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On Being a Science Writer and Managing a Mental Illness

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Re: On Being a Science Writer and Managing a Mental Illness

#11

Post by anon_christian »

rubyn00bie wrote: post #9
anon_christian wrote: post #5

Here's another story of someone suffering from mental illness who should seek God as many are now doing and being healed. I speak as a converted atheist, hedge fund employee, and contract software developer. Visit a baptist church. "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

I think this is a scummy reply because it is purely written to exploit vulnerable people and provide them baseless hope. You do not say how, what, or why your religion has done to help you and you make a broad sweeping statement that some thing (a god) will magically solve mental illness. If anything this sort of crap will prolong suffering, and or exacerbate the problems associated with mental illness because it's n…

A story I noticed yesterday, in times past these symptoms would have been described as an evil spirit, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/magazine-40647530/should-people..., similar to the symptoms I used to experience. Carl Jung in part overturned Freud in his confirmation of the spiritual nature of experience, however he erred in confining his analysis to the mind alone, which is a small but significant component of the totality of human experience.

Re: On Being a Science Writer and Managing a Mental Illness

#12

Post by Stratoscope »

rubyn00bie wrote: post #9
anon_christian wrote: post #5

Here's another story of someone suffering from mental illness who should seek God as many are now doing and being healed. I speak as a converted atheist, hedge fund employee, and contract software developer. Visit a baptist church. "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

I think this is a scummy reply because it is purely written to exploit vulnerable people and provide them baseless hope. You do not say how, what, or why your religion has done to help you and you make a broad sweeping statement that some thing (a god) will magically solve mental illness. If anything this sort of crap will prolong suffering, and or exacerbate the problems associated with mental illness because it's n…

A programmer once believed in the God of Spaces. But they were never quite sure how many spaces were the One True Number. They grew up with Four. Younger believers told them Two. They even tried Three in their wilderness years, but that made them feel odd.

Then a stranger asked, "Why do you worry so with your counting? Do you ever expect to find the right number? Just use a tab, my friend, and the number will always be One."

In that moment, the programmer was enlightened.

But in their previous days, was this programmer not a true Believer of Spaces?

Re: On Being a Science Writer and Managing a Mental Illness

#13

Post by rubyn00bie »

anon_christian wrote: post #11
rubyn00bie wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is a scummy reply because it is purely written to exploit vulnerable people and provide them baseless hope. You do not say how, what, or why your religion has done to help you and you make a broad sweeping statement that some thing (a god) will magically solve mental illness. If anything this sort of crap will prolong suffering, and or exacerbate the problems associated with mental illness because it's n…

A story I noticed yesterday, in times past these symptoms would have been described as an evil spirit, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/magazine-40647530/should-people... , similar to the symptoms I used to experience. Carl Jung in part overturned Freud in his confirmation of the spiritual nature of experience, however he erred in confining his analysis to the mind alone, which is a small but significant component of the…

I honestly have no idea what you're trying to say here. I'm not trying to be rude, right now, I just cannot coalesce those words into a coherent thought. Please edit and revise or elaborate in another comment.

Re: On Being a Science Writer and Managing a Mental Illness

#14

Post by Sorreah »

shubhamjain wrote: post #7

> For one thing, choosing writing as a way of making a living can nurture insecurity and doubt—especially for those, like myself, who are early in their careers. For me, at least, publishing a story is like handing in an exam essay, an invitation for strict judgment by both the intended audience and my peers. I think people in tech tend to underappreciate the benefits of being able to just do the job and enjoy a (com…

That is not my experience at all, and I believe the term imposter syndrome is widely used by others in the industry.

Re: On Being a Science Writer and Managing a Mental Illness

#15

Post by [deleted] »

shubhamjain wrote: post #7

> For one thing, choosing writing as a way of making a living can nurture insecurity and doubt—especially for those, like myself, who are early in their careers. For me, at least, publishing a story is like handing in an exam essay, an invitation for strict judgment by both the intended audience and my peers. I think people in tech tend to underappreciate the benefits of being able to just do the job and enjoy a (com…

[deleted]

Re: On Being a Science Writer and Managing a Mental Illness

#16

Post by lmaoseriously »

anon_christian wrote: post #5

Here's another story of someone suffering from mental illness who should seek God as many are now doing and being healed. I speak as a converted atheist, hedge fund employee, and contract software developer. Visit a baptist church. "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

What, specifically, does baptist christianity offer over any other religion? Or counseling given by an accredited therapist? Or, well, any other life experience?

I think the church can offer a sense of community that many people are seeking or lack, but this is just an outrageous claim. If "god" was the answer to mental illness, and this fact was definitive, there would be no mental illness left.

Re: On Being a Science Writer and Managing a Mental Illness

#17

Post by gcb0 »

viach wrote: post #4
gcb0 wrote: post #3

reads like a medication pamphlet. therapy is more useful than drugs, even if drugs are needed eventually. but I think this follow the US school of thought, where therapy is just one session required for liability before you're sent to a psych who will prescribe a pill regimen on the very first session. unbelievable.

> therapy is more useful than drugs, even if drugs are needed eventually. Is it your opinion based on... ?

says the whole world. almost every european country requires you to do minimum hours of therapy before and to keep with therapy during the drug usage.

to begin with, I could refer you to the study the article is about. it correlates a social setting with high occurrence of depression. then it proceeds to promote the solution with medication. when the obvious solution is changing the social setting! that is the definition of the 80s joke "prozac for bad hair day"

Re: On Being a Science Writer and Managing a Mental Illness

#18

Post by [deleted] »

Sorreah wrote: post #14
shubhamjain wrote: post #7

> For one thing, choosing writing as a way of making a living can nurture insecurity and doubt—especially for those, like myself, who are early in their careers. For me, at least, publishing a story is like handing in an exam essay, an invitation for strict judgment by both the intended audience and my peers. I think people in tech tend to underappreciate the benefits of being able to just do the job and enjoy a (com…

That is not my experience at all, and I believe the term imposter syndrome is widely used by others in the industry.

[deleted]

Re: On Being a Science Writer and Managing a Mental Illness

#19

Post by vertex-four »

gcb0 wrote: post #17
viach wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> therapy is more useful than drugs, even if drugs are needed eventually. Is it your opinion based on... ?

says the whole world. almost every european country requires you to do minimum hours of therapy before and to keep with therapy during the drug usage. to begin with, I could refer you to the study the article is about. it correlates a social setting with high occurrence of depression. then it proceeds to promote the solution with medication. when the obvious solution is changing the social setting! that is the defini…

Or, in other words, (at least some part of) the medical industry is driven by the neoliberal ideal that it's never anything else that's the problem, only yourself, and you're meant to deal with it with minimal impact on anyone around you?

Work must never be an issue, or we might have to treat workers well. Society and societal structures must never be an issue, or we might have to care about each other on a more than skin-deep level and drop this whole "we are all independent beings who are completely unaffected by external factors" madness.

At least some part of mental healthcare is essentially a system designed to help people cope with a society which does horrific things to them, and then gaslights them into believing it's their fault for not coping with it.

Re: On Being a Science Writer and Managing a Mental Illness

#20

Post by throwanem »

anon_christian wrote: post #5

Here's another story of someone suffering from mental illness who should seek God as many are now doing and being healed. I speak as a converted atheist, hedge fund employee, and contract software developer. Visit a baptist church. "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Brother, you disappoint me. This doesn't help anyone. Helping does. We can't always find a way to do that for someone. But we can trust that God will. And when we focus on what God has done for us, we all too easily ignore the inspiration God sends us at those times when there is something worthwhile we can do.
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