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It is time for more holistic practices in mental health

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Re: It is time for more holistic practices in mental health

#51

Post by JR1427 »

One thing that has helped me over the last two years is not watching or reading the news (I've haven't done social media in a decade).

I know some people will think it is morally wrong of me to not be interested in the world and society. In fact, I used to think as much too, and thought myself terribly clever because I had an Economist subscription.

The fact is that I _am_ interested in the world and society, but all I found that keeping up with hour-by-hour events did was stress me out. I don't need to hear about plane crashes, or tedious political events.

The only place where I come across news stories now is occasionally on HN, and when talking to other people.

Because I am no longer addicted to the news, I am less stressed, and have more time to do the things that make me calm, happy, and fulfilled, rather than stressed.

I doubt that my "living under a rock" policy will be permanent - in the future I might develop a better capacity to deal with the stress of current affairs - but for now it is definitely helping me.

Re: It is time for more holistic practices in mental health

#52

Post by switch007 »

mihaaly wrote: post #29

Concerning NHS I'd be extatic if they listened to my specific and narrow problem before writing paperwork that they do not read later and I have to tell again someone else in that 15 minutes they allocate for me, that would be a first step in my view towards the dreamland of holistic approaches.

You took the words out of my mouth. Mental health on the NHS has more or less collapsed under its own weight. All this time limitation, ignoring what you say, forgetting to note important details, pretending at each appointment that there is no history etc is just systemic refusal/inability to offer treatment at the end of the day (not just mental health).

Re: It is time for more holistic practices in mental health

#53

Post by zer00eyz »

huijzer wrote: post #45

I talk a lot to people who are training to become therapist, to PhD's in psychology, and read a lot of psychology papers. If there is one thing it's time for then it's for academia to get out of their ivory tower and face the real world. As Taleb puts it: “I will repeat the following until I am hoarse: it is contagion that determines the fate of a theory in social science, not its validity.” Or as Yarkoni & Westfall…

> If there is one thing it's time for then it's for academia to get out of their ivory tower and face the real world.

I dont disagree but there is a deeper issue with the academic side of things.

> Currently, peer review and grant proposals are largely done by academic peers. These peers can strengthen dogmatic ideas. Somehow, there should be a mechanism introduced that counters this.

Psych in general is where the whole reproducibility crisis bubble up from. We're paying attention to it everywhere else but the work here is just rotten to the core.

If no one replicates, and especially here, we have major issues because everything is fuzzy.

Re: It is time for more holistic practices in mental health

#54

Post by Almondsetat »

lynx23 wrote: post #44
can16358p wrote: post #25

I strongly believe we don't have "mental health problems", yet we have a global style of living in "modern society" that is inherently incompatible with the way we evolved: e.g. office-based daily tasks instead of walking and hunting, foods fabricated to stimulate us instead of what we could find in nature, high buildings and cities with sound/light/air pollution instead of a calm, clean nature, always trying to "opt…

[flagged]

Changing your environment is one of the best things you can do and this has been shown countless times.

For example, it is paramount for an alcoholic to get rid of any trace of alcohol in his home and any other frequented places. Do you perhaps believe that instead he should just "get his act together" and through "sheer will" ignore the temptation of alcohol even if he is surrounded by it 24/7?

Re: It is time for more holistic practices in mental health

#55

Post by keiferski »

ImHereToVote wrote: post #27
can16358p wrote: post #25

I strongly believe we don't have "mental health problems", yet we have a global style of living in "modern society" that is inherently incompatible with the way we evolved: e.g. office-based daily tasks instead of walking and hunting, foods fabricated to stimulate us instead of what we could find in nature, high buildings and cities with sound/light/air pollution instead of a calm, clean nature, always trying to "opt…

Contemporary systems are an organism to themselves. Guided by natural "artificial" selection. Corporations are like aliens trying to terraform the social landscape so they can survive. I can't image what it will be like when they become even more autonomous.

