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Professor discusses mental illness in America at Bates College
Jose Leiva/Sun Journal
Boston University professor Liah Greenfeld lectures on mental illness in contemporary America on Thursday at Bates College in Lewiston.
LEWISTON — Americans are depressed because they have too many options and struggle to find their identity, a Boston University professor told Bates College students during a lecture on mental illness in contemporary America on Thursday.
Mental illness is the "burden of our time," said Liah Greenfeld, a professor of political science and sociology. She is internationally known for her research on culture, mental illness and modernity. She has written several book on nationalism and economics, among other topics.
By 2030, more people around the world will be affected by depression than by any other health problem, Greenfeld said. She estimated that about 1 in 5 Americans is severely depressed, bipolar or schizophrenic.
"If we take all the information into account, 20 percent of Americans are certifiably insane," she said. "So this is a very, very serious problem. It is a particularly great problem because these diseases are not understood, and we've been studying them for more than 200 years."
The United States, Greenfeld said, is clearly a world leader when it comes to the percentage of citizens suffering from mental illnesses.
"It seems to be a problem of prosperous, Democratic, liberal societies; historically, that's been true as well," she said, adding that depression as society now knows it was first observed in 16th-century England.
The proliferation of depression and schizophrenia corresponded to the period following the end of aristocracy and the emergence of England as a nation, where a person of any social status could rise to the top of the hierarchy, Greenfeld said.
"This view, which implies democracy, freedom and equality, all the values we consider very dear to our hearts, changes human society in many good ways. We're empowered and have the freedom of choice to lead the lives we want to," she said. "But it also implies a heavy price, democracy; the inability of culture to provide sufficient guidance in how to behave. Indeed, our society does not prescribe people identity."
This lack of identity, so readily available in aristocracies or caste systems, is what drives Americans and citizens of other Westernized countries crazy, Greenfeld said.
"We are free to create ourselves — we are given the choice of what to be, and we therefore must construct our identity on our own. For many people, this is very difficult," she said. "Their identity remains dead or undefined; they don't know who they are."
Knowing one's identity provides a cognitive, cultural map that gives people a spot from which to sort out the rest of the world and know their role in it, a central feature of a functioning human mind, Greenfeld said.
Animals don't need such context, because their identities are in their genes, she said.
"When a little mouse is growing up, it knows precisely how to behave vis-a-vis the other mice. All this is written in their blood," she said. "They don't have to adapt to their society; they only have to adapt to the physical environment."
But humans do, she said, and without strong cultural cues, depression and schizophrenia spread.
While the 20 percent figure she cited accounts for the most severe cases of depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, it represents only the extreme end of a continuum that includes everyone.
"This is a general malaise. When is the last time you saw a happy undergraduate?" she said, receiving laughter from the audience of mostly students. "We don't all reach that 20 percent, but we are all sick."
The cure, Greenfeld said, is not medicine or anything biological, but rather cultural.
"We must prepare (children) to be ready for this burden (of choice) and to understand that this is a package deal," she said. "If you want freedom and choice and control over your own destiny, you must me able to choose without falling apart under the burden of choice."
rmetzler@sunjournal.com
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Am I hearing this proffessor
Am I hearing this proffessor is saying that a person with mental health problems just have to convince themslves that if they face there problems thy will merely go away?These problems stem from chemical imbalances in there bodies.No different than several other illness.Medication is not enough.They need to learn coping skills to survive.To retrain your way of thinking is helpful but medication is neccesary.I really do not understand this proffessor.I hope her students do not take her to serious.
Am I hearing this proffessor
Am I hearing this proffessor is saying that a person with mental health problems just have to convince themslves that if they face there problems thy will merely go away?These problems stem from chemical imbalances in there bodies.No different than several other illness.Medication is not enough.They need to learn coping skills to survive.To retrain your way of thinking is helpful but medication is neccesary.I really do not understand this proffessor.I hope her students do not take her to serious.
