Overall, the lesson was fantastic. The teachers addressed depression, self-esteem, happiness, and positive thinking. They emphasized things like if you're feeling like you should talk to a counselor or therapist about your problems, maybe you should; you don't need to be happy all the time; it's ok to be sad; striving for perfection doesn't mean you have to be perfect right now; comparing yourself to others always results in you seeing the best of the other and the worst in yourself; physical touch is important to most people's happiness (we learned about hug therapy: you need 4 hugs per day for survival, 8 for maintenance, 12 for growth as a person).
I found all of this to be very informative and helpful, as did most of the girls attending. But it did cause me to wonder why this is such an issue for women today. And is it more of an issue for LDS women? Or more specifically, is it more of an issue for BYU college women? Is there something about "Mormon culture" that increases self-negativity in women? Or do women (and even men?) from all walks of life suffer from these same feelings of inadequacies and depression, but simply hide it better by use of drugs, alcohol, sex, etc?
What do you think?
5 comments:
I think....everyone is crazy. Everyone suffers from issues such as these. Just not everyone likes to admit it or do anything about it. Thus reverting to other ways of dealing...it can be anything- not necessarily drugs, sex etc. It may be SHOPPING, or EATING, or whatever tickles your fancy. Me personally- I like shopping :D A new cute pair of shoes or nice outfit always makes me feel better about myself...at least while I am wearing it haha. DRUGS ( prescription of course) are always handy, just maybe not for everyone. Counseling is nice. But I have to ask myself- do americans overdo the mental health thing? Or do other countries undermine it? Here it is quite polemic...some people think its great and mportant while others think its a bunch of hooey dooey. I think its important and real though. And if you need help...GET IT!!!
I think everyone has things they're dealing with, and simply express it in different ways - depression, addiction, OCD...
I also think that everyone has their own need for mental health, but I think that some types of people are more prone to mental stress and anxiety than others. Perhaps some LDS women do fall into this category, which could be a reason that Elder Ballard counseled mothers to take time to cultivate their own interests and gifts. Personally, I think that delving into an art book is a great way to mentally recharge. Some people take drugs to deal with their problems, I look at art.
i'm ready to read a new blog...1...2...3...GO!
Mental health still has a lot of stigma. When people talk about getting regular exercise and a balanced diet for their physical health or to lose a few pounds we think "Great! They care about their physical health and well-being." But when people talk about their stresses, worries, problems, their regular counseling sessions, family counseling, medication, etc we tend to think, "Gee, what's wrong with them?" instead of, "Great! They care about their health and well-being!" Also, there is a great lack of understanding that physical, mental, and emotional health are interconnected and if one is out of balance (depression, for example) a person is more likely to experience a variety of physical complaints (chronic back pain, fibromyalgia, chronic abdominal pain, etc) if the depression isn't addressed and treated by counseling, medication, exercise, diet, or other modalities. Because mental health has a stigma, most people don't want to be labeled as weird or having problems. Maybe that makes us not want to talk about it or ask for help when we need it. I think it's a pretty universal problem. Mormons just respond and express mental unwellness differently-- in the absence of alcohol, drugs, promiscuity we get problems like addiction to prescription medications, obesity and eating disorders, dysfunctional families and things like that.
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