Episode-2664- Derek Malenczak on Improving your Mental Health
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Derek is a researcher and educator at Rutgers University in the Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation. He’s currently working on his PhD there, where his focus in on helping college students with mental health issues. Derek also hosts a podcast at the College Student Success Podcast, where he’s had Jack on as his guest in the past.
He joins us today to discuss ways to improve your mental health from a self-reliance/preparedness standpoint. Today Derek attempts to simplify mental health, treatment/rehabilitation for our audience, to give you very concrete ideas/steps on what you can do for yourself if you need help, as well as a few resources on Mental Health First Aid. Given the stress levels with lock downs and job losses around the CoVid-19 situation, this is a particularly timely topic.
I really feel that we are entering a phase of this situation where deaths from suicides and injuries from domestic violence and similar issues are going to exceed the risks for CoVid itself.
The idea that we can shut down an economy and lock people in their homes for extended periods of time without massive consequences is one that history will judge harshly. Still it is our reality, my hope is today’s show gives you some tools to deal with your current situation, or tools you can provide to others if you do not personally need them.
Contrary to what celebrities and politicians and feel good types say, no we are NOT all in this together. It is an asinine statement for someone who lives in a mansion on a multi acre estate to make to a family of six living in a small apartment in a draconian lock down area like Michigan or New York. The truth is in many ways we are all in this on our own, so we need tools to deal with it.
Resources for today’s show…
- Follow Life With Jack on Instagram
- TSP Facebook Group
- Join the Members Brigade
- Join Our Forum
- TspAz.com
- Part of the Plan – Dan Folgelberg
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I was confused by the name of the department this guy works at. But that’s the most interesting concept for me in this episode: That Psychiatry is something you need to recover from, if you ever get involved with it.
In other words, even though Psychiatry claims to be at the pinnacle of the mental health system, they in fact (most of them) care very little about the lives of their patients. And once the person is stabilized (or their insurance runs out?) they are out of the psychiatric facility and on the street or back with their family. And it’s almost a sure bet that they received almost no real training or any other attempts to improve their ability or even their general outlook on life. Since when does the field of “mental health” not include activities like that?
This guest is likely trained in psychology and general counseling techniques. That is completely different than being trained in psychiatry, and that could have been made more clear. A lot of psychologists like to take it easy on psychiatry, as after all, they are doctors and are supposed to know what they are doing and be able to get positive results. But as this guest insinuated in his discussion about “meds,” psychiatry does not actually have a good track record along this line, and never really has (it has existed in name since the early 1800s).
On top of that, psychiatrists were deeply involved in some of the most chilling documented atrocities that this planet has experienced, such as the Holocaust, where they played key roles in developing “better” ways to kill people.
Psychology, because it could not prescribe medications (in most places) was forced to take a different approach to mental health. That they still defer to psychiatry and some of its failed “treatments” is a weakness I hope they will eventually overcome.
Derek said that “no one is born with a mental illness.” That is part of the current psychiatric story about this subject (according to many online sources). There is no proof of this (according to me). He also said that psych meds are helpful in “first episode” psychotic attacks. He must be unfamiliar with the work of Bonnie J. Kaplan (Professor of Medicine at the University of Calgary) who has successfully treated psychotic cases with vitamins.
As Jack talked about and inferred, there remains huge mysteries among most people about what mental health is really all about. Psychology has not dug down deep enough yet to resolve the most important ones. It would be a great relief to a lot of people if more basic and workable facts about mental health were known and used. Goodness knows, we could use that as we come out of this COVID-19 “crisis!” And it would also help people make better choices in education, politics, business, and even religion.
I’m certainly glad I’ve had a chance to acquire some of those understandings, and hope to improve my knowledge as I get the opportunity.
A good podcast. Derek has gained valuable insights concerning helping folks .
Larry Cox’s comment is of interest to voluntarianists and libertarians in regards to the profession of psychiatry, and perhaps some of the listeners here would be interested in reading some of
Dr. Thomas Szasz’s books for a libertarian perspective on psychiatry and so called “mental illness”.