All so wise and true, thank you!! The psychiatric industrial complex, with its ferocious profit motive, is absolutely corroding our society. We must remember we are all descended from survivors and resist this monster with all our might. Brilliant post.
I have noticed a significant difference between expressing grief and pain to a female doctor vs. a male doctor. The men immediately try to shut the expression down and minimize the suffering. The women empathize and listen. Maybe the men should just stick with surgery. Family members over the years, and medical professionals have pushed me toward psychotropic drugs, but no one addressed the occasional beatings and the extreme control, insults and bullying I was exposed to daily. My mother warned me NOT to tell the psychiatrist what was going on at home. As a teen I sought relief in alcohol until it stopped working, eventually I discovered yoga which allowed enough moments of calm required to work on changing negative beliefs. There are lots of layers to the suffer onion, once I become aware of the concept of self-abandonment for example, I begin to see the depth of it and am shocked at how I had been so unaware of what to others is so obvious. Not to blame but to continue to learn about coping mechanisms and healing holistically. Actually, I don't think healing can occur using a reductionistic approach which is the conventional model.
I am glad that the stigma of "seeing a therapist" seems to be waning. However, the attention to mental health in schools, coupled with 24/7 access to mobile phones and social media, has helped to create a situation where young people especially seem unable to tolerate any level of emotional distress. As a therapist who has worked with teens for 38 years, I have witnessed the precipitous decline in their ability to "sit" with uncomfortable feelings for any length of time. Building the muscles of emotional resilience is not a distress-free process.
All so wise and true, thank you!! The psychiatric industrial complex, with its ferocious profit motive, is absolutely corroding our society. We must remember we are all descended from survivors and resist this monster with all our might. Brilliant post.
What about adopted kids who have a diagnosis of Reactive Attachment Disorder. We live in IL and haven't had luck finding something to help him.
I have noticed a significant difference between expressing grief and pain to a female doctor vs. a male doctor. The men immediately try to shut the expression down and minimize the suffering. The women empathize and listen. Maybe the men should just stick with surgery. Family members over the years, and medical professionals have pushed me toward psychotropic drugs, but no one addressed the occasional beatings and the extreme control, insults and bullying I was exposed to daily. My mother warned me NOT to tell the psychiatrist what was going on at home. As a teen I sought relief in alcohol until it stopped working, eventually I discovered yoga which allowed enough moments of calm required to work on changing negative beliefs. There are lots of layers to the suffer onion, once I become aware of the concept of self-abandonment for example, I begin to see the depth of it and am shocked at how I had been so unaware of what to others is so obvious. Not to blame but to continue to learn about coping mechanisms and healing holistically. Actually, I don't think healing can occur using a reductionistic approach which is the conventional model.
I am glad that the stigma of "seeing a therapist" seems to be waning. However, the attention to mental health in schools, coupled with 24/7 access to mobile phones and social media, has helped to create a situation where young people especially seem unable to tolerate any level of emotional distress. As a therapist who has worked with teens for 38 years, I have witnessed the precipitous decline in their ability to "sit" with uncomfortable feelings for any length of time. Building the muscles of emotional resilience is not a distress-free process.