I Left Behavioral Health after 23 Years: Ask me anything

[Aaron56]

Thanks for offering to share your perspective.

I have no doubt that some ‘mental illness’ is actually spiritual, but I also think much is physical in root cause… a result of the Fall like every physical malady. Some on this board vigorously disagree. What is your view?

Hey Dino,

Physical issues most certainly may cause mental issues. I agree.

I once helped a man who appeared to be having a psychotic breakdown: he was mumbling and saying fanciful things. Turned out he had a high fever due to an internal infection. Once the fever cleared he was back to normal.

I often say, as I have learned through years of observation, that what we can see and measure helps us understand the unseen. We are actually given the seen to understand the unseen. With mental illness this is no different. Sometimes mental illness is a result of a mindset or a deficiency or a perceived threat or a physical malady, etc. Whatever the reason, at their core is that we live in a fallen world. The world we live in is BOTH physical and spiritual. This is why Jesus addressed the people this way:

"If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?"

 

[Eli1]

Eli1!

What I saw was the erosion of personal agency: the understanding where one begins and one ends. This disproportionately affected children and teens especially those with heavy social media use. In my day (old man voice) we would have a problem at school and could leave it behind by the end of the day. With gadgets and social media kids cannot escape the torment: they have no sanctuary. So short answer: yes.
I should add: it’s the still small voice of the Spirit that reassures or convicts us. Too many distractions = can’t hear the Spirit.

I work in hospital settings and i know a lot of doctors. I was talking to a psych one yesterday about this topic and he was also concerned about the children. But i said, doc nevermind the children but look at people our age who are losing our minds with crazy ideas from the internet. Then the adults pass that on to the children.
He started laughing.

 

[Godsgirl1983]

@Aaron56
What is your take on things like autism, ADD/HD, developmental and/or intellectual disabilities, etc.?
There seems to be a very fine line in the medical world as to when these things are considered mental health and when behaviors from such are considered developmental or cross that line into mental health.
What are your thoughts/observations/opinions?

 

[Aaron56]

@Aaron56
What is your take on things like autism, ADD/HD, developmental and/or intellectual disabilities, etc.?
There seems to be a very fine line in the medical world as to when these things are considered mental health and when behaviors from such are considered developmental or cross that line into mental health.
What are your thoughts/observations/opinions?

I began my work in the field as an early childhood consultant, you know, because it’s always a good idea to throw your least experienced clinicians at children. (sarcasm off now)

First, those issues are real. But, as you point out, simply acknowledging their validity does not move us closer to understanding the cause or root. The field, with pharma and cognitive/behavioral interventions, is mostly about returning people to school or work. That’s what “managed care” is about: outcomes are strangely bereft of words like “heal” or “whole”. Success is measured in academic attendance and maintaining employment. Certainly those things are important but lay well shy of dealing with the value of a personal life.

Re: AD/HD… Kids, compared to adults, are clinically psychotic. They make up imaginary friends, think they’re the Hulk, and have preoccupations with bodily fluids. Their brains don’t stop growing until sometime in their 20’s. You know the verse, “Train up a child in the way that he should go and when they are older they will not depart from it”? Yeah, “older” is late 20s almost 30s. Not 12 and certainly not a teenager.

There is much I could say about this but I’ll just say this: I believe maybe about 1 out of every 100 kiddos have a brain functioning disorder that triggers AD/HD symptoms. It’s real. But that’s a far cry from the rate the makers of AD/HD drugs claim: about 35%! If it were actually genetic, we should have seen relatively equal rates between US kiddos and UK kiddos. But, at least early on, we saw those 30% rates in the US when the UK reported between 1 and 2%. Don’t worry, the UK is catching up and they’re doing it with promotional campaigns for the drugs. And that’s the rub: the US is only one of two countries in the world that permit pharma companies to directly market to consumers (The other is New Zealand, btw).

Thank you for your question. If you want me to expand on anything just ask. It’s my bed time now so I will get to it tomorrow.
Blessings.