I’ve always found it interesting how the word corporation is traced back to the Latin for body, corpus. As in Corpus Christi, the body of Christ, or the word corpse. There is something very organic about the word’s etymology which becomes even more compelling considering the role of corporations in the future of life on this planet.

Re: It is time for more holistic practices in mental health

#56

Post by martin293 »

lynx23 wrote: post #44
can16358p wrote: post #25

I strongly believe we don't have "mental health problems", yet we have a global style of living in "modern society" that is inherently incompatible with the way we evolved: e.g. office-based daily tasks instead of walking and hunting, foods fabricated to stimulate us instead of what we could find in nature, high buildings and cities with sound/light/air pollution instead of a calm, clean nature, always trying to "opt…

[flagged]

> When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. "That is idiotic; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3" can be shortened to "1 + 1 is 2, not 3."

Also,

> Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith.

Re: It is time for more holistic practices in mental health

#57

Post by klausa »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #11
epicureanideal wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure would be great if they’d find one for muscle mass that wasn’t dangerous or otherwise harmful. And of course, one for mental health. The three put together would make a very interesting society. Add nootropics to the mix and it gets even more interesting.

they all already exist. Especially the drugs for muscle mass, which are safe and very well characterized.

I'm curious what you mean here, other than potentially anabolic steroids?

I would not call these "safe", so I think you might have meant something else?

Re: It is time for more holistic practices in mental health

#58

Post by konschubert »

JR1427 wrote: post #51

One thing that has helped me over the last two years is not watching or reading the news (I've haven't done social media in a decade). I know some people will think it is morally wrong of me to not be interested in the world and society. In fact, I used to think as much too, and thought myself terribly clever because I had an Economist subscription. The fact is that I _am_ interested in the world and society, but all…

If it helps you that’s good and I might do the same. But two things:

a) this is a luxury you can afford because you live in a country where you can trust that your house isn’t going to explode tomorrow.

b) If everybody did this, a) would quickly no longer be true…

Re: It is time for more holistic practices in mental health

#59

Post by refurb »

JR1427 wrote: post #51

One thing that has helped me over the last two years is not watching or reading the news (I've haven't done social media in a decade). I know some people will think it is morally wrong of me to not be interested in the world and society. In fact, I used to think as much too, and thought myself terribly clever because I had an Economist subscription. The fact is that I _am_ interested in the world and society, but all…

> I know some people will think it is morally wrong of me to not be interested in the world and society.

Social media and the news are probably the worst way to be “informed” of the world and society.

One could even argue you’re worse off using those because it gives you the illusion of being informed, without much substance.

You’d be far better off picking up a quality history book (not the popular history books which are a step up from the news), but recognized historical books that are globally recognized as authoritative texts.

If you read one book like that a year you would have already exceeded the knowledge from a lifetime of social media and mainstream news.

Re: It is time for more holistic practices in mental health

#60

Post by ownagefool »

knallfrosch wrote: post #30
can16358p wrote: post #25

I strongly believe we don't have "mental health problems", yet we have a global style of living in "modern society" that is inherently incompatible with the way we evolved: e.g. office-based daily tasks instead of walking and hunting, foods fabricated to stimulate us instead of what we could find in nature, high buildings and cities with sound/light/air pollution instead of a calm, clean nature, always trying to "opt…

100% agree. You need to cook your food. You need to exert energy to move (walk, run, or cycle instead of car.) You need to communicate face-to-face, instead of with a screen. Swimming is such a great feeling that I've never seen someone worry about an email while doing it. If you drive your car to a desk job where you sit in a zoom meeting all day and then stuff your face with food you bought, you're going to crash a…

Physical and mental well-being are likely linked.

Take for example a diet that causes gut problems, which then causes anxiety to manifest physically, which result in anti-depressant medication, which you guessed it, cause gut problems.

However, when a raise in mental-health issues correlate with a an inequality crisis, de-funding of mental health services, and lowering of national food standards ( UK, Brexit, Austerity ), maybe it's not so much that we can't sit in offices, but rather balance has simply been stripped for profit.

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