Powerlessness in terms of mental health issues

[PepperBlossoms]

Aside from genetic and various toxic chemicals, I was thinking that much depression/anxiety/bipolar/etc. comes from realizing/noticing/feeling powerlessness.

Like that powerlessness is one of the roots of suffering/mental health issues.  

Being forced to do things; being told we can't do things; not having control of things; being too small to really address some large thing; in environments we have no control over; being in a body and on a planet that we didn't ask to be in; having rules we are told to adhere to that we didn't ask to have; being forced to go to church/school/work/activity when we didn't ask to, not being allowed to quit, being exploited, feeling unheard and unable to make a difference, feeling like our opinions/wants/values don't matter and only some get the right to have them but not us, too many hoops to jump through, seeing futility, ... so many things we are forced to do instead of do because we want to... and the things we do because we want to, it is for our own exploitative cause/need (codependency, fulfillment)...

By the powerless, exploitative nature of reality, we are upset and feel slaves to this body we are in and slaves to the hunger, slaves to the thirst, slaves to the need for belonging and attention, slaves to the pain, slaves to the money/property/government system... we don't want to keep on being a slave...

Yeah sure some of mental health issues could be from having an inaccurate model of reality and possibly refusing to switch models

Thoughts?

[Michael569]

On 26/03/2022 at 3:28 PM, PepperBlossoms said:

eing forced to do things; being told we can't do things; not having control of things; being too small to really address some large thing; in environments we have no control over; being in a body and on a planet that we didn't ask to be in; having rules we are told to adhere to that we didn't ask to have; being forced to go to church/school/work/activity when we didn't ask to, not being allowed to quit, being exploited, feeling unheard and unable to make a difference, feeling like our opinions/wants/values don't matter and only some get the right to have them but not us, too many hoops to jump through, seeing futility, ... so many things we are forced to do instead of do because we want to... and the things we do because we want to, it is for our own exploitative cause/need (codependency, fulfillment)...

Most of this sounds like lack of passion and lack of purpose in life. You cant change how the world treats you but you can choose how you respond to it. A lot of what you mentioned is learned helplessness that stems from thinking one is completely powerless which is not true at all. UIf you live in a relatively developed country you always have a choice how you respond. If you don't want to be controlled, work on identifying your passion and start digging your way out....it is the only way. 

A lot of anxiety and depression I see these day, especially in teenagers is actually lack of being challenged, especially mental challenge in life. Life becomes too easy and once there is a little bit of tension, instant anxiety kicks in because the body has not been allowed to develop coping mechanisms. 

[bejapuskas]

@PepperBlossoms what specifically do you have in mind when you talk about not having control, being forced to do things etc.?

[Spence94]

I think it makes sense it is one of the causes. We are in part a product of our childhood conditioning.

Power = energy

Powerlessness= low energy

This energy gets suppressed by the various ways that in our childhood our energy is blocked from being allowed to flow freely. 

Without energy we feel powerless. With energy we feel power. 

The energy blockages manifest in the from of suffering and emotional-mental narratives that keep us in conflict with ourselves and therefore feeling stuck.

Edited March 30, 2022 by Spence94

[Ulax]

On 28/03/2022 at 10:40 AM, Michael569 said:

A lot of anxiety and depression I see these day, especially in teenagers is actually lack of being challenged, especially mental challenge in life. Life becomes too easy and once there is a little bit of tension, instant anxiety kicks in because the body has not been allowed to develop coping mechanisms. 

Perhaps in part.

I have a different perspective. I think it comes back to parts of our psyche getting traumatised in childhood, and then staying in those traumatised states beyond that state being useful.

When challenged, these people may have a better experience of life. However, the same parts that were traumatised remain traumatised, and the mental health 'disorder' (I prefer adaptation) continues to fester. Reality is still percieved through the lens of trauma. However, people are now better at meeting their needs within that trauma paradigm.

However, to my mind, the real game to play is to get out of that trauma paradigm. Otherwise, imo, you are simply playing a rigged game.

Edited March 30, 2022 by Ulax
Grammar

[Razard86]

8 hours ago, Spence94 said:

I think it makes sense it is one of the causes. We are in part a product of our childhood conditioning.

Power = energy

Powerlessness= low energy

This energy gets suppressed by the various ways that in our childhood our energy is blocked from being allowed to flow freely. 

Without energy we feel powerless. With energy we feel power. 

The energy blockages manifest in the from of suffering and emotional-mental narratives that keep us in conflict with ourselves and therefore feeling stuck.

Very Insightful. Thanks for this post

[Yarco]

I don't think that being forced to do things or lack of power inherently makes you depressed or anxious. 

I'll make a very controversial statement here... I hypothesize that medieval serfs working for a feudal lord, and even literal slaves probably had lower incidents of depression than what modern people experience today.

If you wake up and do hard manual labor all day, and you never received higher education, you don't have the time or luxury to sit around and think. When you're done work for the day, you're physically exhausted. All you want to do is rest and spend time with your family. There's no point worrying about anything. Things can't get much worse. And you don't have the energy to do anything extra even if you wanted to.

The problem is in modern times, we have so much to lose. All we've ever known is safety and security. We have hours and hours every day to sit around idle and think. Most of the work we do is with our brains, and our bodies don't get the physical exertion that is needed to release brain chemicals and feel good.

Men might be mentally healthier and stronger if they were doing back-breaking labor plowing the fields and tending to livestock all day, living a subsistence living, and having to put their life on the line to defend their village from invaders every few years. Women might be mentally healthier and stronger if they were married off (or taken) at age 13 and had 6 kids to chase after all day, spent all day cooking over a fire, and trying to turn a dirt hut into a home.

[Razard86]

5 hours ago, Ulax said:

Perhaps in part.

I have a different perspective. I think it comes back to parts of our psyche getting traumatised in childhood, and then staying in those traumatised states beyond that state being useful.

When challenged, these people may have a better experience of life. However, the same parts that were traumatised remain traumatised, and the mental health 'disorder' (I prefer adaptation) continues to fester. Reality is still percieved through the lens of trauma. However, people are now better at meeting their needs within that trauma paradigm.

However, to my mind, the real game to play is to get out of that trauma paradigm. Otherwise, imo, you are simply playing a rigged game.

I see truth in both of your perspectives. I don't even see anything conflicting each other

[Spence94]

9 hours ago, Ulax said:

the real game to play is to get out of that trauma paradigm. Otherwise, imo, you are simply playing a rigged game.

Nice.

[Ulax]

@Spence94 Thx