 

[maxwel]

One of my most troubling moments was when, as a young man, I was invited by a pastor to a meeting. He knew I was a believer and a clinical therapist. He wanted me to survey the church to see what they needed. I asked, “You mean you’re the shepherd and you don’t know what your flock needs?”

Amen.

.

 

[Aaron56]

To add to the AD/HD and childhood mental disorder topic...

The government monetizes childhood disorders. Certain mental health diagnoses can qualify a child for disability payments. I know whole families, from grand parents to parents to children, who are "disabled" and receive government subsidies for every member of their household. This is especially egregious for children, when their parents find a clinician who will "disorder" their child just so they can obtain a check. It really is a form of child sacrifice: by diminishing a child's life the parents secure assurance of provision. I caught on to this practice relatively early in my career and refused to label kids with debilitating diagnoses.

Now, some children actually have debilitating disorders of various kinds. I was certainly not opposed to helping those families and kiddos.

 

[Lanolin]

I was a Clinical Therapist for 16 years and I left at the end of a 7-year stint as the CEO of a Comprehensive Service Agency.

The common narrative is that this country (U.S.) and most of the world are in the middle of a mental health crisis. I will offer my insight to anyone who asks.

What does this mean for people who live in other countries? The US is crazy?
Or is everyone just crazy in their own unique ways. Maybe other countries have their own psychiatric assessment tools.

 

[Lanolin]

I think NZ where I am is following the US because a lot of US doctors go to NZ and bring all their drugs with them. The govt does deals with big Pharma. Its a racket.

Drugs dont make a person whole though, often they make things worse, and only treat symptoms.

I studied behavioural psychology at Uni. We learned about skinnerism. Skinner was american. They test all those drugs on either animals or human guinea pigs. Its to subdue people until they give up and are quiet. But no drug can cast out a demon.

I dont really have a question for you, but more interested in what are you are doing now?

 

[Aaron56]

I dont really have a question for you, but more interested in what are you are doing now?

I work for a large non-profit. Recently I've been doing a lot of corporate training within and outside of the company.

 

[JohnDB]

I was a Clinical Therapist for 16 years and I left at the end of a 7-year stint as the CEO of a Comprehensive Service Agency.

The common narrative is that this country (U.S.) and most of the world are in the middle of a mental health crisis. I will offer my insight to anyone who asks.

You refer to the current state of things as a crisis.
Is it really a crisis or is it the knowledge of the mental health of people making things seem like a crisis?

One of the most interesting things I've recently come across is the mental health issues surrounding those who have undergone gastric bypass surgery after being obese for most of their life. When they eventually lose all the weight they have some really significant mental health issues....mostly by looking at the mirror but also the incidence of divorce is really high as well by those undergoing these procedures. Any thoughts as to why?

 

[Aaron56]

You refer to the current state of things as a crisis.
Is it really a crisis or is it the knowledge of the mental health of people making things seem like a crisis?

One of the most interesting things I've recently come across is the mental health issues surrounding those who have undergone gastric bypass surgery after being obese for most of their life. When they eventually lose all the weight they have some really significant mental health issues....mostly by looking at the mirror but also the incidence of divorce is really high as well by those undergoing these procedures. Any thoughts as to why?

Hi John,

To be clear: I said the common narrative is that the U.S. is in the middle of a mental health crisis. To an extent I agree. I believe the root of it is loneliness and the scarcity of deep meaningful relationships. This issues goes back to the original fall, when a man and a woman hid from their father because they perceived him as their enemy. That's actually what my corporate training is about.

For gastro issues, at least in my state (Ohio), patients are required to complete a comprehensive psychological evaluation to qualify for surgery. There is at least an understanding that the surgery may have lasting negative repercussions on people.

Experience tells me that, because of the mind/stomach connection, surgeons discovered that altering the gastrointestinal tract affects people more emotionally than expected. My guess would be it's because the lining of the stomach and gut are very similar in composition to the nervous system. Those are just my thoughts.

