apologies in advance if I end up ranting a bit, this is a topic that's close to me and very much current in my life Self-care is really getting caught in the crossfire here, I think. There's a lot...
Exemplary
apologies in advance if I end up ranting a bit, this is a topic that's close to me and very much current in my life
Self-care is really getting caught in the crossfire here, I think. There's a lot of correct points and I think the overall message of "we need to avoid making mental health out to be an individual problem rather than a social one that we can solve by making broader changes" is a good one, but I'm really turned off by the tactic of going after self-care, something that's deeply personal and fragile. With how many people trying to practice it are shamed for being lazy or even conflicted because they've so internalized the idea that they need to be ever-productive machines, it reads really tone-deaf to me to go after it like this.
The author seems to recognize this on some level:
None of this is to say, by the way, that these tips are in and of themselves bad, or that they haven’t brought solace to anyone. The problem arises when self-care becomes a sticking plaster on the wounds caused by capitalism. Sooner or later, the blood seeps out.
I'm a communist. That side of me is screaming "yes!! smash capitalism!!!! we won't truly fix our collective mental health unless we attack the root causes!!" but the absolute venom pointed at the idea of taking care of yourself is way out of proportion. What's immensely frustrating is that one of our many problems is that it is not yet socially acceptable to really value taking care of yourself. We need more people pushing for this kind of shit, not less! That's something that can at least be improved in the short term by changing social norms. Beyond that, I think there's genuinely radical potential in the attitude which people advocating for self-care have.
Self-care won't solve mental health problems just like charity won't solve poverty, but that doesn't change that self-care and charity are small accessible goals which do real good. Hell, beyond that, self-care has the benefit over something like charity in that it's trying to address a problem directly related to the self. Our mental health is complex and the result of a million different factors all tangling themselves up into these big ugly rugs wrapped around our brains. A whole lot of those layers are out of our immediate control and require systemic change to properly address, but a lot are also self-imposed and we might not even know it.
Recently I've really learned the value of knowledge of self and really trying to do the best I can with the life I've got. The cute pastel-background images telling me that it's okay and encouraging me to slow down (and the culture around those things) have been incredible. When you want to work on you, that positivity can be so valuable. With a world so hostile to that kind of thinking, we need blunt reminders that it's totally okay if all you do is sleep and be gay.
My beef isn't really with the point, I guess. I just think this acts as another form of "you're doing it wrong!" toward those of us trying to learn to take care of ourselves, just dressed up in progressive clothing. I dunno, it just hurts a bit to read.
@Whom thanks for your post. You were able to succinctly put into words what I was unable to. My immediate reaction was, like you, "yes!! smash capitalism!!!! we won't truly fix our collective...
@Whom thanks for your post. You were able to succinctly put into words what I was unable to. My immediate reaction was, like you, "yes!! smash capitalism!!!! we won't truly fix our collective mental health unless we attack the root causes!!". That said, reality is difficult, complex and unrelenting for so many, there's room for pragmatism in the face of that.
It also perpetuates the idea that health care isn't necessary. If all you did was eat less, you wouldn't be fat! Wow, fantastic! I'm sure they've never thought about doing that before. I'm sure...
It also perpetuates the idea that health care isn't necessary. If all you did was eat less, you wouldn't be fat! Wow, fantastic! I'm sure they've never thought about doing that before. I'm sure they've never struggled with hunger. I'm sure they've never looked at themselves in the mirror and were upset or cried at what they saw. I'm sure they never looked at someone with a healthy body weight and were jealous or wished they could be the same and thought "What's wrong with me? Why can't I be normal?"
There's a reason medicine is a field that requires an absurd amount of training for. There's also a reason why we haven't figured out so many problems with health. People are diverse and just like baseball caps or other clothing, 'one size fits all' is a myth and we need to stop acting like it isn't.
Great read, and the general concept (self-care isn't sufficient to solve systemic issues) applies to many other things as well: Individuals recycling is good, but insufficient to solve one-time...
Great read, and the general concept (self-care isn't sufficient to solve systemic issues) applies to many other things as well:
Individuals recycling is good, but insufficient to solve one-time plastic usage: bans backed with hefty fines to manufacturers will work better/faster.
Individuals going vegan is good, but it will be more effective to regulate the supply side of meat production.
Our culture has been long ingraining this sense of "things are bad because you need to make change" instead of implementing change at a higher, more concentrated point.
I respectfully disagree with part of your premise. I don't think It's an either/or scenario. You can recycle and canvas for corporate responsibility, you can be a vegan and actively protest...
Our culture has been long ingraining this sense of "things are bad because you need to make change" instead of implementing change at a higher, more concentrated point.
I respectfully disagree with part of your premise. I don't think It's an either/or scenario. You can recycle and canvas for corporate responsibility, you can be a vegan and actively protest abhorrent aggressive animal agriculture. I've heard the claim levelled against veganism that it doesn't address the core systematic issues at hand, I believe this to be conjecture and that micro and macro protests are not mutually exclusive.
I actually agree with you: often they aren't mutually exclusive. However, oftentimes addressing the societal or root cause of a problem gets hand-waved away with silly statements like "vote with...
I actually agree with you: often they aren't mutually exclusive.
However, oftentimes addressing the societal or root cause of a problem gets hand-waved away with silly statements like "vote with your wallet."