"...But humans do, she said,
"...But humans do, she said, and without strong cultural cues, depression and schizophrenia spread. "
Veritas...this nut believes depression and schizophrenia is caused by a lack of strong cultural cues????? I don't need a PhD (that doesn't mean I don't have one) to know that depression and schizophrenia are biochemical and neurological disorders...yes, a host of environmental factors and stressors can exacerbate the condition and extremes in one's life can lead eventually to depression but schizophrenia is not "caused" by anything...it is an inherited disorder or occurs as a result of some trauma to the brain (head injury etc.). you don't get schizophrenia from being "confused" about your social role or place in the world...and I would even venture to stand on saying that though you may feel depressed about such things it is highly unlikely to become actually clinically depressed unless there is also something else going on in your neurology or biology-the circumstances would just be a trigger and/or exacerbating factor. Personality disorders are another story all together and perhaps she would be better off focusing on those in relation to sociology rather than actual mental illnesses.
verified Mental Illness has such a
Mental Illness has such a stigma in the first place. Its fair to say that Mental Illness is blind... anyone and everyone could be prone to some sort of symptom that Mental Illness cause (anxiety, OCD, PTSD, so on and so forth)... I think its human nature to discover who we are, what makes us US. As well as childhood, learned behavior-what helps to shape and portray us as individuals. I would rather see an article on people who research their illnesses, life experiences, and Cognitive Therapy (which-may I add has great, life-changing advice (even for the everyday person)). There is not enough positive support out there for people who suffer from Mental Illness. There may be doctors-but they never truly know the extent unless they have been there themselves. People with Mental Illness need to know that they ARE NOT ALONE and there is a 'better' way to cope... there may not ever be a magic pill or complete cure for it, but there is something out their waiting to be dicovered- someone out there waiting... to help.
How insulting to people with
How insulting to people with mental illness, to proclaim that they could have just changed it by not reacting to their experiences the way they did. My brother and I had exactly the same upbringing, yet he has schizophrenia and I do not. IT'S CHEMICAL AND NEUROLOGICAL.
verified I didn't post anything in my
I didn't post anything in my comment about schizophrenia. Schizophrenia and other severe mental Illnesses are in a class of their own (which still carries a stigma). I know many people with Schizophrenia and it seems the only thing that has worked for them is proper medication and some skills like thought stopping/reframing-there is a lot more it. I think most people that may have done research on Cognitive Therapy and other kind of 'steps'/skills-know exactly what I am talking about when I talk about depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsiveness, learned behavior. Even then-a person who generally may think negative can mastermind their own troubling thoughts. Being committed to changing the way we think is not an overnight process. I am not new to this. I have bipolar/ptsd (anxiety, ocd, survival mechanism), suicidal tendencies (since before the age of 8), and trying to survive the difficulty of learned behavior. I am not ashamed of what makes me who I am-but empowered to be a 'better' me and maybe one day/someday I will be able to help others who are trapped by their mental illnesses and troubling thoughts. So, I apologize if maybe I wasn't too articulate in my previous comment but I never meant for anyone to take it that way.
verified Thank you Twitch, you said
Thank you Twitch, you said it very well. The lady is the one, I should think, should be looked at as certifiably insane. Which former Eastern Block Nation did they import this one from?
If we could only return to common sense...
verified I see 'twitch' has now been
I see 'twitch' has now been published twice. That, in his mind, makes him an authority. He can put that on his resume to line up those lucrative speaking engagements in academia....
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When I was a young Sailor - I drank like a Sailor, fought like a Sailor, and screwed like a Sailor. Now that I am old and wise - I have a few scars, but many fond memories.
she also appears to question
she also appears to question the "cost" of freedom in terms of having to put forth the effort of raising resilient children of strong character as perhaps too high a price to pay...her socialistic...nay fascist... agenda should be clear to any intelligent person reading her material or listening to her speak.
OMG!!!! I CANNOT believe
OMG!!!! I CANNOT believe the paper bothered to write the blitherings of this ignorant intellect. First of all she is way out of line trying to do "research" on psychiatric disorders when she does not carry any degree in that area. "It seems to be a problem of prosperous, Democratic, liberal societies; historically, that's been true as well," she said, adding that depression as society now knows it was first observed in 16th-century England." is the least distasteful and reprehensible thing she said in the article!!!! She is basically saying that because no-one in history recognized or documented the depressed state of impoverished persons before that time that it depression simply did not exist and is only a disorder of bored rich people with nothing better to do but wander aimlessly through life seeking their identify...and to then insinuate that just because someone has a diagnosis of depression, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia that they are "certifiably insane"!!!!!!!!!!! Is she really that ignorant that she is does not know that there are millions of people living full and meaningful lives who have never been diagnosed or who have been but are experiencing wellness!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyone attending BU would be wasting their hard earned money spending it on any class she teaches and I can't believe she is actually an educator...what our nation is coming to...
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