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Amateur Parent, I notice you didn’t address this ->
By largely ignoring external factors in mental health, we take the onus off society and our rulers to improve our environment and our politico-economic system.
I sincerely think that not only are social and environmental factors causing or triggering a lot of mental health problems, but that by medicating people, we are avoiding a number of issues that should be addressed.
Of course this makes $$$ for certain parties. Which leads us back to Square One… greed and corruption are two of the main contributors to a sick society. God forbid we address greed, we’ll get condemned as Commies for saying it’s not a good thing.
SamBee, sorry to have skipped that point. All my posts are done on a tiny phone screen as I go about my day. Yes … I am that random person in Costco madly tapping away on a phone for 5 minutes on aisle 43.
Quote:Don’t think that all the West’s “common” mental illnesses are universal across all societies and cultures. Different ones have different ones.Anorexia is virtually unknown in some parts of the world, for example.
Why would I think that they would be the same? Different social structures, cultural pressures, nutrition, exercise, and genetics will all influence individuals.
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… greed and corruption are two of the main contributors to a sick society. God forbid we address greed, we’ll get condemned as Commies for saying it’s not a good thing.
I see a sick society as different from a sick individual. But .. A society that does not offer universal health coverage nor an adequate financial safety net for the most vulnerable of its members .. That society structure has failed.
Our society is set up on the premise of self reliance and resiliency. There is a myth out there. When bad things happen, americans will paint a big S on their chests and as individuals, they will conquer all the obstacles in their own lives. What they cannot do for themselves, a bigger Bad A ** brother will take care of. What family cannot handle, their church or community will handle while singing Kumbaya.
The reality is society helps those best who are most connected within the social structure. Even within the ward, the well connected family who is friends with everyone is better served in times of need. The individual who is already marginalized within the ward is not always treated equally when they have needs. Government systems should be in place to be the safety net for those people who have no other. In this country, those safety nets are often inadequate and difficult to access.
Greed? Corruption? I see them in every society. They are certainly present in ours.
Quote:SamBee, sorry to have skipped that point. All my posts are done on a tiny phone screen as I go about my day. Yes … I am that random person in Costco madly tapping away on a phone for 5 minutes on aisle 43.
I sympathise. I do that myself sometimes. You can tell which of my replies come off a phone – the spelling’s awful, due to the keyboard.
Quote:Different social structures, cultural pressures, nutrition, exercise, and genetics will all influence individuals.
I think that all of these, other than genetics are factors that can be changed for the better. The problem in the other direction is overintervention, which can be counterproductive. I really do think that while many things in our lives are good, we’ve also created numerous little hells in Western society, most of which should not exist in the first place.
Quote:A society that does not offer universal health coverage nor an adequate financial safety net for the most vulnerable of its members .. That society structure has failed.
Agree with that… the most vulnerable often can’t afford to pay. A lot of the homeless seem to be mentally ill – came across a blatant example today – but it’s a chicken and egg situation. Which came first? Illness or homelessness? The homelessness is going to make it far worse if it’s already there.
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The reality is society helps those best who are most connected within the social structure. Even within the ward, the well connected family who is friends with everyone is better served in times of need. The individual who is already marginalized within the ward is not always treated equally when they have needs. Government systems should be in place to be the safety net for those people who have no other. In this country, those safety nets are often inadequate and difficult to access.I tend to agree, but safety nets are for those who’ve already fallen off the ropes. A lot of them shouldn’t be falling off them to begin with – they don’t have to.
I’ve led a colorful life in certain ways, but yesterday I was reminded of a school principal who was the only one to give me a proper break. I had had a lot of trouble with other teachers prior to then, had expulsions etc. He gave me, at the age of eleven or so, a chance to get out of a cycle. It’s interesting – while I do have anxiety and depression issues, and was hyperactive back then – his completely new way of dealing with my behavioral issues meant that I was never thrown out of a school again after that. Which speaks for itself.
I did attend two schools after that, but one doesn’t count, because it was merely the junior school for my high school.
