Interesting Article About The Family of One of the Bondi Junction Victims - Has Going Into Therapy Become *Too* Normal?

[NatureLover]

I see your point, and it's a good analogy @chibam .

I think the perceived stigma about seeing a psychologist still prevents people from attending. So I think the problem of overuse is less than you're projecting. But who knows? I could be wrong. 

[chibam]

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@NatureLover wrote:

I think the perceived stigma about seeing a psychologist still prevents people from attending.

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Some time ago, I remember reading that when young people were going to their GPs to sign up for the therapy discount, the GPs would unofficially advise them and their parents not to do it, because having that on your permanent record - that you needed therapy - would really torpedo your chances of getting a job, among other social consequences. I'm not sure if their still issuing those warnings, though.

I suspect this was more a case of the doctors being savvy then paranoid.

So, I don't know... is there some sort of grand agenda to all this? Is the philosophy behind this to create a society where everybody has a history of therapy, to mask the presence of those who have genuinely needed therapy, and thereby make it impossible to descriminate against them, since nobody will be able to tell which ones they are?

Is the bulk of the population basically being herded/conscripted into therapy primarily for the purposes of camoflaging the people who really need it?

Kind of a moot exercise, if that's the case, since the government are the ones who hold the records of a person's therapy plan, and hence they would know which ones are the genuine patients, and which ones are the camoflage.

[NatureLover]

I don't think there's a grand agenda of camouflage, @chibam . 

Amd I'm sad there's still a stigma. 

[chibam]

@NatureLover  I suspect that in many/most cases, by the time the sufferer even starts considering therapy, the community have probably already decided that they don't like them.

I know that in my case, my acquaintances had all started portraying me in an ugly light well before I went into therapy. Therapy was a consequence of my unpopularity, not the cause of it.

Though at the same time, I'm sure that it didn't do any favors for my public image.

[L-stg1rlstand1_]

When people deal with a therapist it is like a controlled environment. 

If we are moving away from being able to recieve uncontrolled help. It is truly a sad affair in our future.

[Jlol]

I agree with you. 

It might not be a popular opinion, but I believe we are overprescribing both therapy and medication for "mental health".

I think the advent of mental health losing it's taboo as a topic has been a blessing to those in positions of power. Why? Because it's a lot easier to shift the "blame" to someone's mental health than to deal with the problems causing the bad mental health (I know this is a bit distant from the Bondi stabbing and sudden death situations you've mentioned).

Say you're in your early 20s. You can barely afford rent. You're working a full time job and studying at the same time because the student allowance is barely enough to pay for your groceries anymore. You're in a heap of HECS debt. You'll probably never be able to afford a home. When you start your career, you won't get promoted unless you job-hop. You'll probably have to live through the affects of climate change.

All this would impact your mood, and rightfully so. But to fix this stuff is too big and hard. But hey, it's easy for the government(s), aristocracy, and oligarchs to say "Oh, you're feeling depressed? You're sick. You need to speak to a therapist and take some drugs."

IMHO whats gradually happened is that any discontent with the state of affairs is being lumped in with ill (mental) health. And who's responsible for ones health? You are!

I feel that maybe before mental health and therapy became mainstream we might be a bit more passionate and vocal about the obvious unfairness that's occurring in our society and economy. Call me a tin-foil-hat wearer but I feel "mental health" has become an overused technique to shift the onus of changing the way you feel about things onto you, rather than the people who can - or at least should try to - actually make positive changes.