestions for better legislation/solutions were and if there are other states or countries that are […]
Two weeks ago now (sorry about that), I mentioned that a friend who read my op-ed in Real Change’s May 27th issue had asked some good follow-up questions, specifically what my suggestions for better legislation/solutions were and if there are other states or countries that are doing a better job. I’ll start with the big picture: we lose about one million people worldwide to suicide a year; 450 million are dealing with experiences commonly understood as mental illness; ‘neuropsychiatric disorders’ accounted for the largest percentage of “disability adjusted life years” – above AIDS and injuries – in 2001, the last time they did such a study, and that number has only grown since; and one in four families contain a member dealing with a ‘mental illness.’ (more…)
It’s turned out that, for most of my life, I’ve written a poem a day. It’s not to brag, but to say that that particular aspect was not the challenging part of the 30/30 Project. It was challenging – as evidenced by […]
It’s turned out that, for most of my life, I’ve written a poem a day. It’s not to brag, but to say that that particular aspect was not the challenging part of the 30/30 Project. It was challenging – as evidenced by my last blog post being over a month ago, introducing the project – and here’s why. Getting drafts of poems you don’t have time to revise posted for God knows who to see (apparently, we had readers from all over the world last month) stimulates your am-I-really-good-at-this-only-thing-I-care-THIS-much-about gland like nothing else I can think of. And by “good,” yes, I mean, publishable. I’ve not had a terrible lot of luck (the internalized voice of my best friend obliges me to say “yet”), at least not with monographs, and it’s making it excruciating (the roots of which means “of the cross”) to walk into book stores. (more…)
I’ve not received such a specific blog topic request before: I’ve been invited to discuss this important, research-based infographic put out by the Northwestern online counseling center: Mental Health of Affluent Teens: The Challenge of Prosperity. I don’t have a lot of […]
I’ve not received such a specific blog topic request before: I’ve been invited to discuss this important, research-based infographic put out by the Northwestern online counseling center: Mental Health of Affluent Teens: The Challenge of Prosperity. I don’t have a lot of teens in my life at the moment but the information in this chart follows the contours of my own affluent past pretty well. (more…)
We’ve all heard it – social media is making far less social and far more isolated than ever before. Loneliness, which is deadly, is skyrocketing, effecting more and more people, and, amazingly, when I posted about this problem on Facebook and how […]
We’ve all heard it – social media is making far less social and far more isolated than ever before. Loneliness, which is deadly, is skyrocketing, effecting more and more people, and, amazingly, when I posted about this problem on Facebook and how much I related to the feelings of loneliness, someone actually commented, “I’m happy I’m not lonely.” Ouch. (more…)
It’s been several months since one of these blog topic requests came in. I got it on Good Friday (4/3) and am excited and trepidatious to attempt an answer: “Do you think there are ways the mental health system can be actually […]
It’s been several months since one of these blog topic requests came in. I got it on Good Friday (4/3) and am excited and trepidatious to attempt an answer: “Do you think there are ways the mental health system can be actually improved, not just botched with a feel-better patch, and how?” I am so grateful for this question. Let’s begin.
As I said, there is always a reason for a particular emotion. Depression, for example, means a lot of things to a lot of people; rather than ask people, we do brain scans. Then we medicate feelings with drugs that have side effects similar to the symptoms we’re trying to treat. But, as one psychotherapist says, depression is the pysche’s way of saying, “I’m not going any further until you stop this bleeding.” So how do we stop the bleeding? (more…)