If I had been treated as I had been treated in previous school, I would have probably been thrown out of several further schools, and thus not done proper exams at high school or got into college. (Which were hard enough in this timeline with bereavement). This would have put me in even worse positions for employment than I’m already in. I suspect I could have ended up locked up in a prison or a hospital somewhere, due to crime, drugs or whatever… but thanks to good parents, and this particular principal, my life never experienced those troubles. (It had others, but I think he did turn it around somewhat.)
So I am taking a fancy new SSRI pill that costs me $175 each month. Maybe I should take that out of the tithing I pay since God sees fit to withhold healing despite faith, fasting, and prayer. On the other hand, maybe I’ve brought this on myself through the “law of attraction.” When Jesus sent the twelve forth, he told them, “And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:7- 
. Do the apostles heal the sick today? I only see them speaking in conferences and dedicating buildings.1) You didn’t bring it on yourself. Of that, I am sure. 2) I have been involved in healings on a very few occasions. I have no freaking clue why they don’t happen more often. I am not certain of the complete validity of the scriptural examples.
Thanks, Ray. I just needed to vent a little. Shaun: I watched my own kids die and wondered why they were not worthy of a miracle.
My oldest daughter .. She was 6 years old .. Just a couple days away from being 7. And she was so excited to be having a birthday as she would be just a single year away from baptism.
A normal happy, healthy kid with no health problems. She came down with the flu, was admitted to ICU with flu complications. She spent a month on a ventilator with horrible painful interventions going on daily.
She died.
Took me a long time to be able to deal with the “I prayed and had the miracle of finding my car keys” testimonies.
Someone told me that my oldest daughter’s funeral was so wonderful and such a good missionary moment.
I like to think God doesn’t torture and kill 6 year olds in order to give a funeral missionary moment to other 6 year olds.
Quote:Shaun wrote:So I am taking a fancy new SSRI pill that costs me $175 each month.
Ask your MD if there are any coupons or samples available for that new high dollar med. If they don’t have any at the office, they can call the drug rep and have the rep drop some off at the office for you. Most of the new drugs have coupons and freebie offers.
Drug coupons are not miracles .. But they can feel like a miracle to your wallet.
If people would just say, “I’m sorry for your loss” and leave it at that it would save a lot of pain and trouble. GBSmith wrote:If people would just say, “I’m sorry for your loss” and leave it at that it would save a lot of pain and trouble.
Agreed. A simple acknowledgement is all that is necessary most of the time.
AP – I am so sorry for your loss. That HAS to be heart-wrenching. I am sorry AP. I agree that our expectations of God in our lives do not always add up. Just yesterday DW was talking to the sister of a young LDS man that committed suicide almost a decade ago. She spoke to DW on how she felt that her locally prominent LDS family had been hypocrites. Everyone would say how strong they were and how well they were handling their grief. Truth is that the sister (the source of this information) and her mother had requested to speak to a counselor about their feelings but were denied because of how it might look them look weak or less faithful if it got out.
I read once in an LDS grief book about the wife of a recently deceased GA that put on smiles for the extended family gatherings etc. but then when she was alone she would cry into her pillow. The article was praising her for her strength. It made me sad. I felt sorry that she had to isolate herself in order to deal with the pain.
This is not just an LDS thing. Most people seem to be uncomfortable with death and dying and prefer not to think about or deal with the subject in any great detail. We LDS just have this added layer of doctrine and culture that seems to say that faithful LDS should be less distraught and troubled than non-members over the death of a loved one.
amateurparent, thanks for your post. You gave some good advice about coupons. I had forgotten that my doctor gave me a discount card! Now I will use it.
Quote:Roy wrote: “We LDS just have this added layer of doctrine and culture that seems to say that faithful LDS should be less distraught and troubled than non-members over the death of a loved one.”
YES!!!
It has been a really long time since our kids died. And we function quite well in life. We decided early on that we had lost enough and we chose to focus on moving forward. But, that doesn’t mean we forgot our deceased children.
DH and I have been very open about the fact that we still miss our children. We think it is healthy for people to know that. We don’t want people thinking that we somehow bypassed grief because we are LDS. We don’t want to set some unattainable standard. Rather than people appreciating that information, we get comments about our lack of faith. It has made us realize how deeply engrained in the culture is the belief that you will not grieve if you have a belief in the gospel.
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