Well, I was going to write about how the world isn't going to end in 2012, but I didn't feel like going on my rant today or getting bombarded with comments saying that I'm wrong. Either that would have happened or a debate would have been started. So in any case, I decided I wanted to write a short something on a video I watched in my Human Behavior class.
So in my class yesterday, we watched this video on hysteria. It went all the way back to the 1920s, maybe earlier. Anyways, what really got me was the section on WWI when soldiers would all of a sudden be caught in this hysteria and wouldn't be able to do certain things. For example, soldiers would be admitted to hospitals because they would be twitching or admitted because they couldn't walk properly. Numerous of these cases were found and thousands of soldiers suffered from this.
At the time, it was considered not "manly" enough because only women were seen to suffer from this due to stress and high anxiety levels. Men were given shock therapy and talk therapy to try to knock this case of hysteria out of them. Shock therapy didn't necessarily work and talk therapy was a long process. Men were sometimes executed because of this "disease."
After the long process of talk therapy, they started seeing improvements in these men. They were able to function normally, walk normally, talk normally, etc. The cause of the hysteria? Suppression in the unconscious of memories from war, fear, anxiety. What does this prove? That even in today's world, we suppress tragic moments in our lives to try to forget them so we don't have to relive them. The problem is that no matter what, those memories are still in our mind somewhere and it affects our everyday lives. Depression, sleeping disorders, anxiety are what I see as proof of tragic events haunting us everyday.
In today's society, there's less talk therapy and more "poppin' " of pills. I say this phrase because individuals are now given prescriptions to help chemical imbalances in the brain. Talk therapy may take a very long time but it's better than risking the side effects of pills. But that's what our society is built on today. "The easy way out" or "less work to do."
I don't know. Maybe that's just my opinion.
Hey Colleen,
ReplyDeleteYou state: "In today's society, there's less talk therapy and more "poppin' " of pills. I say this phrase because individuals are now given prescriptions to help chemical imbalances in the brain. Talk therapy may take a very long time but it's better than risking the side effects of pills. But that's what our society is built on today. "The easy way out" or "less work to do."
^ That paragraph right there, I totally, 100% agree with you. These days, I feel that sometimes, doctors and people are pushing for pills and other medicines way too much. In fact, it kind of pisses me off a bit. I know, that I try to take as little medicine as possible. I want my body to be able to heal itself to help grow and continue to keep my immune system strong. This seems to work for me since I honestly have not taken any medicine for past colds, allergies, etc. for over 5 years. Since I started this, I can't even remember the last time I got sick with anything other than a migraine. I feel that my immune system grew strong from this, therefore prevents myself from catching anything big.
Granted, I do suffer from migraines and sometimes do have to take a prescribed migraine pill; but, if anyone has dealt with a really bad migraine like the ones I can get, I think you can understand why I do take this pill. But, this migraine pill is the ONLY pill I will ever take---and sometimes, I even torture myself when I have a bad migraine and don't take the pill. But, sometimes, I just have to give in.
But, I do see your point, Colleen. I feel that in today's society people pop pills like they are candy just as much as doctors prescribe the pills. When it comes down to it, doctors probably only do it for one thing--Money.