Quote:
“i think the idea of a 'mental health day' is something completely invented by people who have no clue what it's like to have bad mental health. the idea that your mind can be aired out in twenty-four hours is kind of like saying heart disease can be cured if you eat the right breakfast cereal. mental health days only exist for people who have the luxury of saying 'i don't want to deal with things today' and then can take the whole day off, while the rest of us are stuck fighting the fights we always fight, with no one really caring one way or another, unless we choose to bring a gun to school or ruin the morning announcements with a suicide.” ~David Levithan, Will Grayson, Will Grayson
“Our society tends to regard as a sickness any mode of thought or behavior that is inconvenient for the system and this is plausible because when an individual doesn't fit into the system it causes pain to the individual as well as problems for the system. Thus the manipulation of an individual to adjust him to the system is seen as a cure for a sickness and therefore as good.” ~Theodore Kaczynski (I suppose a quote from the Unabomber may raise questions. Albeit, I happen to agree with him on this.)
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If I am told I am not healthy, I want to know what about my health needs attention. In my experience, treatment professionals have been better able to explain my physical maladies than the mental ones. Therapists, with various degrees, repeatedly told me I did not understand. Ultimately, there came a day I was told I may have to accept I will never get better. I felt like I was the one at fault for failing to get better.
A lot has changed since that day. Many professionals now recognize the benefit to the client of having a treatment team to deal with the problems presented in a holistic manner. I very much favor that approach.
Much has not changed. The influence of Big Pharma and our representatives who view mental health as nothing more than a budget item are problematical.
Two articles follow discussing good mental health. Comments are invited.
What is Good Mental Health? | World of Psychology
WHO | Mental health: strengthening our response