More articles
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depression.
"Depression
causes us to
narrow
our
view of the
world around
us to such
an
extent
that reality
becomes
distorted."
A Rest Stop From Depression and Thoughts of Suicide
by
©Stephen L. Bernhardt - 1999
People who are suffering from depression and thoughts of suicide should be extra careful not to get caught up in any panic which might arise during the last days of this millennium or the first days of the coming millennium. This would include care not to become preoccupied with thoughts of suicide, the possible Y2K disruption of society, or the final days and the last war, Armageddon.
I am not a doom sayer, nor am I a sage with some special knowledge of the future. But I do have considerable knowledge about human and social psychology and I can see that inadvertently, we in this world society are setting the stage for a period of mass psychosis, not totally unlike what Germany and much of the world went through during the thirties just before World War II.
The evidence of this pending psychosis is everywhere and is beginning to permeate our entire society. The tabloid press, much of daytime TV, the wrestling madness, our preoccupation with alien beings, skinhead mentality and renewed prejudice of all sorts, mass murders and mass suicides, and terrorist acts of violence, are all harbingers sending a strong warning of the fact that our world society is past due for a cathartic readjustment. This mass psychosis is a direct result of a generalized loss of a positive expectation in the future and the resultant inability to focus on anything other than diversions in the present.
Throughout history all societies pass through cycles where, over time, complacency and excess reach the point where each society is forced into a readjustment. Unfortunately this readjustment from the time before Sodom and Gomorrah, right down to the present day, has resulted in plague and/or famine, social upheaval and most often, in war. The traditional cathartic readjustment has always included pain, suffering and many, many deaths.
Human Beings have always been reactionary when trying to solve the ills of the individual and of society. Precautionary and preventative measures for the most part have been nonexistent due to a lack of understanding and differing opinions as to both the cause and the cure concerning the mental health of the individual and of society.
GOOD NEWS!
But, there is good news. Throughout the last part of this century there are certain responsible members of the government, economic, social and religious communities who are implementing measures which are precautionary in nature.
Most notable among these precautionary measures is the Federal Reserve policy of preventing inflation by adjusting the discount rate it charges its member banks. This affects the prime interest rate. Bottom line is, these precautionary measures, among others, have helped this nation enjoy an eight year period of expansion without inflation.
Of course we are all aware of the governmental-military campaigns that have deposed or made ineffective the despots who would attempt regional or even world domination if allowed free rein. The military actions in Panama, Granada, Libya, Iraq, and in Yugoslavia have averted what otherwise might have collectively ended in the Third World War. Although I personally wish we could find ways, other than war, to stabilize world tensions.
I think it is admirable that many religious leaders are concentrating on the glory of the second coming of Christ, rather than dwelling on the inevitability of the last great war Armageddon and the apocalyptic horrors predicted in the Book of Revelations. Although I see no such restraint from many of the tabloids, TV, or the movies. Concentrating on the second coming of Christ is definitely preventative, as it would not take much for general panic to spread if most religious leaders pushed the negative aspects of the Second Coming.
I must also acknowledge the many fine folk in the social sector working against all odds to reverse the effects of environmental pollution, addiction, abuse, illness and a host of other social ills. Probably the most significant preventative measure of all those listed is that we have finally made some progress against the biggest killer of all time - tobacco.
IS THAT ENOUGH?
With all of these preventative measures and endeavors enacted, why is it that things seem to be getting worse? There are two reasons.
Unfortunately precautionary and preventative measures are not included in our present treatment of individual mental health. Drugs have become the treatment of choice, yet drugs are a reactionary treatment for mental problems. We allow the problem to happen and then we try and exorcise the demons caused by complacency and excess through administering yet another ‘miracle drug’. We desperately try and place the blame on genetics and disease, all the while ignoring the many causal environmental factors because, quite frankly, we just don’t have a clue as to what to do in order to correct the problem.
Preventative measures concerning the mental health of our society are non existent and left to the manipulation of opportunists under the guise of entertainment, freedom of expression and speech, the publics ‘need to know’, and to TV, the movies and now the Internet. Our national and world focus vacillates between any present war effort and a soap opera mentality of who killed who and how they did it. We have lost hope in what the future will bring and have placed all our eggs in the basket of technology.
Secondly, neither our many diversions, nor the present preventative measures incorporate the needed social catharsis. They do not have the power to garner the focus of society in a manner which acts to cleanse us of our ills. The constant bickering between ever increasing diverse factions and our preoccupation with increasingly bizarre diversions, serve no purpose. They are a reflection of the fact that we have lost a positive view of the future and that we have no common cause.
