Surviving America's Depression Epidemic: How to Find Morale, Energy, and Community in a World Gone Crazy

By Bruce E. Levine, Ph.D.

Summarized with permission of Chelsea Green.
All rights reserved.

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Understanding Self-Destructive Ways

Shame is the feeling that one is a bad or worthless person, not that an action or behavior is bad. Feeling shame is a typical outcome of abuse, whether physical, emotional, or nonverbal. This feeling often leads to self-destructive behavior.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is an extreme reaction to emotional pain. This refers to the loss of control over one's thoughts (obsession) or one's behaviors (compulsion). The conventional diagnosis and treatment rarely focus on the cause of this disorder, however, but rather on decreasing the symptoms.

Bi-polar disorder or manic-depression is another branch of depression. In this case, people will sometimes behave quite euphorically and other times act extremely depressed. As with other mental conditions, this is diagnosed with a behavior checklist and not with lab tests of any kind.

Antidepressant drugs are used for more than just depression these days. They are also suggested for anxiety, shyness, eating disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Basically they are used to dull the pain in all of these instances, rather than alleviate the cause of the pain.

The effects of psychotropic drugs go far beyond dulling the pain. They also affect memory, concentration and sexual function as well as cause headaches, stomachaches, nausea and dizziness. Current research finds that brain damage may also occur.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT or electroshock) has not disappeared from use, as many believe. While it is more sophisticated now, it still causes permanent brain damage including slow reaction times and memory loss. In addition, scientists and doctors are still not clear on how it works but continue using it anyway.

Not all escapes from pain involve chemicals such as drugs or alcohol. People also use overeating, television/movie watching, gambling, and other diversions to escape pain. Since American culture does not support or include time for people to reevaluate their lives, people often use illness as a means to do that.

Many traditional American cultures such as the Lakota and Blackfoot understand that pain is part of life and has meaning for those encountering it. They provide tribal support to help people find their way through these times. American culture, including modern psychiatry, want to take away the pain but this is a counterproductive pursuit. Dulling the pain does not remove it but actually makes it more difficult to access and heal.

According to recent polls, American youth are less happy today than they were a few decades ago. The expectations to be academically successful and socially popular take their toll. The lack of meaning in education also contributes to their unhappiness. In addition, many parents don't have the time to really get to know their children. This causes them to feel that no one cares about them.

Parents who are depressed or otherwise emotionally challenged have trouble raising kids who are emotionally healthy. This is not due to heredity, as some suggest, but rather due to the children's reactions to their parents' behavior.

Some people in our culture are very sensitive to their own and others' emotions. They are often artists who are able to channel their emotions into their painting, music, or writing. Some are so overwhelmed by their feelings that they commit suicide or abuse drugs in order to escape. Our society does not support this sensitivity now and is missing important visions because of it.

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