Words: Ren Jakab
Therapy Doesn’t Treat Oppression Mental illness is often a part of the human condition. According to the World Health Organization, about 970 million people suffer from mental disorders worldwide. While everyone experiences negative feelings throughout their lives, there are conditions that cause significant distress and difficulties with functioning in everyday life. Mental disorders are deemed as “abnormal” compared to the average normally functioning population. But what is abnormal and what is normal? Can we truly say that mental illness is an abnormal response to the way society, culture, politics, and the economy interacts in the world today? Considering the challenges of our modern world and the discrimination many of us face, I would argue the answer is no.
the 21st century are facing problems that we as humans have never dealt with before.
As a psychology student and someone who has been struggling with mental health issues for more than ten years, I believe that mental illnesses are treatable. Talking therapy and medication can be extremely effective and even lifesaving. However, I often wonder whether we pathologize conditions that are a natural response to the circumstances we live in. While modern medicine is becoming increasingly advanced and life expectancy is growing in Western countries, people in
As if that wasn’t enough, politics and the economy are hugely influential on people’s well-being. It is practically impossible to make a living with minimum wage, as the price of food, commodities, and rent is skyrocketing. The wealth gap between the rich and the poor is exponentially growing. Laws targeting minority groups are being passed every single day, all over the world. Fascism is on the rise in the US and several European countries. Not to mention the Covid-19
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Perhaps the most outstanding of these is climate change, a phenomenon that is already causing irreparable environmental damage and is having devastating effects on physical health. The fear of future consequences of climate change has even led to the creation of the term “climate grief”. Moreover, the internet and social media have forever changed human life and connection. The human brain is not designed to process the inexplicably rapid spread of information that we are dealing with today. While the ability to talk to anyone at any time brought humans closer in some ways, it also divided us, as problems such as cyberbullying emerged.
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