Thanks Roger - These are very good points made well. I dont know if you are in the US or UK or somewhere else. In my own psychology service in the NHS i think we are pretty consistent with this message. In mentalization based treatment, for example, the introductory course lays out basically these principles - that emotions are functional and there to be taken seriously and managed - not taken away. Unfortunately home environments during childhood can also deliver a counter message that emotions are not to be trusted and have no benefit. So i dont think its only industry interests.
I think this is excellent. I would like to add that every aspect of human nature is being pathologised and (which is the same thing) monetised. It is also true that people who do need help have been abandoned since the 1980s due to the closure of facilities. In the UK (where I am originally from) the concept of 'care in the community' devolved into abandonment. Something similar happened in the US during that Thatcher/Reagan era and the evidence for that is the number of people who are fending for themselves on the street. This is not a contradiction because now we have unlimited interventions for those who can afford it whilst those who can't are deemed to have, or be part of an incurable problem.
Absolutely Michael. This aligns to metabolic health with food production being in a nice dance with pharmaceutical companies. It plays out in the treatment of certain diseases with little attention being turned to first principles of cause and evolutionary biology - vs find a drug that treats them which often interfere's with natural order. A mix of intentions - some of these are good intentions, and some of these are driven by a different intent.
You deplete them, we will 'fix' them and let the good times roll.
Amen. And thank you for including that while the current paradigm is so insidiously damaging, the upside, once we TRULY get clear, the effects are incredibly liberating and transformative. When we therapists ourselves tap into positive neuroplasticity, cultivating the inherent power we all possess to compassionately calm our nervous systems, now we’ve got something powerful to share because we have experienced the learning of it ourselves. The commitment I’ve made to daily mindfulness practice has made me a far better therapist than I ever could have hoped to be in the days when I relied on CBT alone. For far too long , even though well intentioned, therapists have been ignorant that so many of our “efforts” were actually reinforcing the clients’ vulnerability because our own inner powers of self awareness were dormant or stilted. I now believe that cognitive “expertise” without a mind-body practice will often exacerbate anxiety and a host of harmful habits.
I had to resist for own teen/adults sons the therapy/pharmacy mill that they were being invited to - I'm so glad I did- I have close friends with children who weren't so lucky - got stuck in the anesthetized/therapised system and were never the same
Thanks for the article, it raises some very valid points, in my view related to the system of capitalism which tends to place higher value on capital and profit over people.
I'd personally suggest to be thoughtful about writing in extremes because you can easily miss important nuance, some of the comments have already alluded to this. For example stating that depression is persistent sadness is just incorrect and actually may do a disservice to those who feel trapped in depression; while I agree that their experience is a healthy amd adaptive human response to their environment, and that this should not be pathologized, most people with persistent depression WILL want help to come through the other side of their developmental process, a process which is usually stalled by their lack of power (social, financial, familial).
And yes there is a problem with much of the help that they may receive for some of the reasons you outlined, but as another comment alluded to, there is hope, eg there are many, many therapists and counsellors out there that will not pathologize, that will help the person trapped in their depression to find their power, to see that their reactions to their life are adaptive (not maladaptive), to basically give them a loving leg-up so that they can develop as a person in a way that is meaningful for them.
So, please don't suggest that therapists and healthcare workers are also trapped in this 'system'. Indeed much of therapy is counter-cultural and helps clients, one person at a time to 'awaken' to the often stark realities of the world and it's abusive and relentless power dynamics, driven in my view by the accelerating power of capital wealth.
I’d love it if you’d write an article about this entity you allude to who we are supposed to resist.
I agree with everything you say about emotions. I have had the exact same thoughts. It’s heartbreaking to see humans suffer needlessly by psychiatric treatments & psychotherapy modalities. The system is the enemy. Not the people who work & are trapped within it.
But are you implying that someone other than us humans built this cage, the mh system, to control humans? Who is there, other than humans & why trap your fellow humans?
Is it just that it’s human nature to trap ourselves? I just don’t quite understand who to resist without resisting myself & that seems counter to everything you just wrote about.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Wholeheartedly agree with your point. Do have to say I do absolutely dislike those people who say we have to do things for others. Emphasis on have or should. >< Emotions are emotions though I haven't learnt to accept them but I do see the point of your article! As Gabor Mate said, a lot of women who develop cancer are overly kind to others. Thank you for your article.
Thanks Roger - These are very good points made well. I dont know if you are in the US or UK or somewhere else. In my own psychology service in the NHS i think we are pretty consistent with this message. In mentalization based treatment, for example, the introductory course lays out basically these principles - that emotions are functional and there to be taken seriously and managed - not taken away. Unfortunately home environments during childhood can also deliver a counter message that emotions are not to be trusted and have no benefit. So i dont think its only industry interests.
