Mental Health is Political: Issue 5
A newsletter about the intersection of mental health and politics.
I’m one month into writing Mental Health is Political — I want to start with a huge thank you to everyone who has been following along so far! With some new subscribers rolling in, I want to take a little bit of time to (re)introduce myself before getting into this week’s news.
I am an Assistant Professor and licensed clinical psychologist in the state of Tennessee. Most of my time is currently spent focused on clinical research that seeks to understand how we manage our emotions in the context of suicide and depression risk, with the goal of developing clinical interventions to reduce risk in teens and families. I was born in Alabama and raised in East Tennessee (my mom would tell us that we bleed orange for the Vols growing up — so naturally I chose to go to Vanderbilt for college instead). I’ve lived in Nashville on and off for 12 years now. I had brief stints on the West Coast and East Coast, where I met and somehow convinced my New England born and bred partner to move to Nashville with me in the middle of the pandemic. We have two pandemic pups that definitely run the show at home (and if you don’t know what a “hound crank” sounds like, might I suggest taking a listen to the what we hear at home on the daily here). Outside of work and staying tuned in to politics, I listen to a lot of pop culture podcasts (Who? Weekly, Normal Gossip, Maintenance Phase, and Everything Iconic are a few of my favorites), routinely fail at very basic baking projects, and am at a minimum 6 months late to watching any critically acclaimed or buzzed about TV show (should I finally try to get into Succession?). You can read more about what drove me to start Mental Health is Political here.
Ok, enough about me! Let’s dive into the news.
The good. Finally, we have some good news on the book ban front: Illinois will be the first state to enact legislation intended to protect access to books. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker will sign into law a bill that would block state funding from institutions that do not adhere to the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, which specifically states that libraries, “should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.” Libraries often serve as community centers, offering a free, safe space for people to access information and mental health resources. As hostility grows from a small but loud minority towards organizations that support access to books from diverse voices and perspectives, we need to protect our libraries more than ever.
In a surprising move by the GOP-dominated state of Texas, the Texas state legislature voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton this weekend. The Attorney General has a long track record of alleged misbehavior and abuses of power while in office, leading the state house to bring 20 articles of impeachment to the table. Next, the Senate will vote to impeach – they need two thirds of the state Senate to vote to impeach him for it to pass. Paxton supports bans on gender affirming care for trans youth, opposed and attacked the Affordable Care Act, and has been accused of judge shopping to promote the far right’s hate-filled agenda. Needless to say, Paxton’s tenure as Texas AG has not benefited the mental health of Texans – let’s hope that tenure is ending soon.
The not so good. News broke this week that a valuable resource for people with eating disorders and their loved ones is getting an overhaul. The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) telephone help line will transition to being operated through an AI chatbot system named Tessa. Running the helpline is no small undertaking – with a small staff and large pool of volunteers, they have fielded an increase in calls since the COVID-19 pandemic began. While integrating AI into the helpline system may make support more accessible, there are serious concerns as to how effective (or potentially, how harmful) replacing humans on the helpline with AI chatbots will be. Notably, the change was announced just days after those who worked for the helpline unionized.
The this is bad, y’all. I saw a tweet this weekend after the news broke of a mass shooting in Hollywood Beach, Florida that resonated with me in stating, “We are not numb, we are traumatized.” With a 24-hour news cycle that seems to move on from one event to the next with the blink of an eye, it can feel as though everyone has become numb to news of mass shootings each week in the U.S. As PBS describes it, we are “replaying the horror [of mass shootings] on a loop roughly once a week so far this year.” And I’ll admit, there are many times I find myself wanting to move right on past it because it just feels like too much. In previous newsletters, I’ve talked about the impact of gun violence on mental health, and the role of mental health in gun violence. This week, I’m reflecting on the impact of the 24-hour news cycle on our mental health. The balance of staying informed and giving yourself space to decompress from all of the heavy news is something I’m certainly still learning and practicing every day. If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by the news, this article on how to spend less time on social media has some helpful strategies that I’m going to be implementing for myself.
Take Action.
It’s the last day of AAPI Heritage Month, but your work to support and uplift AAPI voices doesn’t have to end here. You can find a lot of valuable resources compiled by Stop AAPI Hate here. Take the time to educate yourself about the history of the AAPI community, as well as the alarming rise in anti-AAPI hate incidents in the U.S. in recent years. Importantly, AAPI encompasses a heterogeneous group of ethnic identities and languages – AAPIs are not a monolith. And as we move into Pride Month tomorrow, consider donating to the Asian Pride Project.
It’s also the last day of Mental Health Awareness Month. Mental Health America has several helpful tools to better understand how your state ranks in terms of mental health resources and accessibility. Not happy with where your state falls on the list? Write your legislators and ask them to share what steps they are taking to improve mental health access in your state. You can also donate to organizations working to make evidence-based therapy more accessible, like Therapy4ThePeople and the Loveland Foundation.
On the heels of Memorial Day, it’s important to recognize the mental health challenges of Veterans in the U.S. Many veterans experience significant mental health distress, including PTSD, suicidal thoughts and behavior, and depression. However, there is still stigma associated with needing support among veterans, and even when the need for help is acknowledged, accessing services can be a challenge. Cutting benefits for Veteran’s healthcare has been on the list of things Republicans have proposed as a part of ongoing budget negotiations — be sure to reach out to your federal representatives to reiterate your support for broad coverage of mental health care for Veterans in the U.S.
Since we’re nearly halfway through the short work week, I’ll end with some interesting data suggesting that perhaps every work week should be this short. A study testing this week model across 61 companies in Britain found that a 4-day work week led to employees reporting greater satisfaction at work, reduced stress, and reduced symptoms of burnout. On the other hand, evidence supporting programs to improve “workplace wellness” more broadly (i.e., implementing incentives to go to the doctor, move more, etc.) is limited. These “workplace wellness” programs run the gamut – and many end up promoting and perpetuating anti-fat bias and attitudes in the workplace. (I highly recommend the Maintenance Phase podcast episode on workplace wellness if you aren’t familiar!). TL;DR: A 4-day work week is probably better for our mental health than your employer offering you a gift card for walking 10,000 steps a day.
If there are news stories related to mental health that I didn’t cover that you are curious about or if you have questions about what I covered this week, drop a comment below. As always, thank you for reading, subscribing, and sharing Mental Health is Political.