Another double-bill signal set:
Firstly the USA's rising number of people in therapy, and secondary, South Africa's rising number of people on social grants.
They are related in two ways, firstly because the USA's mental health crisis can be at least partially attributed according to the signal source I read to the stress of living in ongoing economic fragility. (We know already, for example, that employees say they lose a full day's productivity a week due to financial stress, so this should not be completely surprising).
But the second way they are related is perhaps more important : they are both examples of increasing chronic treatment with no perceivable end for the symptoms caused by underlying ills - underlying ills that are not addressed, and indeed disincentivized to be solved (therapists, governments, NGOs and consultants have a lot inn common with regards to a lack of incentive to CURE their patients, which should not be forgotten) , by the treatments prescribed. That is not to say that the treatments are unnecessary, but rather that symptomatic treatment is not sufficient : we need cures for the underlying disfunction too. Getting more people onto lifelong treatment - even people who need it! - without getting anyone off it eventually is not something to cause cheer, but rather concern.
We need dual focus, on short term symptom treatment AND long run permanent fixes of the underlying issues.
Your thoughts?
Where else do you see causes being overwhelmed by symptoms?
Where else do we see ourselves congratulating ourselves for increasing treatments rather than increasing cures?
How else does often invisible economic illness affect visible physical and mental illness?
Have you noticed financial stress impacting your own - or your team's - performance?
Let us know.
Read more:
Therapy won't save us : https://time.com/6308096/therapy-mental-health-worse-us/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
A grant a day keeps the citizen uprising at bay : https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/economy/2023-09-17-treasury-warns-cost-of-grant-could-rise-to-r130bn-by-2030/
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