There I was, in a happy bubble of placid thoughtlessness, until Mr. Anderson comes along and pops it. Fie upon you, Anderson!
Because of him and the doctoral theses he keeps leaving on B.A.'s blog, I went in search of the information about the effects of poverty on brain chemistry. I read this and began to think about it. I don't want to think! I want to be wrapped in a warm, soft cocoon of complacency! It's nice and comfy in there!
But it was too late. Mr. Anderson's poison had taken affect.
I'm not sure I agree 100 percent with everything the author writes, but it's worth considering. Points to ponder:
(Now, the Libertarians among us are sure to cluck over the words "government" and "create a society." Let's just consider government in theory, as in "we the people," not as it's currently being practiced.)
Through their unwitting lapdogs - the psychiatric establishment and geneticists - drug companies teach that emotional distress is a chemical destiny only alterable by pills. But in a sane world, while drugs are sometimes necessary in emergencies, they would hardly ever be used for more than a few months. Instead, there would be a massive effort by government to create a society that is not craziness- inducing and that provides talking cures for those already damaged by it.
Also:
[Cognitive Behavior Therapy] comes from a stable of psychology that deems accurate negative thoughts about oneself as "depressive realism", and health as living in a rose-tinted bubble of positive illusions. For, truly, emotional distress is a form of dissent - an important signal that early family experiences and adult society have been or are distressing.
Emotional maturity... hmmm.