Wisdom would tell me that, because the patients experience such rapid changes in their body-image, they are not apt to adjust to the changes as readily. Furthermore, obesity is often an attempt at self-protection for the physically or sexually abused. GBS effectively removes the patients' "armor" which may make them feel vulnerable. Whatever the cause of emotional turmoil it will be connected to the patient's understanding of personal agency: who they are and why they are.

 

[Magenta]

God made Adam and Eve perfect, but people born after are born with various issues
due to the fall. It's like saying people can become sinless which isn't true.

If Adam and Eve were perfect, would they have sinned? Jesus is perfect. He did not sin.

When God created Adam and made Eve, He proclaimed His work "good" and "very good," not perfect.

 

[JohnDB]

To be clear: I said the common narrative is that the U.S. is in the middle of a mental health crisis. To an extent I agree. I believe the root of it is loneliness and the scarcity of deep meaningful relationships. This issues goes back to the original fall, when a man and a woman hid from their father because they perceived him as their enemy. That's actually what my corporate training is about

Could it be that social media is somewhat replacing real relationships?
Which would cause the unintended side effects of lack of personal self discipline?

Information bubbles, unrestricted/unrestrained speech (due to anonymity and false identity masks), and the desire to belong to a group all working together to form a psychosis?

Just a thought....dunno. I'm just a schmuck electrician who loves to hang out with live people.

 

[Aaron56]

Could it be that social media is somewhat replacing real relationships?
Which would cause the unintended side effects of lack of personal self discipline?

Information bubbles, unrestricted/unrestrained speech (due to anonymity and false identity masks), and the desire to belong to a group all working together to form a psychosis?

Just a thought....dunno. I'm just a schmuck electrician who loves to hang out with live people.

I agree, John. I believe it's a mix of all of the above. Studies are pretty clear: more social media = higher rates of depression among users. This is a global finding. For children whose minds are not yet physically formed, high social media use creates indelible habits of perception and learning. This is incontrovertible and one of the reasons Meta is being sued: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/d...media-addiction-harms-childrens-mental-health

 

[Mem]

I agree, John. I believe it's a mix of all of the above. Studies are pretty clear: more social media = higher rates of depression among users. This is a global finding. For children whose minds are not yet physically formed, high social media use creates indelible habits of perception and learning. This is incontrovertible and one of the reasons Meta is being sued: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/d...media-addiction-harms-childrens-mental-health

The settlement amounts to roughly $30 going to each plaintiff.

 

[Eli1]

The settlement amounts to roughly $30 going to each plaintiff.

I guess people can use that to ..... purchase an app in Facebook or Apple AppStore.

 

[Mem]

If it weren't for that I can try see what good any of it, even if just the effort, could actually do.

 

[Blik]

You bring up a very good point: where is the church in all of this.

I feel that church has let us down, starting with the way Constantine, early Roman Emperor, tried to "improve" the church. Constantine was sure the Jews were evil. As a result he led the church leaders to disregard the OT teachings. The OT was breathed by God, just as the NT is, but the teachings uses fleshly symbols to teach of the spirit of the Lord. Christ said he changed nothing, but now God has put His law and His words in our hearts. Too much of the church has been influenced by Constantine these 2,000 years.

I think there has been a dramatic change in the leaders of the church since the
1940's. Hitler brought about the return of the Jews to the Holy Land as prophesied. The Dead Sea Scrolls were found, with the vast amount of biblical history they give. There is a brand new church denomination in the world since then---the messianic
synagogue. The established churches have condemnation that denomination, but they at least have to give thought to reason their condemnation.

 

[Godsgirl1983]

@Aaron56
I keep seeing something called EMDR.
Do you know anything about it (in layman's terms) ?

 

[PinknGreenPhoenix]

Hi Mosie!

I try to be precise in the words I use when writing. I wrote "The common narrative is that this country (U.S.) and most of the world are in the middle of a mental health crisis."

I believe your insight is accurate in the sense that people, by and large, have a spiritual crisis. This certainly is not new under the sun but, as the epoch gets closer to the end, the fullness of it will be seen.

Bless you!

yes with out God there is no true sanity. we have a sound mind in Christ.