Are Depression, Anxiety, and Trauma Symptoms of a sick cultural system?

The Societal Matrix tells us that if we suffer from depression, anxiety, and trauma then we have a “mental health issue.” I say, if that’s how we’re defining “mental illness,” then everyone gets sick sometimes. The Societal Matrix tells us “you need to fix your mental illness so that you can be functional.” And that’s where therapy gets its stigma. I guess that’s one paradigm of reality to live in. And perhaps it works for some folks.  

As far as my reality goes, I live in a paradigm that acknowledges the inevitability of human suffering. When we suffer we can repress the experience and “power through” so we can remain functional (and slightly less alive inside). When we suffer we can distract from the discomfort with work, food, relationships, substances, shopping, addictions, etc. Or, when we suffer, we can courageously turn inward and do the work.

Those who choose to do this inner work become more self-aware and learn tools to access inner resources, inner wisdom, and version of self that is more aligned and ALIVE. Those who choose to do this inner work might uncover the ways their “sickness” is really a kind of wisdom. In my reality, those who go to therapy, those who do this work, they are the healthy ones. Nothing to pathologize here.

Not.

At.

All.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 5) is used by clinicians and psychiatrists to diagnose mental health issues. The DSM states, “mental disorders are defined in relation to cultural, social, and familial norms and values,” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p.14). The DSM goes on to make the point that mental disorders are defined by whether or not a person’s experience, symptoms, and behaviors “differ from” familial and cultural norms.

Hmmm.

Ok.

My personal encounter with “mental illness” showed up as depression. In doing personal growth work, I learned that my depression was there because of the way cultural norms pulled me into the rhythm of Go! Do! Accomplish! Suceed! I was a “successful” hamster running around in an extremely productive, efficient, and workaholic existence. My depression shouted at me, “No! Stop it! I’m tired! I want more out of life than working all the time.” I learned that my depression was there because of the way cultural norms required surface level interactions with other people in an act of “look how impressive I am.” My depression complained, “there is no authenticity, no heart, no guts, no unicorn horns in this interaction. This all feels so empty.” In other words, I wasn’t sick. I was participating in a cultural system that was sick, and my depression was a symptom of that.

My process of inner work led me to a rhythm of living that mirrors the natural rhythm of seasons and cycles. This is a rhythm that sounds something like: time to work, time to rest, time to play, time to heal, honor your natural flow. My limited time on this planet is no longer wasted in Go! Do! Accomplish! Succeed! That frequency feels like slavery. Many of my relationships are with people who also do personal growth work on themselves. And because they are doing this work/ play…HAY!… they are self-aware, evolving, authentic beings. My connection to these friends (who are really soul-family) is nourishing, intimate, and real. I no longer have to play that “look how impressive I am” game.

Which brings me to a state of conflict with the DSM. The DSM defines mental illness as an inability to function in our cultural system while the goal is to become functional. I define mental illness as a product of a sick cultural system while the goal is to become liberated from that system so that we can evolve and co-create something healthier. Anxiety, depression, trauma these are symptoms of a sick system- not of sick people. And those who choose to do this important inner work are the agents of healing. They heal themselves so that they can heal the whole.