I like the framing of mental hygiene, emotional fitness, and emotional first aid. The threat of illness isn't necessary to motivate people to follow certain regular practices that help them feel more comfortable or strengthen your ability to deal with problems. And when someone is experiencing an injury, like an ended relationship, it might be enough to take simple actions to mitigate further harm (the equivalent of cleaning a cut and putting on a band-aid), knowing that while it might hurt, it will also heal.
I've thought about a self-guided program for young adults struggling at the cusp of adulthood, and this is the exact name I have considered: Getting A Life. Or: How to Get a Life. For people with actual present clinical depression, I think the general idea of self-care is fine. We need to consider our mental health and put the challenge on the front burner, doing the boring old things that we know to be helpful in depression: exercise, proper diet, regular sleep schedule, minimal substances, more social contact, getting out of the house, reducing screen-time, etc. But for the general public I think it can be inadvertently destructive to imply that our mental stability has the fragility of a soap bubble, and that we need to spend a vast amount of time doing things to fend off the looming catastrophe of mental illness. Rather than viewing physical activity, nutritious food, card games with friends, and time in nature as "personal healthcare," I prefer the idea of framing them as "That's your life." We exercise because we feel good afterwards (and occasionally during). We drink in moderation because we like the next morning better that way. We get outside because that's where our good memories tend to come from. We get massages because we like massages. In other words, rather than doing these things to run away from something (the threat of mental breakdown), we do them in pursuit of something (a better life; a life in accord with our wishes and values; even a kind of hedonism) or because this is the way we live our life. So in a sense, it's not "Getting a Life" - it's "Living Your Life." I promoted a similar idea when it comes to chores (washing dishes, doing household repairs, writing therapy notes) in an earlier video. Rather than viewing these things as time-wasting distractions from our "real" life, we can view them as essential aspects of life. th-cam.com/video/rGbf-sSat2k/w-d-xo.html
Thank you very much for your video. I really like your approach towards mental illness framing. Where everything is framed as an illness. Substantially reducing resilience and ability to handle adversity which is a normal part of life
@@ATSHAAEveryone knows exactly what an illness is - until we look closely and find that the lines are more blurred than we would ever imagine. Is there such a thing as mental illness? Yes, of course. To deny that is to deny a basic reality - possible only for a person who has never seen true mental illness. But are inattention, social awkwardness, discouragement, anxiety, or grief mental illnesses? All are increasingly framed that way, but it can be difficult to find the benefit to the public from doing so. How is it that the term "mental illness" can be so readily stretched to encompass seemingly normal and common aspects of human experience? The difficulty is that the term, strangely, has no firm definition, no inherent boundaries, and is largely dictated by collective decision-making rather than any laboratory results. If our goal is to help people, we must ask ourselves if saying "Yes, you have these difficult experiences, and in addition you are mentally ill" actually assists them toward a more satisfying life or - as I often suspect - not.
Dr Patterson, would it be possible to make a video discussing the relationship between mental illness and failure to launch, and how your work can still help even in such circumstances. If there is a video already, I would appreciate putting the link. Many thanks
awesome.
I just love this. You are so practical. 👍
I like the framing of mental hygiene, emotional fitness, and emotional first aid. The threat of illness isn't necessary to motivate people to follow certain regular practices that help them feel more comfortable or strengthen your ability to deal with problems. And when someone is experiencing an injury, like an ended relationship, it might be enough to take simple actions to mitigate further harm (the equivalent of cleaning a cut and putting on a band-aid), knowing that while it might hurt, it will also heal.
Actually, yes. Do ignore your cholesterol
You can become more of the problem you're trying to fix.
If you could rebrand the Self-Care Depression Program, would you call it the Getting a Life Program? Something else?
I've thought about a self-guided program for young adults struggling at the cusp of adulthood, and this is the exact name I have considered: Getting A Life. Or: How to Get a Life.
For people with actual present clinical depression, I think the general idea of self-care is fine. We need to consider our mental health and put the challenge on the front burner, doing the boring old things that we know to be helpful in depression: exercise, proper diet, regular sleep schedule, minimal substances, more social contact, getting out of the house, reducing screen-time, etc.
But for the general public I think it can be inadvertently destructive to imply that our mental stability has the fragility of a soap bubble, and that we need to spend a vast amount of time doing things to fend off the looming catastrophe of mental illness.
Rather than viewing physical activity, nutritious food, card games with friends, and time in nature as "personal healthcare," I prefer the idea of framing them as "That's your life." We exercise because we feel good afterwards (and occasionally during). We drink in moderation because we like the next morning better that way. We get outside because that's where our good memories tend to come from. We get massages because we like massages.
In other words, rather than doing these things to run away from something (the threat of mental breakdown), we do them in pursuit of something (a better life; a life in accord with our wishes and values; even a kind of hedonism) or because this is the way we live our life. So in a sense, it's not "Getting a Life" - it's "Living Your Life."
I promoted a similar idea when it comes to chores (washing dishes, doing household repairs, writing therapy notes) in an earlier video. Rather than viewing these things as time-wasting distractions from our "real" life, we can view them as essential aspects of life. th-cam.com/video/rGbf-sSat2k/w-d-xo.html
Thank you very much for your video. I really like your approach towards mental illness framing. Where everything is framed as an illness. Substantially reducing resilience and ability to handle adversity which is a normal part of life
@@ATSHAAEveryone knows exactly what an illness is - until we look closely and find that the lines are more blurred than we would ever imagine. Is there such a thing as mental illness? Yes, of course. To deny that is to deny a basic reality - possible only for a person who has never seen true mental illness.
But are inattention, social awkwardness, discouragement, anxiety, or grief mental illnesses? All are increasingly framed that way, but it can be difficult to find the benefit to the public from doing so.
How is it that the term "mental illness" can be so readily stretched to encompass seemingly normal and common aspects of human experience? The difficulty is that the term, strangely, has no firm definition, no inherent boundaries, and is largely dictated by collective decision-making rather than any laboratory results.
If our goal is to help people, we must ask ourselves if saying "Yes, you have these difficult experiences, and in addition you are mentally ill" actually assists them toward a more satisfying life or - as I often suspect - not.
Dr Patterson, would it be possible to make a video discussing the relationship between mental illness and failure to launch, and how your work can still help even in such circumstances. If there is a video already, I would appreciate putting the link. Many thanks