a rant on the politics of psychology.
by ziggie
"I'm not racist. i hate everyone and yes, i hate you. I hate cops, Authority figures, parents, teachers too. i hate cabbage & brussel Sprouts. i hate things i can live without & i can live without you. I can live without you, so just leave me alone, take your ball & go home, I'll do it on my own. The years go by and the names, they change, yet teenage rebellion remains the same, just pissed on kids living pissed off lives, pissed on lives"
---The Deviates, from "I Hate (teen angst)"
questions.
What is the "American teen"? A statistic, an image, overhyped but stereotyped, dissected, constructed in the television, of a whiny, bitching, hormonal sissy. The "teen" is a marketing strategy, created by focus groups at Gap, Abercrombie, Hot Topic, Pacific Sunwear. We are simplified, lied to, portrayed as children in temper tantrums, seen as an army of statistics bringing the Rule of the Gun from the battlefield-ghetto to the suburbs. Is that what we are? Are we just pet monkeys in a circus; dogs sent away to obedience school; put on display like trophies for our parents? are we here so that tourists can gawk at us? are we just material for late-night TV monologues? Is there a purpose greater than corporate-packaged rebellion; fashionable alienation; suicide that will be ignored?
statistics.
There's a considerable amount of disagreement over the issue of "teen suicide." According to a study conducted by the American Academy of Adolescent Psychiatry, "more children are suffering from depression--and they are displaying symptoms at an earlier age". The Hartford Courant reported that visits to the emergency room (for psychiatric reasons) "skyrocketed 59% at Yale-New Haven Childrens Hospital between 1995 and 1999." However, journalist and author Mike Males believes that teenage suicide statistics are actually being inflated, to support the "profitable mass commitment of teenagers to psychiatric treatment on vague diagnoses." One only has to examine personal accounts of such experiences to find some validation for his beliefs; the stories found on teenliberty.org are particularly compelling. Lyn Duff, whose account was also published in Sassy magazine (1994), was committed by her parents to a private, for-profit mental hospital. Her parents decided to send her away when they discovered a supposedly lesbian love poem that Lyn had written for another girl. Duff said:
"I had to stand facing a wall for three days, except for going to the bathroom, because I had dust on my chair. My muscles killed me for three weeks. But if you fall down, you'll be shot up with Thorazine or put in seclusion for being defiant. So you stand there, and you have nothing to do but think. I'd pretend I was riding through LA on a bus, and reciting streets in my head, or play chess in my head, or count backwards from 2,000 by sevens. Otherwise you'd go berserk. Everyone got punished for one person's offenses. [Once] we had to scrub the gym floor with a toothbrush 12-hours a day for three weeks because one girl wanted to run away."
(see L.G #1 for an expose of behavior modification boarding schools)
There are many different ways to attempt to explain depression. The most common, predictable excuses are genetics and heredity, excuses which imply that depression is simply a malfunction of the brain. But heredity does little to explain the recent increase of mental unstability in teenagers and children, considering the fact that the human brain has not changed significantly in the past 60 years (though neurological imbalances do exist in some individuals). However, the American Family has changed a great deal.
when one examines case studies of self-mutilation and suicide, a common thread that emerges is the decline of the American nuclear family, as it existed during the post-war era. John Woolston, chief of psychiatry at Yale-New Haven Hospital, says that parents today have little time to create a stable family atmosphere, and that "children are suffering the consequences." A report published by the National Mental Health Association in 1997 said, "teens are bombarded by conflicting messages from parents, friends and society." Further, psychotherapist and author Stephen Levenkron said that "the parental relationship proves to be a major influence in fostering [self-mutilating] behavior." In his book, "Cutting," he lists a variety of family problems which can make children unstable: "Financial stress, employment or unemployment stress, chronic illness, alcoholism, drug abuse, marital incompatibility, divorce [...]"(126) Levenkron cites the experiences of Annika*, one of his patients, whose mother "was left by her father for another woman" when she "was eight years old" (133). Annika felt overwhelmed by the weakness of her parents, who often seemed to be "only children." Further, her father was an alchoholic, who would often call her to complain that her mother was asking for too much child support. All of that stress overwhelmed her, to the point where she could find no outlet other than self-mutilation. She once cut her hand so badly that microsurgery was required to repair it's tendons and nerves. Levenkron concluded, after three sessions of talk therapy, that her "anticipatory cutting" was caused by her "anticipatory anxiety," meaning that "heart-to-heart" talks with either of her parents were enormously painful, to the extent that she would cut herself before and after them. "It just takes me away from my life." She said. (135) Though it is true that human beings are technically responsible for their own actions, it's also true that we're products of the society that we live in, and of the families that we're raised in.