I think this is excellent. I would like to add that every aspect of human nature is being pathologised and (which is the same thing) monetised. It is also true that people who do need help have been abandoned since the 1980s due to the closure of facilities. In the UK (where I am originally from) the concept of 'care in the community' devolved into abandonment. Something similar happened in the US during that Thatcher/Reagan era and the evidence for that is the number of people who are fending for themselves on the street. This is not a contradiction because now we have unlimited interventions for those who can afford it whilst those who can't are deemed to have, or be part of an incurable problem.
Absolutely Michael. This aligns to metabolic health with food production being in a nice dance with pharmaceutical companies. It plays out in the treatment of certain diseases with little attention being turned to first principles of cause and evolutionary biology - vs find a drug that treats them which often interfere's with natural order. A mix of intentions - some of these are good intentions, and some of these are driven by a different intent.
You deplete them, we will 'fix' them and let the good times roll.
“This is the profound intelligence of our emotional nature—it makes staying small more uncomfortable than growing large.”
Wow did this hit home!
In fact the whole article did.
“Emotions are energetic.” “We are energetic beings.”
Spiritual warfare.
Just to name a couple of other important points made in the article.
Another home run with this article!
Dr McFillin, have you read this yet? People read this paper. Insanity. Dr John Campbell talks about this on YouTube this week. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09246479241292008
Amen. And thank you for including that while the current paradigm is so insidiously damaging, the upside, once we TRULY get clear, the effects are incredibly liberating and transformative. When we therapists ourselves tap into positive neuroplasticity, cultivating the inherent power we all possess to compassionately calm our nervous systems, now we’ve got something powerful to share because we have experienced the learning of it ourselves. The commitment I’ve made to daily mindfulness practice has made me a far better therapist than I ever could have hoped to be in the days when I relied on CBT alone. For far too long , even though well intentioned, therapists have been ignorant that so many of our “efforts” were actually reinforcing the clients’ vulnerability because our own inner powers of self awareness were dormant or stilted. I now believe that cognitive “expertise” without a mind-body practice will often exacerbate anxiety and a host of harmful habits.
Brilliant -
I had to resist for own teen/adults sons the therapy/pharmacy mill that they were being invited to - I'm so glad I did- I have close friends with children who weren't so lucky - got stuck in the anesthetized/therapised system and were never the same
Thanks for the article, it raises some very valid points, in my view related to the system of capitalism which tends to place higher value on capital and profit over people.
I'd personally suggest to be thoughtful about writing in extremes because you can easily miss important nuance, some of the comments have already alluded to this. For example stating that depression is persistent sadness is just incorrect and actually may do a disservice to those who feel trapped in depression; while I agree that their experience is a healthy amd adaptive human response to their environment, and that this should not be pathologized, most people with persistent depression WILL want help to come through the other side of their developmental process, a process which is usually stalled by their lack of power (social, financial, familial).
And yes there is a problem with much of the help that they may receive for some of the reasons you outlined, but as another comment alluded to, there is hope, eg there are many, many therapists and counsellors out there that will not pathologize, that will help the person trapped in their depression to find their power, to see that their reactions to their life are adaptive (not maladaptive), to basically give them a loving leg-up so that they can develop as a person in a way that is meaningful for them.
So, please don't suggest that therapists and healthcare workers are also trapped in this 'system'. Indeed much of therapy is counter-cultural and helps clients, one person at a time to 'awaken' to the often stark realities of the world and it's abusive and relentless power dynamics, driven in my view by the accelerating power of capital wealth.
I’d love it if you’d write an article about this entity you allude to who we are supposed to resist.
I agree with everything you say about emotions. I have had the exact same thoughts. It’s heartbreaking to see humans suffer needlessly by psychiatric treatments & psychotherapy modalities. The system is the enemy. Not the people who work & are trapped within it.
But are you implying that someone other than us humans built this cage, the mh system, to control humans? Who is there, other than humans & why trap your fellow humans?
Is it just that it’s human nature to trap ourselves? I just don’t quite understand who to resist without resisting myself & that seems counter to everything you just wrote about.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Wholeheartedly agree with your point. Do have to say I do absolutely dislike those people who say we have to do things for others. Emphasis on have or should. >< Emotions are emotions though I haven't learnt to accept them but I do see the point of your article! As Gabor Mate said, a lot of women who develop cancer are overly kind to others. Thank you for your article.