Mental Illness or Societal Illness?
As a counselor and herbalist I work with people who are depressed and sad quite a bit. The stories all differ but there is generally a similar thread of trauma and ongoing stress that has led to current suffering. Recently someone asked me if they thought medication was a good idea because their level of suffering was so high. I don’t rule out anything and I will support people’s decisions to take medications if they feel well informed about its pros and cons.
But I often wonder why we so quickly move towards offering medication for depression, especially since socio-economic factors, oppression, stress, diet and trauma often play such a strong role in causing distess. In our society, we need to be productive, efficient, organized, and people who are cheerful, bright and positive are prized. In the short term, medications can sedate and stimulate us so that we can return to being productive members of society.
But in reality, most of us are stressed and so caught up in trying to be productive, or simply trying to survive- that we are exhausted, overwhelmed and suffering. And if we are sensitive, or have experienced trauma and are susceptible to extreme states, we are more likely to experience “mental illness”. But really mental illness is a misnomer. We are really suffering from “collective societal burnout.” We as a society are exhausted trying to keep up, meet the many obligations of bills, errands, chores, work, family, and personal needs that it can feel deeply overwhelming and we can start to break down emotionally and physically.
What most of us need is to take time, rest, get quiet, breathe and find space to heal. I often find that depression is not asking us to “take something”, but really to “take away something”- obligations, demanding work, toxic relationships, a bad home environment, processed food, addictions, etc. And often because of economics, societal and family expectations this is impossible, and we feel trapped by circumstances. And that trapped feeling is at the core of a prolonged depression, a feeling of hopelessness.
So when I hear the call for better access to treatment for the mentally ill, I wonder what that means really. Does that mean that people will simply have greater access to psychiatric medications via their insurance? In my perfect world, greater access to “treatment” would start with greater wage equality, access to non-medical sanctuaries for rest and healing, healthy food and adequate housing. This is the type of “treatment” that really addresses those who are suffering, exhausted and overwhelmed by the pressures of modern life.