The research of Barry Jacobs, (professor of psychology at Princeton University), and Elizabeth Gould gives some insight into the way that stress can lead to depression, and the way that serotonin interacts with the human brain. Gould found, through experiments with monkeys, that humans are capable of what she calls "neurogenisis," which is the formation of new cells in the brain. Usually new cells form in the hippocampus, an area near the brain stem which is associated with learning, memory, and emotion. Gould and Jacobs did an experiment together, in which they gave rats the antidepressant Prozac, to see what effect the drug would have on their ability to create new cells. The results: rats given Prozac made "70 percent more neurons" than the rats that hadn't recieved the drug. Basically, the Gould-Jacobs theory is that depression is linked to neurogenisis. A depressed patient has trouble making new neurons, because the stress that he is under floods his brain with hormones which slow or stop the growth of new cells. When he is given an antidepressant, neurogenisis resumes, and the depression fades. Jessica Malberg, a respected member of Yales Laboratory of Molecular Psychiatry, agrees that "theres absolutely a correlation [between neurogenisis and antidepressants]", but she cautions that "we dont know that its definitely neurogenisis that's relieving depression" (Greenberg 67) Further, it is unclear what connection there is between serotonin reuptake inhibition (the way that Prozac works) and neurogenisis. Joseph Glenullen, in his book, "Prozac Backlash [...]," makes sharper criticisms of the drug, saying that it's part of a "pharmacological fantasy," in which mood-altering drugs can be used to cure everything from drug addiction to ADD and depression, without any real consequences. (68) Malberg says that there is "structural change" that takes place in the brain of someone who takes antidepressants. Thats unsettling, considering what the side effects are. According to the July 2001 cover story of Discover magazine, some common ones include: anxiety, chest pain, diarrhea, insomnia, joint pain, stomach disorder, sweating, and tremors. According to Glenmullen, studies have shown that 60 percent of Prozac users experience severe sexual side effects. Prozac's manufacturer, Eli Lilly, says that only 5 percent experience such problems, but that claim is only based on the minimal testing that the FDA required of them. (Kluger 58) Eli Lilly, like most drug companies, rejected longer-term studies, and still does. So we can only conclude that the long-term effects of such drugs are being tested on people who recieve prescriptions for them. I think that its fair to conclude that, in a way, anyone who takes anti-depressants is a lab-rat for the long term effects of that drug.
