Welcome to the weekend,
Here are five things I thought worth sharing this week:
First up, a longer synopsis than usual, but the topic requires a bit more thought. This podcast episode (that link goes to the transcript) discusses a study and topic that is both controversial and important – and it’s a theory I’ve wondered about myself- “Everyone should be in therapy.” That is, has the campaign over the past fifteen years or so to destigmatize therapy and other mental health interventions not resulted in milder symptoms being reported and interpreted as signs of mental disorders, which then take on a life of their own? Dr. Victor Frankl observed this all the way back in the 1960s during his work with patients who were experiencing conflict and the discomfort that comes with it, but were not suffering from a neurosis or disease. Frankl posited therapy increasingly takes the place of conversations which would usually have been with a clergy member or close, trusted friend, and this has continued into the present. Instead of seeing a decline in disorders (which would indicate clear, precise communication of possible symptoms to look for), we see a continued rise in reported mental health disorders and a subsequent rise in therapeutic interventions which may or may not work.
This is a very specific and important question to ask, because it runs the risk of undermining those individuals who do genuinely need professional interventions for several reasons. First, interventions do not work for all patients in all situations. Second, by essentially diagnosing everyone with some form of mental disorder based purely on discomfort or struggle, we move closer to a blasé attitude toward mental illness, as in, “This person has a mental illness, just like everyone else,” which is obviously not an accurate description of reality, either. Third, if enough therapeutic interventions are routinely deployed for people they were never intended for, and consequently, don’t make a difference in the symptoms, that experience gets told to family, friends, classmates and the idea that interventions do not work at all starts to become commonplace. We run the risk of making mental illness such a common place occurrence people stop getting assistance. An important thing we should all remember about psychology is that it is an individual concern and interventions designed and deployed en masse don’t necessarily help the individuals who actually need them. Finally, I also like that this researcher did what experts are supposed to do; she presented her findings and discussed frankly what they do mean, what they could mean, and what she is not sure about. The full study link is here.
“Successful communities celebrate learning.”
How do those celebrity book clubs actually work? Take a look.
An author makes Flannery O’Connor’s Peppermint Chiffon Pie (which looks delicious!).
An exercise in perspectives: when the Fairchilds created close-up images of insects, magnified hundreds of times using their novel setup, the results were extraordinary, and ‘monstrous’.
Currently reading: The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton
Have a great weekend.
Image: Photo by Joel Severino on Unsplash
