A lot of mental illness is caused by modern society

[OutcastedPhilosopher]

As I read in an article written by Rod Dreher

Rod Dreher is a typical worthless modern Christian. Here is my review of his book:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-revi ... 9K4PGGEICZ

That was a good review.

[Outcast9428]

@fschmidt and @OutcastedPhilosopher I don’t think it’s really a good review unless you explain what your problem with his book is. You left your criticisms very vague. From what I’ve seen Rod Dreher is legit. He’s a big fan of Viktor Orban too.

[HouseMD]

I think depression and anxiety are largely due to the society in which we live, as is substance abuse. Our brains were designed to handle living in villages with small groups of a couple of hundred people that stood by us and supported us. Tribes were too small to cast anyone aside. Even those that today are tormented by severe mental illnes, such as individuals with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, would find a place within the tribe as a shaman or storyteller. This would lead to their mentall illness being viewed as a gift, which would make them not feel distressed as one feels in a society that only values your ability to work and casts you aside if you cannot do so. Spirituality was their work, as tribes needed them as a mirror to understand their own souls to help them through trying times, both physically and spiritually. Lack of loneliness and isolation for everyone made substance use a thing of ritual, rather than an object of abuse.

The complexity of technology and sheer amount of information being thrown at us is also staggering. It increases anxiety, isolation, and depression, and places a constant cognitive burden upon us all. A tribesman would do a few small things every day for the entirety of his life, yet to keep up with society we must learn and process more new information and technology each year than he would learn in the entirety of his life. This also presemts a particular problem for those with severe mental illness, as schizphrenia and psychotic bipolar illness are fundamentally a failure of information filtering, and more information therefore means more garbage kicking around their brains. This essentially breaks their brains in a way that could not have happened in a more simole society, and results in reflective spirituality being converted to fear and paranoia as they form constant connections between information presented to them rather than focusing on their inner spirituality and the traditions of their people.

Autism I do not believe to be a mental illness, but rather a neurological disorder that has increased in frequency due to our increasing selection for certain traits relating to intelligence which are required to survive in the modern world, coupled with environmental exposures that impact brain development. The same genes that predispose to high levels of intelligence likely predispose to autism when combined with too many similar genes, as is demonstrated by the stratospheric rates of autism in Silicon Valley.

[Natural_Born_Cynic]

I think depression and anxiety are largely due to the society in which we live, as is substance abuse. Our brains were designed to handle living in villages with small groups of a couple of hundred people that stood by us and supported us. Tribes were too small to cast anyone aside. Even those that today are tormented by severe mental illnes, such as individuals with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, would find a place within the tribe as a shaman or storyteller. This would lead to their mentall illness being viewed as a gift, which would make them not feel distressed as one feels in a society that only values your ability to work and casts you aside if you cannot do so. Spirituality was their work, as tribes needed them as a mirror to understand their own souls to help them through trying times, both physically and spiritually. Lack of loneliness and isolation for everyone made substance use a thing of ritual, rather than an object of abuse.

The complexity of technology and sheer amount of information being thrown at us is also staggering. It increases anxiety, isolation, and depression, and places a constant cognitive burden upon us all. A tribesman would do a few small things every day for the entirety of his life, yet to keep up with society we must learn and process more new information and technology each year than he would learn in the entirety of his life. This also presemts a particular problem for those with severe mental illness, as schizphrenia and psychotic bipolar illness are fundamentally a failure of information filtering, and more information therefore means more garbage kicking around their brains. This essentially breaks their brains in a way that could not have happened in a more simole society, and results in reflective spirituality being converted to fear and paranoia as they form constant connections between information presented to them rather than focusing on their inner spirituality and the traditions of their people.

Autism I do not believe to be a mental illness, but rather a neurological disorder that has increased in frequency due to our increasing selection for certain traits relating to intelligence which are required to survive in the modern world, coupled with environmental exposures that impact brain development. The same genes that predispose to high levels of intelligence likely predispose to autism when combined with too many similar genes, as is demonstrated by the stratospheric rates of autism in Silicon Valley.

