Markham's Behavioral Health

Capitalism out of control

I have started reading Naomi Klein's book, The Shock Doctrine, and it is one of those epiphany experiences where the light bulb goes on and I think to myself, "Holy Shit, that explains it."

Shock doctrine is a very exciting book for me because Klein brings a lot of events together with government policies which finally make sense for me. My initial impression is that the title of the book could also have been, "Capitalism out of control: How greed destroyed America and wreaked havoc in the rest of the world."

In the name of capitalism, the U.S. govenment has been increasingly privatizing previous government functions by outsourcing these services to private companies making political supporters rich on the public's dollar. It is a neat scheme to keep the politicians in power giving the public's money away to their cronies crowing about less government while they rob the public coffers and turn power over to the corporations to run the country.

It is time that Americans became aware of the new paradigm since they are ones paying for it and suffering under it.

I will be writing more about this topic in coming weeks and will tag these posts "Capitalism out of control".

Catholic church has got it wrong on birth control - catholic critics ask pope to lift contraception ban

Yahoo News, using a piece from Reuters, reports on July 25, 2008, about a paid advertisement in a major Italian newspaper placed by 50 Catholic organizations to lift the Vatican's ban on birth control. Here is a snippet from the article:

More than 50 dissident Catholic groups published an unusually frank open letter to Pope Benedict on Friday saying the Church's ban on contraception has been "catastrophic" and urging him to lift it.

The letter was published as a paid half-page advertisement in Corriere della Sera, Italy's largest newspaper, on the 40th anniversary of the late Pope Paul VI's controversial encyclical "Humanae Vitae," which enshrined the ban.

While criticism of the Vatican and its views is fairly common in articles and editorials in Italian newspapers, it is unusual for a group to take out paid advertising against the pope, particularly in a large-circulation mainstream newspaper.

The letter, written in Italian, said the Church's anti-contraception policy "has had a catastrophic impact on the poor and powerless around the world, endangering women's lives and leaving millions at risk of HIV."

Of course, changing the teaching is long overdue. The church has been wrong about this teaching for decades since Humanae Vitae, the encyclical in the 60s by Paul VI, that started the controversy and dissent by the laity. Since that time the church has lost credibility and the faith of the people it professes to lead.

How about considering the standard discernment question, What Would Jesus Do? I think Jesus would fully support the use of birth control.

Print Story: Catholic critics ask pope to lift contraception ban on Yahoo! News.

The boot camp of life

In the book, Daily Afflictions, Andrew Boyd uses many concepts and phrases which are eye catching. One such phrase is "The boot camp of life." In the glossary at the back of the book, Boyd, defines this phrase as - "A traditional child-rearing practice in which the child is trained to handle the dysfunction of adult institutions by being relentlessly drilled in dysfunction by his own family." p. 91

As a therapist as well as in my personal life, I am continually struck by the observation that parents don't deny the dysfunction that their children are subjected to but excuse it as being good for them. There are many phrases such as "what doesn't kill you will make you stronger." "Compared to what I have to endure this is nothing." "He better get used to it now so he is prepared for real life." etc.

I have referred to this as the callous theory meaning that parents excuse the abuse that their children suffer as "toughening them up" so that he/she can better deal with abuse later on in life.

I don't think there is any research evidence to back up this callous theory - that abuse and dysfunction earlier in life makes one more resilient later on in life. In fact, the research evidence appears to be the opposite, that abuse and dysfunction earlier in life is a risk factor for problems later on in life.

This callous theory is part of what John Bradshaw named "poisonous pedagogy".

One of reasons that my wife and I decided to homeschool was to protect our children from the institutional dysfunction that occurs in Middle school. Schools are bureaucratic institutions which are very self serving and subject children to dysfunction which mirrors the dysfunction in families, - bullying, cliques, playing favorites, mind numbing worksheets and busy work, obedience and compliance with requirements that are artificially imposed, loss of control over one's own life, disrespect, and fear being used as a motivating factor.

In the criminal justice system, boot camps began being popular 25 years ago where rigorous physical exertion and browbeating inmates for compliance was thought to  bring about compliance, obedience, and self discipline. Research has found that boot camps don't work. The belief that dysfunction and abuse is somehow good for people is similarly erroneous. Whilte the boot camp of life is an eye grabbing metaphor, one would do well to question, deconstruct, and dismiss this idea as beneficial for facilitating the development of a high quality, healthy, happy life.

Suicidal soliders is not so much a mental health problem as a spiritual crisis

Reading about the increased incidence of sucides in the military and the huge numbers of soldiers with PTSD has gotten me interested in something which very few people in American society talk about and that is what Dr. Rachel MacNair calls "Perpetration-Induced Traumatic Stress", PITS.

