Let's discuss "mental health" and behavior control without any links in this OP of mine.

[bobthedrummer]

There is a correlation, a strong one, between behavior control and "mental health" imho.

Then there is the control of BigPhaRMa-and "the war on drugs" at it's darkest-real black ops here at HOMELAND Inc.
What do you think -where do we start when it comes to the issue of "mental health"?

[Agnosticsherbet]

1. The Cooking Channel...

Talk about behavior control. All that food, coupled to all the restaurants and condoments. Those are just masks over faceless Corporate Facist overlords pushing their crack cookies on us, making us make ourselves fat so we stay enslaved to the corporate state.

[bobthedrummer]

2. With or without respect, CIVILITY, societal norms in a democracy, a civilization-that's #1 to me.

It is UNCIVIL to be "mentally ill"-now that the hypnotists are back in business of whatever it is that they do-and sanctioned by both APA's, lol.
Sure, who is against civility as a criteria of mental illness?

[Denninmi]

5. Huh?

What are you even saying? Doesn't make a lot of sense.

[bobthedrummer]

6. Back at ya then, Denninmi.

[LiberalEsto]

3. We need to put massive funding into research

to look for permanent cures and more effective treatments.

This is something I never see being discussed. If the US gov't can find money to give enormous tax refunds to huge corporations, then we can find money for mental health research.
same way we've been putting money into cancer research in the past several decades.

[bobthedrummer]

4. Then I suggest a fresh look at what research has been the dominant view, held by who and authored by

etc, etc. No need to design a new study LiberalEsto, is there-just review what's already in play as "policy". That's a beginning.
Wanna talk about that?

[bobthedrummer]

7. Telling the truth is insane, can be self-destructive too-huh? What is it in The United States of

America, where corporations are people and $$$ is "free speech"?

[backscatter712]

8. No links? Allow me to introduce my own pet theory. We have a humiliation culture.

Easy availability of rapid-fire firearms is absolutely a deadliness multiplier, so I'm completely in agreement that we need some regulation.

But in all the discussions, I think there's a missing piece.

Violent video games, violent movies? Maybe desensitizing, but desensitization all by itself doesn't drive people to go postal.

And as far as mental illness goes, of course we need more treatment options out there, but the vaaaaast number of people with mental illnesses don't go postal.

I'd say the missing piece we're not discussing is humiliation. I'm trying to remember who called humiliation the "nuclear bomb of emotion", but I'm not supposed to link. Well, everyone here has access to the Google...

And I'd say the big problem is that America has developed a bullying culture. Other countries fire people by taking them in the back office, telling them they're fired, then letting them quietly box up their stuff and leave. Here, we put them through the ritual of having security escort them out of the building - extra humiliation.

When a criminal is busted, he's perp-walked before the media, he's scarlet-lettered and blocked from jobs, and his entire life is restricted in a thousand different ways, even after the official punishment is complete. In Germany, IIRC, once a criminal completes his sentence, his criminal record is sealed, the media is forbidden from talking about his crimes, and employers can't get that information unless they have a good reason - banks employing someone handling a lot of money, for instance. The whole point is to give the guy a chance to start a new life. Not here. You get scarlet-lettered for your entire life, often for such petty bullshit as being caught with weed. And we're talking about creating a sex-offender style list for people with mental illnesses - gee, that won't cause harm...

In schools, bullying is rampant. Teachers turn a blind eye. It's just "boys being boys", but if you're the least bit different, you're humiliated routinely, and if you fight back or lash out, you're punished.

Most of the religion in this country incorporates humiliation in its theology - you're a sinful scum-of-the-earth unless you submit to the deity, and lots of preachers/priests/ministers are more than happy to let you know it, threaten to ostracize you, humiliate you in front of the congregation if you misbehave, etc.

In my hypothesis, the real triggers for these violent incidents are humiliations. Kids that get bullied too much, stressed out guys who are going through a nasty divorce or breakup, or who just got fired, or who got evicted, maybe people who have trouble getting along with others who end up getting shunned. Humiliation is unique in that it is an incredibly powerful emotional force - it drives people to hate and violence in a way nothing else does. And the US revels in humiliating people. Watch reality TV, where humiliating people on millions of TV screens has become entertainment. To Catch A Predator anyone? Some of the people busted by Chris Hansen ended up blowing their own brains out. Not that I have sympathy for kiddy fiddlers, but this illustrates the effect that humiliation has on people.

Or look at our past, back before the Civil War, our own politicians would go so far as setting up duels, pointing guns at each other and shooting each other, for what reason? A perceived humiliation.

When people suffer enough humiliation, be they mentally ill or healthy, they can crack.

If you want my random-guy-on-the-Internet prescription, I say we start cultivating a norm for saving face, including norms for enabling others to save face, rather than reveling in humiliation.

Homework, for those who are interested: do some searches on scholar.google.com on "humiliation violence" or "humiliation nuclear bomb of emotions".

[HereSince1628]

9. Connection? Yes, could be why Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

is so highly subscribed.