I agree, but too bad modern western society doesn't have "Shaman" as a job. Well there are Shamans in South Korea. We call them "moo dang". They conduct exorcism, talk with ghosts, help pick out spots based on Feng Shui, help with ancestral rites, etc. Some people think it's superstitious, but the profession has been passed down for thousands of years.

I also think the modern society and technology make us miss the tribal culture that your talking about, so people become more cliquish and more close minded than before. They form a mini tribe of their own of like minded people. People haven't really came out of that "Stone age, tribal" mentality.

[HouseMD]

I think depression and anxiety are largely due to the society in which we live, as is substance abuse. Our brains were designed to handle living in villages with small groups of a couple of hundred people that stood by us and supported us. Tribes were too small to cast anyone aside. Even those that today are tormented by severe mental illnes, such as individuals with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, would find a place within the tribe as a shaman or storyteller. This would lead to their mentall illness being viewed as a gift, which would make them not feel distressed as one feels in a society that only values your ability to work and casts you aside if you cannot do so. Spirituality was their work, as tribes needed them as a mirror to understand their own souls to help them through trying times, both physically and spiritually. Lack of loneliness and isolation for everyone made substance use a thing of ritual, rather than an object of abuse.

The complexity of technology and sheer amount of information being thrown at us is also staggering. It increases anxiety, isolation, and depression, and places a constant cognitive burden upon us all. A tribesman would do a few small things every day for the entirety of his life, yet to keep up with society we must learn and process more new information and technology each year than he would learn in the entirety of his life. This also presemts a particular problem for those with severe mental illness, as schizphrenia and psychotic bipolar illness are fundamentally a failure of information filtering, and more information therefore means more garbage kicking around their brains. This essentially breaks their brains in a way that could not have happened in a more simole society, and results in reflective spirituality being converted to fear and paranoia as they form constant connections between information presented to them rather than focusing on their inner spirituality and the traditions of their people.

Autism I do not believe to be a mental illness, but rather a neurological disorder that has increased in frequency due to our increasing selection for certain traits relating to intelligence which are required to survive in the modern world, coupled with environmental exposures that impact brain development. The same genes that predispose to high levels of intelligence likely predispose to autism when combined with too many similar genes, as is demonstrated by the stratospheric rates of autism in Silicon Valley.

I agree, but too bad modern western society doesn't have "Shaman" as a job. Well there are Shamans in South Korea. We call them "moo dang". They conduct exorcism, talk with ghosts, help pick out spots based on Feng Shui, help with ancestral rites, etc. Some people think it's superstitious, but the profession has been passed down for thousands of years.

I also think the modern society and technology make us miss the tribal culture that your talking about, so people become more cliquish and more close minded than before. They form a mini tribe of their own of like minded people. People haven't really came out of that "Stone age, tribal" mentality.

It is even worse than that though. Before, you had to get along with members of your tribe, despite disagreements, as a matter of survival. It was compromise or die. You couldn't just cancel people that had valuable skills, knowledge, or physical abilities, nor could you soare even the weakest members of the tribe who could find use in tending to the fields or tanning hides. Tribalism was not exclusionary, it was inclusionary of one's people by its very nature. Modern culture fragments people that would otherwise be forced to find common ground and ways to get along, which is inherently anti-tribal. It also leaves people lonelier than ever, as we stare at glowing boxes all day instead of spending time next to one another, celebrating in the triumphs and lamenting the failures of our lives with a group of people that are always there. We're more connected than ever, but more isolated because of it.

As to thise with severe mental illness, unfortunately I think even if we gave them a shamanistic life and career the sheer overwhelming nature of modern living and the associated isolation would still leave them in a much worse off state than their ancestors. It would be better than now, where they are essentially discarded by society, but they would likely still have a sense of torment and loneliness