Mental Illness as a Crisis of Meaning in Modern Society

Modern society has seen a massive spike in mental illness. Why could this be? We will be exploring the characteristics of modernity and associate it with the rise of mental illness through the crisis of meaning in modern society. Modernity is characterised by a sense of disorientation. The mass neurosis of modern times is the “unheard cry for meaning”.

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📚 Recommended Reading

▶ Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl
▶ Man and His Symbols – Carl Jung
▶ The Myth of Sisyphus – Albert Camus
▶ The Gay Science – Friedrich Nietzsche
▶ Tribe – Sebastian Junger
▶ The Myth of Mental Illness – Thomas Szasz

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⌛ Timestamps

0:00 Introduction: Modern Society and Mental Illness
1:50 The Myth of Mental Illness
3:00 Modern Society: Freedom and Responsibility
5:14 Modern Society: Death of God
6:34 The Existential Vacuum
8:20 The Hero Journey
9:13 What Actually Takes Place Inside the Mentally Ill?
11:45 Modern Society: Lack of a Tribe
14:52 Modern Society: Psychic Dissociation

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📝 Sources

Roberts, M. (2007). Modernity, mental illness and the crisis of meaning. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 14(3), 277-281.

Sass, L. A. (1994). Civilized madness: schizophrenia, self-consciousness and the modern mind. History of the human sciences, 7(2), 83-120.

Littlewood, R. (1995). Abstracts & Reviews: Madness and Modernism: Insanity in the Light of Modern Art, Literature and Thought by LOUIS A. SASS, PH.D. 1992. New York: Basic Books. Cloth: 30.00, 40.00 Canadian, ISBN 0-465-04312-7, x+ 595 pages. Transcultural Psychiatric Research Review, 32(1), 78-86.

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🎶 Music used

1. They Got Away – Documentary Music – CO.AG Music
2. Anguish – Kevin MacLeod
3. Evening Fall Harp – Kevin MacLeod
4. Thunderbird – Kevin MacLeod
5. Wounded – Kevin MacLeod

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Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

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Thanks for watching, I appreciate it!

#modernity #society #crisis

[Eternalised]

*“We have been so busy with the question of what we think that we entirely forgot to ask what the unconscious psyche thinks about us.”* — Carl Jung


Thanks to my Patrons:

Ryon Brashear, Jeanette, john cochran, Jay B, Reuben Markham, Evangelos Barakos, Mr X

[Elaphe]

E. Fromm in one of his books said: What is the meaning of fixing a neurotic patient so he or she can go back to society, when society itself is sick.

[gnosis]

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."
―Jiddu Krishnamurti

[parakpa]

I was at home at night and sat at my desk watching a documentary of an oil drilling isle. I was warm, had a cozy bed, a full fridge, a loving family, couple of communities, wasn't broke. In the documentary I saw a group of men working under the most miserable conditions imaginable. They were dirty, grimy, freezing half to death, yelling and roaring and drinking and cursing. I was horrified to sense a deep and genuine envy for what they had. My mind immediately retaliated against me with guilt for such a profoundly ungrateful sentiment, but I could not help it. I think it was the yearning for a sense of purpose, of stakes, and a primitive drive for brotherhood that caused my reaction, and I felt that each and everyone of these men had all of that. I knew full well they would likely have envied me just the same.

[woodlandbiker]

The problem is that society itself is sick. There are a million reasons for someone to end up chronically depressed and anxious and societies answer is not to fix those problems but rather to drug you into numbness to it. That is in itself sick.

[er]

Perhaps things seem worse in modern times because we don’t have to spend all of our time trying to survive nature, and so we have much more time think about how miserable existence can be.

[wise.talker]

“The greatest hazard of all, losing one’s self, can occur very quietly in the world, as if it were nothing at all. No other loss can occur so quietly; any other loss - an arm, a leg, five dollars, a wife, etc. - is sure to be noticed.”
― Søren Kierkegaard

[dodiswatchbobobo]

It’s so interesting that our intelligence has both caused these problems and paved the way to our understanding of them.

[howlinnadeaux]

I kind of feel like the hardest part of all of this is being so absolutely depleted of drive, self worth or really feeling anything at all but you can still feel that emptiness in your gut that keeps you aware that there's something wrong

[TheTacticalMess]

As someone who suffers from bipolar disorder 2... having gone through (spiritual) psychosis... I know one of the biggest issues for me mentally is the structure of our current society... the obsession of of the material... that you have to be obsessed with the material world in order to be considered successful... this mentality has never aligned with me. And I was on that journey for a while. I am still in the process of finishing my degree for computer science (almost done) but I began to really question why I‘m seeking this degree... what it’s worth... and spiritually it means nothing... It is only valuable to me in the sense that society forced its material value onto me. We are a society obsessed with meaningless material to the point that it clearly harms our mental and spiritual side.

[ralphricart]

After suffering a psychotic episode the underlying meaning of these videos becomes all the more apparent. They are a blessing.

[Jaycups]

I'm a 25 year old man from Oklahoma, high-school drop out and veteran working in the cannabis industry with alcoholism. Thoughts of why I'm here on this earth constantly burden me. Listening and learning from these videos hit me in the right place when necessary.

[jodyswallow]

As someone who is battling alcoholism and depression, that was heavy duty. Keep up the good work dude. We will endeavour to persevere. 😵‍💫

[stevenr]

The world is an insane asylum and we're all inmates.

[powerhomie]

I spent almost all of my 20s, thinking those questions intricately.
And what surprised me is this video offers the resemble answers as i did, with wealth of evidences.
Such concordance encourages me to go deep into it.
Much appreciation for you!

[TheJimprez]

I used to work in a psychiatric emergency. After ALL of the folks I saw coming in that just couldn't cope with not being where they expected to be in society, I decided that I didn't CARE one bit what anybody else thought of me, or what I was supposed to be or achieve by a certain age. I travel, work in different trades, meet people, and DON'T force myself to talk to mean or selfish people anymore. I only aim to please MYSELF now. I am happy with my lot in life (not too bad, not the greatest, just a sane average). Before, I felt tons of pressure from my family and my exes. Now I live FREE of all of that. I'm lucky I live in a country where you can still get educated and have healthcare without going bankrupt though. It frees up the rest of your life. It's actual FREEDOM.

[spiderlime]

the problem is that modern humanity chooses to embrace several causes of mental disintegration, such as isolation and aggression on social media, reliance on gadgets instead of direct communication, avoidance of intellectual growth, and the reductive thinking known as "pc culture". knowledge is viewed as legitimate mostly for the sake of money. medication is subsequently used to silence the questions that gnaw at us.

[iamyoussef]

i can't thank you enough for taking time and effort to produce this content, you can't imagine how this is helpful for me these days .

[paulcowell]

Many people with depression are among the sanest people I've ever met.the ones who stand up and try to tell us all how to behave may well be the most diseased..

[CommyMommy]

The last 2 years I've been slipping away into deeper psychological problems. The global crisis gave me time to think about my past and future and in weeks I was completely lost. I went from being an occasional weed consumer to a full addict in a matter of months. Right now I am in such a deep depression that I sleep or stay awake for days, plagued by personal trauma and the complete loss of connection with the modern society. I feel like we are collectively are destroying ourselves and our surroundings. That causes a feeling of helplessness and dissociation.

Just to put this in perspective. Before all of this I was positive minded. You could throw piles of garbage at me and I'd still find the positive part of the situation. I was motivated, extroverted and I loved the direction my life was going in.

Everything is the complete opposite now.