PITS is the anguish and guilt which one human being feels when he/she kills another human being. This has been increasinly labeled as a mental health problem which it surely is, but even more, it is a spiritual problem in my view. All the mental health treatment in the world, and all the medications cannot absolve the guilt induced by the willful, deliberate killing of another human being.

There is a good article that attempts to describe this problem which was published in the Seattle Times 4 years ago on July 21, 2004. Here is a snippet:

Tucked behind a gleaming machine gun, Sgt. Joseph Hall grins at his two companions in the Humvee.

"I want to know if I killed that guy yesterday," Hall says. "I saw blood spurt from his leg, but I want to be sure I killed him."

The vehicle goes silent as the driver, Spc. Joshua Dubois, swerves around asphalt previously uprooted by a blast.

"I'm confused about how I should feel about killing," says Dubois, who has a toddler back home. "The first time I shot someone, it was the most exhilarating thing I'd ever felt."

Dubois turns back to the road. "We talk about killing all the time," he says. "I never used to talk this way. I'm not proud of it, but it's like I can't stop. I'm worried what I will be like when I get home."

The men aren't Special Forces soldiers. They're troops with the Army's 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment serving their 14th month in Iraq, much of it in daily battles. In 20 minutes, they will come under attack again.

Many soldiers and Army psychiatrists say these constant conversations about death help troops come to grips with the trauma of combat. But mental-health professionals within and outside the military point to the chatter as evidence of preventable anguish.

It is very difficult for us as a nation to face up to the immoral and illegal war which we have perpetrated and are paying for which was based on lies and deceit by our government, let alone for our soldiers who have actually killed other human beings, civilians, women, children, for reasons that are not clear at behest of psychopathic and irresponsible leaders. What does this killing do to a person's soul other than lead to anguish, revulsion, self-recrimination, and too often self destruction in one form or another.

Families of these suffering souls have wanted to be proud of their relative's service and to believe it was for a good cause, but the truth does not match the delusion. The inability of people back home to "understand", let alone accept, the truth, leaves the suffering soldier even more isolated and tormented.

What is the answer to the spiritual suffering? The truth and repentence. Will McCain or Obama lead us there? I doubt it very much unless we as a country are willing to face our demons and admit that what has been done in our name is wrong. Witnessing the suicides and PTSD of our returning soldiers fortunately or unfortunately won't let us ignore or forget the heinous acts they have been asked and compelled to do in our name. The guilt belongs to us all not just to the perpetrators, but they are the more active participants while we just watch, cheer them on, and lie to them telling them they are doing grand, honroable, and glorious things when deep in their souls they know better.

I intend to write more on this topic so I am adding a new category to my blog today called Perpetration induced stress.

Nation & World | Soldiers trained to kill, not to cope | Seattle Times Newspaper.

 

Suicide of troops only one symptom of National spiritual dysfunction in the U.S.A.

I passed a car this morning that had a yellow ribbon on it which said "Support The Troops", and a decal on it which said, "Thank them for their service protecting our country." And I wondered to myself how do you thank people who are engaged in immoral and illegal activity of waging a pre-emptive war for a corrupt government than has waged war based on lies?

The Nurmeburg trials after World War II developed the principle that "just following orders" does not absolve a person from legal and moral guilt. The fact is that many of our troops are engaged in illegal and immoral activities, activities which they cannot justify to themselves or to others and so when they return home "from duty", from engaging in these activities they are killing themselves in greater and greater numbers.

Our chauvanistic and patriotic jingoism does not help these soldiers at all because they know what they did, and they are not proud, and they cannot say anything when they are being falsely adulated, and continued to be lied to that they have done brave and noble things.

What our soldiers and our country needs more than anything is the truth, because it is the truth that sets people free not lies in spite of what the current administration tells us.

When American soldiers choose suicide over life back in the U.S.A. that should tell us something. They know something we don't know and that is that our spirit is seriously broken and corrupted as a nation.

Truth, honesty, repentence, forgiveness, exoneration, reconciliation are badly needed in our national soul and the prophetic leadership is sadly lacking. Until it emerges our returning troops will continue to suffer and kill themselves.

It is a mistake to view the suicide and psychiatric crises in our returning veterans as mental health problems alone. At the core they are spiritual problems, and Americans as a whole share a spiritual responsibility for the state of our nation's soul. The suicide of our soldiers is only one symptom of serious spiritual dysfunction of our country.

James Jenkins was a Marine who served two rotations in Iraq. He became increasingly agitated and dispairing over the 212 people he states he killed and he told his mother he didn't understand why he was there. It seems that a very promising, bright, hard working, intelligent young man joined the service "for college money" and "to serve his country" only to find out that the "service" involved unspeakable activities that he would rather kill himself for than have to live with. It is a very sad commentary on how the current administration and our country has exploited its youth and their potential for very dishonorable , deceiftul, and destructive policies.

The blood of James Jenkins, the 212 people he killed, and the thousands and millions who have suffered because of this tragic policy falls on George Bush and his ilk and all the idiots in this country who voted for them.

