The time has come…
Welcome. Time for some good old fashioned rants and vigorous debate in the areas of psychology, sociology, addiction, mental health, stress management and life in general.
But more important:
It is my intention to provide you with some concrete and useful information. I will offer “inside” information in relation to social services and tips that you can implement immediately in your life. I don’t want to be redundant and repeat what other people say but from time to time that will be inevitable. When something is useful it tends to be passed around.
First off:
I hope to provide a context for understanding the reality of emotional issues, stress, behavioral problems, and challenges arising from day to day life decisions. MOST people (by some estimates 60-70% of Americans) have struggled with some type of diagnostically significant issue. But then again diagnosis is mostly bullshit (you will see that word a lot in my blog posts). And in reality “sub-clinically” (meaning you haven’t reached the point of “crazy”) issues are present in nearly every individual and family. But you would never know it.
Second:
Wow…we live in a world of image. Ervin Goffman was a 20th century sociologist who wrote about “impression management” and “dramaturgy”. Essentially, his theory was that individuals treat life as a continuous process of being on stage. Taking on roles. Putting on a mask and managing their image in a wide variety of settings. Shakespeare wrote about this as well when he penned: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players”.
But goodness… Facebook wasn’t around for either of these dudes. Neither was the airbrushed supermodel or the mommy wars or the situation comedy where every problem is wrapped up in nice neat package within 30 minutes. It creates a sense of collective inferiority that is never disclosed. EVERYONE IS WALKING AROUND WITH PROBLEMS. IF ANYONE TELLS YOU THEY HAVE NO PROBLEMS RUN THE OTHER WAY. Ever see the movie American Psycho?
Finally:
There is something you can do today. Right now. Find someone to talk to about these thoughts. Share. It DOES NOT need to be a therapist. I could be but doesn’t have to be. It could also be a certain type of friend (be careful), family may work but tread lightly there as well. It could be someone at church or in a support group. You need to find someone to trust enough to disclose some real things. Co-workers sometimes fill these roles. I believe we have a real crisis of mistrust in society so you may need to work hard to find this person. More to come on finding this corner man or corner woman in future posts.
Source: The time has come…
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