The Privatized Healthcare Beaurocracy
Though Stephen Levenkron prefers to help his patients sort out their problems through talk therapy, there are many powerful , influential people that save money when such problems are medicated away, in spite of their complexity. The November 3 cover story of "Time" magazine ("Are We Giving Kids Too Many Drugs?") includes the passage, "unfortunately, medical insurance pays more readily for pills than for [streamlined therapy techniques] for adults and children" (54). The ideal treatment for an unstable teenager (or child) would be three specialists: a pediatrician, a behavioral pediatrician, and a child adolescent psychiatrist. Unfortunately, few families can afford therapy in the first place. Dr. Glen Elliot (director of the Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute's childrens center) says, "Insurance companies talk about second opinions, but they dont actually like them." For people who are self-employed, or who live with self-employed parents, therapy is out of the question, since health care rates for the self-employed are ridiculously high. The official website of the State of Maine has a section which focuses on "Dirigo Health," a new healthcare system, which is badly need by many people. One example: "In Pittsfield, a small business owner is faced with a 45% increase in his monthly insurance premiums to maintain the same level of coverage for himself and his wife." Apparently, he's not the only one; in Mt. Desert Island, in spite of "over 12 percent growth" in 2002, a particular small business with four employees, "must reduce salaries by $1.00 hr. each" and lay off one employee for 6 months just to cover the "50% ($16,000) increase in its insurance premium rates." Thousands and thousands of businesses, small and large, across the United States are suffering from the same problems. The struggles of small businesses may seem totally unrelated to the issue of psychiatric health-care; but in reality, they are quite deeply connected. All small businesses are, obviously, owned by self-employed people ; the fact that such people have little or no access to affordable health-care (due to high rates) shows that many people dont receive appropriate care (psychiatric, in this case) that they need.
The Propaganda War Against Youth Culture
"During the 1980's and 1990's, the media message about young people was how selfish and apathetic we were. College students consistently polled as the most conservative segment of the voting public. We were said to be rebelling against our workaholic divorced parents--rejecting the idealism of the 60's. We were hypnotized by turbocapitalism, anesthetized by video games and shock TV. [...] Until recently, we were still typecast as the licking-our-wounds generation."
--William Upski Wimsatt, activist and author
1.Youth culture (fashions, styles, slang, music) is attacked and ridiculed (by hipsters as well as by the mainstream Media)
Misrepresentation and stereotyping of youth culture is everywhere; such propoganda is, in fact, such a deep part of the American media, that it has become a source of satire and entertainment for older generations. Clearly, comedy itself is one of the greatest vehicles for the perpetuation of such stereotypes. (stereotypes which once were used against ethnic minorities to make black people look "lazy" or "dirty" for example; now adolescents are the new target) For example, Garrison Keilors "Prarie Home Companion," (an old-fashioned variety show on NPR), quite frequently features skits which portray teenagers as mindless, selfish, ungrateful fashion zombies with pothead-surfer accents. for example, in the opening scene of the skit "Grieg," a middle aged couple are lying in bed, discussing their belief that "Kids [our sons] age strive to be weird. It's their ambition. To freak out their parents." Soon they discuss their sons (apparently "gothic") girlfriend, saying that she "looked like she was trying to identify with the homeless. Except I don't think the homeless wear black lipstick. " Even the extremely popular, annoyingly hip TV show Saturday Night Live joined in the fun, launching a series of skits entitled "Goth Talk." "Goth Talk," as many of my readers may remember, was a fake talk show, starring Molly Shannon as the melodramatic hostess, and Christ Kataan as her annoyingly flamboyant sidekick, who would constantly whine that he wished he "had been born in the [14th] century." Overall, "Goth Talk" was absolutely hilarious to anyone who, at the time, was not a participant in the subculture that it attacked. But otherwise, it was at least moderately insulting, as well as a blatant stereotype. Further, hipster cartoonist Peter Bagge--in the March 2002 issue of Details magazine--cleverly ridiculed the counterculture movement of the early nineties, a.k.a "Grunge," referring to that time period as the "I-wish-I-was-dead-decade." Though he made some valid points (about how the Internet and cable TV made "alternative" lifestyles too accessible), Bagge presented a very one-dimensional, distorted view of generation X. Mr. Bagges opinion of alternative rock, and what he calls its "relentlessly whiney, cynical lyrics" seems to rely solely and entirely on the dark music of Nirvana. Though it's true that Kurt Cobain was depressive, cynical, and an addict, he was only one member of the band. A thorough reading of the Cobain biography "Heavier Than Heaven" reveals that David Grohl and Krist Novelsek were fairly well balanced. Further, there was a hell of a lot more to "Grunge," then what was going on in the mainstream at the time. If Bagge listened to the Pixies, the Butthole Surfers, Mudhoney, or the Melvins, perhaps he would have a less biased opinion of alternative culture. Now dont get me wrong; Peter Bagge is a genius, and one of the greatest underground cartoonists ever; but I feel that in this particular case, he's full of shit. I have a sense of humor; I understand the need for satire in society. I understand the importance of free speech. But I dont see how a smear campaign against the culture of my generation (or any other generation) is going to accomplish anything, much less diminish the generation gap.
