Privilege is not a delusion concocted by the left wing. I am guessing you are straight, white and male. You grew up and went to school in the suburbs and still live there now. As a result you are completely blind to how the rest of the country lives. Privilege is rarely noticed by those who are steeped in it. Only its absence is felt. In spite of what your limited experience has taught you, America is not this magical perfect meritocracy where working hard equals success. The question of whether you truly deserve all the good things you’ve enjoy in life hurts like hell. It also stings a bit to imagine that that some people might have actually worked harder than you but couldn’t get ahead in life because of their skin color, gender or sexual orientation. That existential pain, that cognitive dissonance, is the real reason you are so quick to rail against the so-called myth of privilege and socialism. This is the same line of thinking used by Big Pharm and Big Pysch- Everyone could just choose to be happy, healthy and rich. Bad things only happen to bad people. Good things only happen to good people. And anyone who disagrees is just a whiner who likes being a victim. Same mentality. Same b.s.
Also would like a moratorium on this idea that if you aren’t the second coming of Shakespeare you should just put down the pen or walk away from the laptop. Everything does not have to rise to the level of high literature. Maybe I would enjoy reading this woman’s memoir. It’s not up to you or her psych doc to say it’s all a delusion of grandeur. I feel like you and your snob friends are the reason why I am constantly walking out of Barnes and Noble empty handed.
Maybe in your circle of friends someone can just claim they are rude or violent because of an illness. Society at large does not allow you any kind of free pass for being diagnoses as mentally ill. Instead it is quite the opposite. One example is a rape victim being labeled bipolar. Now her accusations are just delusions. The only person getting a free pass is the rapist.
@Rasselas- You have clearly bought into the belief system that says everything in life is made up by our choices. i.e. This woman chose not to write. If she had this amazing book inside her, she would not have let one mean comment stop her. This is total bull and this idea seems to exist just to exculpate people from the consequences of bullying. The important part of the cursed writer example is that anyone labeled mentally ill is no longer allowed to have any ambitions at all. All your future plans are just delusions of grandeur. You are not allowed to have a decent job, get married, have kids or even pets, travel or retire because you are broken and diseased. All you can do is work a crap job for crap pay, live and die alone, again because you are broken and diseased. And while people can decide not to listen to these insults, it’s hard when the bullying comes in the form of a doctor’s diagnosis. And every doctor is trained to say the exact same thing. And we have celebrities constantly adding their assurances that depression is caused by brain chemical imbalances and can easily be treated by talk therapy (professional bullies) magic anti-crazy pills.
I do not believe in the good intentions of these smug psych doctors who profit from the suffering of others. If you seek help and admit you feel worthless, the last thing in the world you need to hear is confirmation, you have a broken brain, you will never hold a job, go to college, or make any worthwhile contribution to society. Intimidation, humiliation, patronizing language, incarcerations, forced medications all seems geared to one goal: get rid of all the people they truly believe are not worth a damn. They lock us up, drug us and secretly hope that we kill ourselves so that we aren’t a burden to society any longer.
I believe the stories in the article all take place in the UK. In the states you can almost always refuse treatment. Forced treatment is considered a battery. There are only a few medical conditions that can result in losing your driver’s license. I have a friend who is on disability and is a true paranoid schizophrenic (no abuse, just voices telling him everyone is spying on him) and he still drives a car. He would probably have to be in several accidents related to his illness before it would even be considered an option.
There is always trauma. I was incarcerated twice. The only lesson I learned is never ever under any circumstance tell anyone you feel depressed. I was not even suicidal the second time. I was upset after being fired from my job. Only after being taken against my will did I even consider maybe it was time for me to give up on life since clearly I am just a burden to everyone around me. Every single person that was stuck in the waiting room was trying to talk their way out of the hospital. Not because they wanted to go hurt themselves, but because it was a situation worse than prison. Let me repeat again- worse than prison. And do you know why I would have rather been in country? At least there I don’t have to pay $1,900 for my stay. I wish there were statistics on how many suicides were caused by “good Samaritans”. You have probably killed more people than you saved.
I thought I had a good therapist when I met “Becky”. Unlike all my previous therapists, Becky didn’t insist all my problems were self-generated. At first anyways. She agreed that my family was abusive and should be avoided at all costs. In prior dealings with therapists, since I was a teenager, I would hear the same thing: You think it’s abuse because you are delusional. Then one day Becky started talking about EMDR. I noticed her office was full of books by Depak Chopra. Every time I tried to bring up the idea of brainstorming plans for me to effectuate real changes in my life (getting a new job) all she wanted me to do was make gratitude lists and write about times when I replaced a negative thought with a positive one. I think on some level even Becky realized her practice was a castle with a straw foundation. But she wouldn’t let all this new age unscientific stuff go, so I walked away.