We have no rousing patriotic songs of Viet Nam or Granada, only the Rap of protest. Fighting one hot spot after another will continue until the budget is strained and the support wanes. The benefit of our economic windfall seems only to further widen the gap between the have and the have not’s. There needs to be a change which will refocus the entire world and provide our young with a more positive view of their future. It needs to be a change which does not have as an end, yet another war.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
Is it possible to wage a war without blood, without death, in the absence of hate, for the common good? We now have the war against crime, against drugs, and against poverty. But these wars fight the symptoms of our complacency and excess, they do not address the underlying cause. Is it possible for an altruistic endeavor to provide the much needed societal cathartic adjustment?
I believe that the good people in this world outnumber the bad. But these good people have no voice, no common cause. Would these good people answer a call to action if there were a way for them to put aside their differences?
I think that such an endeavor is possible, yet it would have to be done on an unprecedented scale, larger than anything ever attempted by human beings, save maybe our two world wars. In order for any such endeavor to be successful it must include a program which addresses preventative and precautionary efforts in the area of individual and societal mental health.
I for one am willing to work toward making just such a possibility, a reality. I have many ideas concerning such an endeavor, I only hope there are others.
THE COMING MILLENNIUM CELEBRATION
For now, I feel a need to present my views on these matters because I see the underlying tension as evidenced by the increasing psychosis of our world society, a tension which has as its focus the passage of this millennium to the next millennium, on January 1, 2000.
I would not be overly concerned if the passage from this millennium had as its focus just one of the tensions I have mentioned. Y2K, in and of itself is likely to be a nonevent, even with the extra media hype, which is a given. The most likely scenario is that there are some disruptions and some shortages caused by hoarding, but nothing we as a society cannot rise above and correct.
The second coming of Jesus Christ and the end days as talked about in the Book of Revelations is an event which many have thought to be imminent numerous times in the last 2000 years of history. Yet the Bible states that none of us know the time or date of these events, we can only know of their imminent occurrence when we witness a disruption of natural events in the world around us. Nowhere can I find a passage which states that it is obligatory for Christians to try and cause general panic by misinterpreting current natural events. That is akin to man trying to do God’s work. The events will be unmistakable when they happen and there need be no explanation by any man.
Given these facts, is it possible that many have misread what is happening in the world around us, and that the second coming of Jesus Christ is yet another 1000 years in the coming? I am sure that this possibility is depressing for many Christians, as I am sure it was for those 1000 years before us. If the second coming is nigh Christians will have no need to panic as their rewards will be well worth the wait.
Although I do see that the world needs a cathartic readjustment there is no reason for me to think that it will happen on January first. Our efforts to avert a third world war by defusing hot spots through military action has worked to this point in time and there is no reason to assume that it will not work for some time to come.
KEEP A COOL HEAD
My warning is this. It is possible that certain events which happen between now and the first of the year, or even shortly thereafter, might be interpreted by many as having far more significance than, in fact, they actually do have. An extraordinary natural disaster or some act of war before the first of January might be misinterpreted as a sign from God and it would not take much for the doom sayers to aggravate the situation.
The Y2K situation, even if mild, might produce something like say, an electrical black out in some area. We have been through black outs before and they are no great cause for alarm. But I remember a black out some time back in New York City where things quickly got out of hand.
The Colorado cult which was recently kicked out of Israel, although I do not have complete information, reminds me of the Heavens Gate Cult. Contemplating suicide as a possibly solution (going to a better place) and as an escape from the pain of life and/or depression is not an uncommon occurrence no matter how bazaar the scenarios become. I have recently received a few untraceable guest book signs from young people announcing that they are going to commit suicide on the stroke of midnight on the 31st of December. How much of this is presented for its shock effect, and how much is real, I have no way of knowing. Nor do I have any way of determining how wide spread this type of thinking is among the many depressed people throughout the world.
Actually I don’t see people losing control and wildly running amuck through the streets. What is possible, is that there will be some event or series of events, be they caused by terrorists, over zealous religious people, mass suicide, or unexpected Y2K problems, which will shock the world. How we in the world community react to these possible events will strongly influence if we start the next millennium on a positive or a negative note.
I do see the next millennium in a positive light, for I think we have the accumulated knowledge and the resolve to turn this all around. Personally I would like to see the change come as the result of the good people everywhere coming forward and taking an informed stand, rather than relying on our technology to bail us out. I am not sure I will like the world our technology has planned for us in the absence of the guidance of those good people.
Whatever happens, the reader of this article will be better off by far, if they do not get caught up in any panic, no matter what form it takes. It is best we watch the events with a wary eye, and instead spend our time and efforts on ending our own depression.
© Stephen L. Bernhardt - 1999
More Social Comment
I am delighted to see my guest book is being used by people to express their opinions about depression and thoughts of suicide. I have added a few comments of my own on a page which is accessed from my guest book - check it out.
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