One example:
My family drinks about a gallon of milk a week. I hate that milk only comes in one time packaging. I would love to see a return to reusable glass bottling. The only reasonable way to solve this is to ban single use packaging, and mandate that sellers of reusable packaging are responsible for washing and reusing it. Consumer incentives like 50 cents per returned bottle would motivate consumers, paired with harsh punishments for non-compliance of manufacturers and distributers.
That's fair. I would say though voting with your wallet isn't confined to only the products we consume or boycott. As evidenced in Will Macaskill's excellent book "Doing Good Better", there's an...
However, oftentimes addressing the societal or root cause of a problem gets hand-waved away with silly statements like "vote with your wallet."
That's fair. I would say though voting with your wallet isn't confined to only the products we consume or boycott. As evidenced in Will Macaskill's excellent book "Doing Good Better", there's an enormous amount of good one can contribute to by donating to highly effective advocacy groups. In a sense, voting with your wallet.
apologies in advance if I end up ranting a bit, this is a topic that's close to me and very much current in my life
Self-care is really getting caught in the crossfire here, I think. There's a lot of correct points and I think the overall message of "we need to avoid making mental health out to be an individual problem rather than a social one that we can solve by making broader changes" is a good one, but I'm really turned off by the tactic of going after self-care, something that's deeply personal and fragile. With how many people trying to practice it are shamed for being lazy or even conflicted because they've so internalized the idea that they need to be ever-productive machines, it reads really tone-deaf to me to go after it like this.
The author seems to recognize this on some level:
I'm a communist. That side of me is screaming "yes!! smash capitalism!!!! we won't truly fix our collective mental health unless we attack the root causes!!" but the absolute venom pointed at the idea of taking care of yourself is way out of proportion. What's immensely frustrating is that one of our many problems is that it is not yet socially acceptable to really value taking care of yourself. We need more people pushing for this kind of shit, not less! That's something that can at least be improved in the short term by changing social norms. Beyond that, I think there's genuinely radical potential in the attitude which people advocating for self-care have.
Self-care won't solve mental health problems just like charity won't solve poverty, but that doesn't change that self-care and charity are small accessible goals which do real good. Hell, beyond that, self-care has the benefit over something like charity in that it's trying to address a problem directly related to the self. Our mental health is complex and the result of a million different factors all tangling themselves up into these big ugly rugs wrapped around our brains. A whole lot of those layers are out of our immediate control and require systemic change to properly address, but a lot are also self-imposed and we might not even know it.
Recently I've really learned the value of knowledge of self and really trying to do the best I can with the life I've got. The cute pastel-background images telling me that it's okay and encouraging me to slow down (and the culture around those things) have been incredible. When you want to work on you, that positivity can be so valuable. With a world so hostile to that kind of thinking, we need blunt reminders that it's totally okay if all you do is sleep and be gay.
My beef isn't really with the point, I guess. I just think this acts as another form of "you're doing it wrong!" toward those of us trying to learn to take care of ourselves, just dressed up in progressive clothing. I dunno, it just hurts a bit to read.
@Whom thanks for your post. You were able to succinctly put into words what I was unable to. My immediate reaction was, like you, "yes!! smash capitalism!!!! we won't truly fix our collective mental health unless we attack the root causes!!". That said, reality is difficult, complex and unrelenting for so many, there's room for pragmatism in the face of that.
It also perpetuates the idea that health care isn't necessary. If all you did was eat less, you wouldn't be fat! Wow, fantastic! I'm sure they've never thought about doing that before. I'm sure they've never struggled with hunger. I'm sure they've never looked at themselves in the mirror and were upset or cried at what they saw. I'm sure they never looked at someone with a healthy body weight and were jealous or wished they could be the same and thought "What's wrong with me? Why can't I be normal?"
There's a reason medicine is a field that requires an absurd amount of training for. There's also a reason why we haven't figured out so many problems with health. People are diverse and just like baseball caps or other clothing, 'one size fits all' is a myth and we need to stop acting like it isn't.
Great read, and the general concept (self-care isn't sufficient to solve systemic issues) applies to many other things as well:
Individuals recycling is good, but insufficient to solve one-time plastic usage: bans backed with hefty fines to manufacturers will work better/faster.
Individuals going vegan is good, but it will be more effective to regulate the supply side of meat production.
Our culture has been long ingraining this sense of "things are bad because you need to make change" instead of implementing change at a higher, more concentrated point.
I respectfully disagree with part of your premise. I don't think It's an either/or scenario. You can recycle and canvas for corporate responsibility, you can be a vegan and actively protest abhorrent aggressive animal agriculture. I've heard the claim levelled against veganism that it doesn't address the core systematic issues at hand, I believe this to be conjecture and that micro and macro protests are not mutually exclusive.
I actually agree with you: often they aren't mutually exclusive.
However, oftentimes addressing the societal or root cause of a problem gets hand-waved away with silly statements like "vote with your wallet."
One example:
My family drinks about a gallon of milk a week. I hate that milk only comes in one time packaging. I would love to see a return to reusable glass bottling. The only reasonable way to solve this is to ban single use packaging, and mandate that sellers of reusable packaging are responsible for washing and reusing it. Consumer incentives like 50 cents per returned bottle would motivate consumers, paired with harsh punishments for non-compliance of manufacturers and distributers.
That's fair. I would say though voting with your wallet isn't confined to only the products we consume or boycott. As evidenced in Will Macaskill's excellent book "Doing Good Better", there's an enormous amount of good one can contribute to by donating to highly effective advocacy groups. In a sense, voting with your wallet.