In my darkest days I actually think about calling Becky, but I know better. Even though her Power of Positive thinking crap wasn’t as compelling as the chemical imbalance myth, I still often wonder all my problems are all my fault. Even situations clearly outside my control that no one could predict. Every time I have seen a therapist, all they’ve done is chip away at what was left of my sense of self. It’s also eviscerated my faith in humanity or at least Americans. No one really cares what happens to me. Only money matters.
I have a friend who is a paranoid schizophrenic. If he goes off his meds he starts getting messages from the radio. Another person I know decided to take a cab from Albany to NYC at 3 am on a Wednesday- he is bi-polar. Some people do need drugs to function. But to say that anyone and everyone who experiences depression or other abnormal thoughts/ behaviors can be “fixed” by meds is a total sham. I think the real driving force behind depression is the fact that people treat each other without an ounce of compassion. Not just doctors and patients but in day to day interactions. We ask, How are you? but don’t actually want an answer.
Although I agree with this piece as far as drug treatments are concerned, I cannot say there is much to be gained from traditional therapy either. My last therapist did not push pills. I was welcome to try them if I wanted. Unfortunately, the only other therapy she had to offer was CBT.
Instead of a broken brain I was told I suffer from a dysfunctional personality. Only if I start meditating, keeping a gratitude journal and replacing all my negative thoughts with positive ones, I could become the person society wants me to be. She would often quote Depak Chopra and Eckhart Tolle. All this new age junk made it feel like I was billing my insurance to talk to a psychic not a psychiatrist, with the DSM replacing astrological signs. After weeks of no improvement I was told that it was my fault because I wasn’t really making an effort. While they don’t actually say “Snap out of it” that really is the general idea of CBT. You are broken, reprogram yourself.
During my first appointment I begged her not to let me slip through the cracks. I told her that I do not have a single friend or family member who would help me. In spite of all this that is exactly what happened in the end.
There is no help for people like me. We just suffer until we die. I have finally come to terms with the fact that my failures in life are not my fault. My personality is not a disorder. There is no chemical imbalance in my brain. I am just as worthy as every other being on this planet, even if society has decided to rule me subhuman and unworthy. I will not be made to blame myself anymore.
Privilege is not a delusion concocted by the left wing. I am guessing you are straight, white and male. You grew up and went to school in the suburbs and still live there now. As a result you are completely blind to how the rest of the country lives. Privilege is rarely noticed by those who are steeped in it. Only its absence is felt. In spite of what your limited experience has taught you, America is not this magical perfect meritocracy where working hard equals success. The question of whether you truly deserve all the good things you’ve enjoy in life hurts like hell. It also stings a bit to imagine that that some people might have actually worked harder than you but couldn’t get ahead in life because of their skin color, gender or sexual orientation. That existential pain, that cognitive dissonance, is the real reason you are so quick to rail against the so-called myth of privilege and socialism. This is the same line of thinking used by Big Pharm and Big Pysch- Everyone could just choose to be happy, healthy and rich. Bad things only happen to bad people. Good things only happen to good people. And anyone who disagrees is just a whiner who likes being a victim. Same mentality. Same b.s.
Also would like a moratorium on this idea that if you aren’t the second coming of Shakespeare you should just put down the pen or walk away from the laptop. Everything does not have to rise to the level of high literature. Maybe I would enjoy reading this woman’s memoir. It’s not up to you or her psych doc to say it’s all a delusion of grandeur. I feel like you and your snob friends are the reason why I am constantly walking out of Barnes and Noble empty handed.
Maybe in your circle of friends someone can just claim they are rude or violent because of an illness. Society at large does not allow you any kind of free pass for being diagnoses as mentally ill. Instead it is quite the opposite. One example is a rape victim being labeled bipolar. Now her accusations are just delusions. The only person getting a free pass is the rapist.
@Rasselas- You have clearly bought into the belief system that says everything in life is made up by our choices. i.e. This woman chose not to write. If she had this amazing book inside her, she would not have let one mean comment stop her. This is total bull and this idea seems to exist just to exculpate people from the consequences of bullying. The important part of the cursed writer example is that anyone labeled mentally ill is no longer allowed to have any ambitions at all. All your future plans are just delusions of grandeur. You are not allowed to have a decent job, get married, have kids or even pets, travel or retire because you are broken and diseased. All you can do is work a crap job for crap pay, live and die alone, again because you are broken and diseased. And while people can decide not to listen to these insults, it’s hard when the bullying comes in the form of a doctor’s diagnosis. And every doctor is trained to say the exact same thing. And we have celebrities constantly adding their assurances that depression is caused by brain chemical imbalances and can easily be treated by talk therapy (professional bullies) magic anti-crazy pills.