Video lasts 7: 16

Money For Nothing, the book

Edward Ugel has written a light breezy memoir entitled, Money For Nothing: One Man's Journey Through The Dark Side Of Lottery Millions. Ugel describes his career as a lump sum salesman to lottery winners who rather than wait for the annual annuity check decide to sell their win to a financial investment company for a lump sum.

Ugel describes how the lump sum salespeople prey on the weaknesses and character defects of winners to make their sales and collect thousands in commissions. Turns out Ugel has a gambling problem himself and so part of what makes him a successful salesman in this bussiness is that "it takes one to know one."

The thing that makes this book palatable is Ugel's self denigrating stance, his humor, and his humility. He is aware of his problems and he knows that at once they are his greatest assett and his greatest deficit. He makes no bones about it and seems honest in a way that is refreshing and kept me reading to the end.

The book is disjointed and written like a high school term paper, but enjoyable nonetheless and gives the reader an inside glimpse of the underbelly of state lotteries, the people who play them, and the people who prey on the unfortunate winners.

Pennsylvania Injuries Rise After Repeal of Helmet Law

I have argued this point with various people over the last few years that motorcyle helmets and bicycle helmets save lives and traumatic brain injuries. Only 20 states require motorcyle helmets, New York where I live, being one of them. Two years ago, Pennsylvania stupidly rescinded its helmet law and guess what? Right. Head injuries and deaths have gone up dramatically. Here is a snippet from the June 11, 2008 Reuters HealthDay article based on an article which will appear in the August issue of the American Journal of Public Health:

In the two years after Pennsylvania repealed its universal motorcycle helmet law, there was a 32 percent increase in motorcyclist head injury deaths and a 42 percent increase in head injury-related hospitalizations, a University of Pittsburgh study says.

The state's universal helmet law was repealed in 2003. Currently, only riders under age 21 and those with less than two years' experience who haven't taken a safety course are required to wear helmets.

The researchers analyzed data from the state's health and transportation departments for the years 2001-02 and 2004-05 and found helmet use by motorcyclists involved in reported crashes decreased from 82 percent to 58 percent in the two years after the helmet law was repealed.

While the head injury death rate increased by 32 percent, there was no increase in the non-head injury death rate.

Along with the 42 percent increase in head injury-related hospitalizations after the repeal of the helmet law, there was an 87 percent increase in the number of head-injured, hospitalized motorcyclists who required further care at facilities specializing in rehabilitation and long-term care.

Total acute care hospital charges for motorcycle-related head injuries increased 132 percent in the two years after repeal of the law, the study found.

I was talking to a young 16 year old client of mine who is a true libertarian and who advocates for goverment to stay out of people's lives and let people to do as many stupid things as they like such as drink alcohol, drug, have promiscuous sex, ride motorcyles helmet free, etc. His point is that it would be an exercise in social darwinism, that is, the stupid will die young and not reproduce. In a way I think he has a point. It could be that New Yorkers are a little smarter when it comes to public health than Pennsylvanians. Certainly our auto insurance and health insurance companies prosper while Pennsylvanian insurance companies are paying the price of stupidity as well as individuals and their families.

MedlinePlus: Pennsylvania Injuries Rise After Repeal of Helmet Law.

Psychologists engage in torture and war crimes

On Friday, July 18, 2008, Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now, interviewed Jane Mayer, the author of the new book, The Dark Side, about the role that psychologists, and the APA played in torturing prisoners in the so-called "War On Terror".

It seems that America has lost its way under the Bush administration and has engaged in war crimes. Americans have lost their ideals under this administration as they have watched their leaders justify and engage in policies and behaviors that  disregard human rights, dignity, and justice.

It seems ironic that a President who engaged in illicit sex in the White House is impeached, while a President who is an international war criminal is ignored. What has happened to the American people?

Amy Goodman's interview is well worth listening to or watching. You can do so by clicking on the link below which will take you to the show on the Democracy Now web site.

Here is part of the interview. It lasts 8:29

Democracy Now! | July 18, 2008.

MCCain, Gramm, and Bush don't know what they are talking about. The ecomomy really is bad, it's not just "psychological" as they claim.

There is no "psychology" to the bad economy as McCain, Gramm, and Bush suggest. The ecomomy is really bad. With this kind of leadership, Americans are in deep shit. Video lasts 4:09

John McCain, Phil Gramm, and George Bush think they're psychologists, but they are practicing without a license and they get it wrong

 

 

Here is gaslighting bull shit at its best, when poltical leaders call Americans in a tough economy whinners and needing a "psychological boost". These guys are good. How stupid are the American people? Maybe if they put Prozac in the drinking water like the government used Soma in 1984, they can tranqulize the citizens into accepting their oppressive policies and vote for them.

Video lasts 1:01