2. statistics on teenage crime (homocide, school shootings, drug abuse) are inflated.
The complaints expressed above are just a small part of the bigger picture; clearly, misrepresentation of youth by figures in the entertainment industry is a minor problem compared to the propaganda that is being spewed out by so-called psychologists, right-wing politicians, beaurocrats, and high school principals. The most obvious example of this is the conservative reaction to the Columbine massacre. Every possible negative response, from Lieberman blaming Marilyn Manson, to outright inflation of crime statistics, was seen in the aftermath of Columbine. In an essay, titled "Monster Hype, " Joel Best (professor of sociology and criminal justice at the University of Delaware) examined the conservative response to such shootings, saying that "the oversaturated media coverage can portray a few isolated incidents as a national trend." He presented the following model, to illustrate the formula that the media uses to respond to trajedies such as columbine:
Mr. Best cited Dan Rathers comment: “School shootings in this country have become an epidemic." But he insists that the actual number of student deaths (according to research by the National School Safety Center, conducted from 92-93 and from 2000-01) was only 321. That sounds high, but 16 were accidents, and 56 were suicides. Further, some of the deaths were actually deaths of non-students who happened to be on school grounds at the time, but even then, non-students werent a big fraction of the number. Ultimately, when the numbers were finally sorted out...the NSSC discovered that the student death rate for the early nineties was only 31 per year, and for the later period, it was only 24 per year.
The Justice Policy Insitute, a "Washington D.C-based think-tank" (part of the Tides Center) published a report in 1998 analyzing the climate of fear surrounding high schools at the time. They discovered that 85% of all American communities recorded no juvenile homicides in 1995. Further, "93.4% of those communities recorded one or no juvenile arrests for murder. Three times as many juvenile homicide victims are killed by adults as by other juveniles, and only about 3 percent of U.S. murders consist of a person under 18 killing another person under 18.(3) Based on a those findings and data (which have not significantly changed since 1998), they found that "children face a one in a million chance of being killed at school."
The mechanics of ethics.
"fuck this world, fuck it all, fuck everything that you stand for. dont belong. dont exist. dont give a shit. dont ever judge me."
--[the popmetal band] Slipknot
The preacher says that ethics only exist within religion. the Humanist says that ethics exist outside of religion, outside of society, transcendent of all of the mechanics of civilization. The nihilist says that ethics dont exist at all. I feel that all of society will suffer until a compromise is reached.
consider the motif of the American Dream. A shiny car and a nice smiling clean family and a big blue house in the suburbs with your kids playing in the sprinklers. a cliched life in fluorescent sunray. The ideal American family is just a cardboard cutout, with smiles painted on. Post-war morals have crumbled, and so children rely on the other extreme end of the ethical spectrum: nihilism, an old friend that is always there; a self-destructive anti-revolution promoted by endless armies of metal bands. Nihilism wont make you feel bad about yourself. It wont tell you what to do. Nihilism wont expect anything from you, or give you anything, or keep you alive. Its a miserable cycle, round and round like a rotary road. perfect circle, round and down like a merry-go-round, leading nowhere.
sources:
Slaby, M.D, Andrew. Garfinkel, Lili F. "No One Saw My Pain; Why Teens Kill Themselves" W.W Norton & Company: New York. 1994
Physicians Desk Reference 2003; 57th Edition
Kramer, Peter D. "Listening To Prozac" Viking Penguin, 1993
research
http://www.leaderu.com/jhs/rekers.html