I do not believe in the good intentions of these smug psych doctors who profit from the suffering of others. If you seek help and admit you feel worthless, the last thing in the world you need to hear is confirmation, you have a broken brain, you will never hold a job, go to college, or make any worthwhile contribution to society. Intimidation, humiliation, patronizing language, incarcerations, forced medications all seems geared to one goal: get rid of all the people they truly believe are not worth a damn. They lock us up, drug us and secretly hope that we kill ourselves so that we aren’t a burden to society any longer.
I believe the stories in the article all take place in the UK. In the states you can almost always refuse treatment. Forced treatment is considered a battery. There are only a few medical conditions that can result in losing your driver’s license. I have a friend who is on disability and is a true paranoid schizophrenic (no abuse, just voices telling him everyone is spying on him) and he still drives a car. He would probably have to be in several accidents related to his illness before it would even be considered an option.
There is always trauma. I was incarcerated twice. The only lesson I learned is never ever under any circumstance tell anyone you feel depressed. I was not even suicidal the second time. I was upset after being fired from my job. Only after being taken against my will did I even consider maybe it was time for me to give up on life since clearly I am just a burden to everyone around me. Every single person that was stuck in the waiting room was trying to talk their way out of the hospital. Not because they wanted to go hurt themselves, but because it was a situation worse than prison. Let me repeat again- worse than prison. And do you know why I would have rather been in country? At least there I don’t have to pay $1,900 for my stay. I wish there were statistics on how many suicides were caused by “good Samaritans”. You have probably killed more people than you saved.
I thought I had a good therapist when I met “Becky”. Unlike all my previous therapists, Becky didn’t insist all my problems were self-generated. At first anyways. She agreed that my family was abusive and should be avoided at all costs. In prior dealings with therapists, since I was a teenager, I would hear the same thing: You think it’s abuse because you are delusional. Then one day Becky started talking about EMDR. I noticed her office was full of books by Depak Chopra. Every time I tried to bring up the idea of brainstorming plans for me to effectuate real changes in my life (getting a new job) all she wanted me to do was make gratitude lists and write about times when I replaced a negative thought with a positive one. I think on some level even Becky realized her practice was a castle with a straw foundation. But she wouldn’t let all this new age unscientific stuff go, so I walked away.
In my darkest days I actually think about calling Becky, but I know better. Even though her Power of Positive thinking crap wasn’t as compelling as the chemical imbalance myth, I still often wonder all my problems are all my fault. Even situations clearly outside my control that no one could predict. Every time I have seen a therapist, all they’ve done is chip away at what was left of my sense of self. It’s also eviscerated my faith in humanity or at least Americans. No one really cares what happens to me. Only money matters.
I have a friend who is a paranoid schizophrenic. If he goes off his meds he starts getting messages from the radio. Another person I know decided to take a cab from Albany to NYC at 3 am on a Wednesday- he is bi-polar. Some people do need drugs to function. But to say that anyone and everyone who experiences depression or other abnormal thoughts/ behaviors can be “fixed” by meds is a total sham. I think the real driving force behind depression is the fact that people treat each other without an ounce of compassion. Not just doctors and patients but in day to day interactions. We ask, How are you? but don’t actually want an answer.
Although I agree with this piece as far as drug treatments are concerned, I cannot say there is much to be gained from traditional therapy either. My last therapist did not push pills. I was welcome to try them if I wanted. Unfortunately, the only other therapy she had to offer was CBT.
Instead of a broken brain I was told I suffer from a dysfunctional personality. Only if I start meditating, keeping a gratitude journal and replacing all my negative thoughts with positive ones, I could become the person society wants me to be. She would often quote Depak Chopra and Eckhart Tolle. All this new age junk made it feel like I was billing my insurance to talk to a psychic not a psychiatrist, with the DSM replacing astrological signs. After weeks of no improvement I was told that it was my fault because I wasn’t really making an effort. While they don’t actually say “Snap out of it” that really is the general idea of CBT. You are broken, reprogram yourself.
During my first appointment I begged her not to let me slip through the cracks. I told her that I do not have a single friend or family member who would help me. In spite of all this that is exactly what happened in the end.
There is no help for people like me. We just suffer until we die. I have finally come to terms with the fact that my failures in life are not my fault. My personality is not a disorder. There is no chemical imbalance in my brain. I am just as worthy as every other being on this planet, even if society has decided to rule me subhuman and unworthy. I will not be made to blame myself anymore.