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Tag Archives: Mental Health

Dysfunctional Social Identity & Its Impact on Society

05 Sunday Jun 2022

Posted by Paul Kiser in Conservatives, Discrimination, Gender Issues, Generational, Mental Health, Politicians, Politics, racism, Relationships, Religion, Respect

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co-dependency, dysfunctional social identity, Mental Health, psychological health, self awareness, self esteem, social identity

Us Versus Them

‘Us versus them’ is a common stance some people take in our society. The ‘us’ is a group of people with a social identity that is demonizing another group of people.  Often, this us/them conflict is a tool used by cult-like groups to bond members of their social identity and increase loyalty and group-think behavior. Promoting an enemy to hate increases the power of the group identity and diminishes the identity of the individual. Hate for others becomes a dysfunctional social identity for the group that perpetuates itself.

1 May 2016, now Representative Lauren Boebert readies her children for church with her gun on her hip.  (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

Why Can’t We Be Friends?

When discussing the state of the world, many journalists and scholars say that we have become a divided society. Ian Bremmer in Time suggested that the split has been caused by race, capitalism, and the media. Fred Cook of the USC Center for Public Relations suggests that it is a problem of communication.

Michael Capuano and Jim Douglas state in the Boston Globe that all our problems in a divided country are fixable. Jonathan Holloway, President of Rutgers, wrote that our fundamental problems are: 

…our unwillingness to learn from one another, to see and respect one another, to become familiar with people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds and who hold different political views.

Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway

He continues by suggesting a mandatory year national service program as the solution.

Dysfunctional Social Identity Worst Enemy:  Reconciliation

Most discussions of the ‘us-versus-them’ division in today’s world seem to ignore the dysfunctional social identity of cult-like groups. These groups are easily threatened by outside influences and compromise or reconciliation is unacceptable.

Trump supporters’ mistrust of the media is an example of a cult’s resistance to ideas and information outside of their social identity. Recognition of the other perspectives is a challenge to the cult’s unity; therefore, any attempt to mend differences is not only difficult, but it would also require the dysfunctional group to lessen their social identity. In this situation, hate can become a necessity to maintain the social identity of the group.

Importance of a Healthy Self Identity

Our self-identity is a key element of the human psyche. Identity, or who we believe we are as a person, drives our decision-making process. Having a stable self-identity is considered a key element of our personal well-being. A lack of self-identity is associated with the Dark Triad of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy.

  • Narcissism:  Traits include selfishness, boastfulness, arrogance, lacking of empathy, and hypersensitive to criticism.

  • Machiavellianism:  Traits include duplicity, manipulation, self-interest, and a lack of both emotion and morality.

  • Psychopathy: Traits include a lack of empathy or remorse, antisocial behavior, and being manipulative and volatile. (Not the same as a psychopath, with its commonly held association with criminal violence.)

From MindTools.com

People with a healthy sense of self tend to be more confident and independent thinkers. They tend to manage relationships better by avoiding or rejecting abusive situations. Positive self-identity also helps a person to appropriately assess and accept healthy interactions with others.

Overreliance on a social group’s identity is a strong indicator that the individual lacks a good self-image. Cult-like groups take advantage of that with a strong social identity of the group. As a result, the person becomes less of an individual. The person’s identity becomes part of the social identity of the group.

Functional and Dysfunctional Social Identity

Dependence on social identity is problematic, but that does not mean social identity is always unhealthy. A balance of self-identity and social identity is necessary for a healthy individual. Examples of functional or dysfunctional social identity are as follows:

Competitive Sports Teams

  • Functional – Group members support the team through respectful and honorable behavior. Unsportman behavior by the home team or fans is not acceptable.
  • Dysfunctional – Group members are obsessed with the team and are abusive to competing teams. Group members have a strong need to display team logos throughout all aspects of their life, including daily wear, on their vehicles, and within their workplaces. Group members ignore team or individual unethical behavior or even praise the bad behavior.

After a Mississippi touchdown, Elijah Moore simulates a dog urinating in a 2019 game against Mississippi State. (AP/Rogelio V. Solis)

Community

  • Functional – Members have pride in their community and strive to support and improve it.
  • Dysfunctional – Members see other communities as competitors and non-residents as undesirables. Members are obsessive in the praise of their community and often are unable to recognize issues or faults within their community. Unethical behavior is acceptable and encouraged if it benefits the community and harms outsiders.

Race/Creed/Gender/Age/Culture

  • Functional – Members have pride and support those of similar demographics without disrespecting or demonizing people of other demographics.
  • Dysfunctional – Members have a strong dislike and/or fear of those not who are not part of their demographic. On a public level, they often seek to elect politicians that will support the views and culture of their demographic and target others with laws and policies to do harm or be offensive. On a private level, they will be rude or insensitive to people outside of their demographic, even resorting to physical violence.

Identifying the Real Problem

Those caught up in a group with a dysfunctional social identity create strife and bitterness in their effort to promote hate of other people and groups. The adage, “It takes two to Tango”, fails to take into account that it only requires one person’s bad behavior to be insulting or divisive. In the case of a group with a dysfunctional social identity, the need to promote conflict is central to the unity within the group. The impact is a steadily escalating fracture of society.

Janet Devlin vs. Janet Devlin

07 Monday Sep 2020

Posted by Paul Kiser in Arts, Book Review, Entertainment, habits, Health, Lessons of Life, Life, Mental Health, Passionate People, Public Image, review, Women, Writing

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2011, 2020, album, artist, Book, Book review, Confessional, cutting, Depression, Janet Devlin, Mental Health, Music, music industry, My Confessional, pop, review, singer, singing, songs, The X Factor

Album and Book REVIEW:  Confessional [album] and My Confessional [book] by Janet Devlin

The Case For and Against Janet Devlin

Your Honor, if it pleases the court, I would like to prove that Janet Devlin is highly intelligent and that she deliberately and systematically has used her intelligence to attack and humiliate Janet Devlin to cause both mental and physical harm.

Someone who produces both an album, titled Confessional and a corresponding book, titled My Confessional, as Ms. Devlin has done, is not of below-average nor even average intelligence. The feat itself proves my contention of higher than average intelligence, brilliant creativity, and an artistic skillset that exceeds the capabilities of most humans. 

In 2011, Ms. Devlin, at the age of 16, gained worldwide fame with a viral performance of Elton John’s, Your Song on Britain’s The X Factor television show. The official video of this performance has over 40 million views. Again, proof of her outstanding intelligence and abilities.

I contend that Ms. Devlin has used her intelligence against Janet. I contend that Ms. Devlin knows that Janet is so intelligent and talented that she perceives almost limitless possibilities and that Ms. Devlin has deceived Janet into believing that if she does not succeed at everything she might see as a possibility, then she has failed.

Further, Ms. Devlin has relentlessly humiliated and shamed Janet by degrading her, forcing her into addictive coping behaviors, and instilling a belief in failure.

The Evidence

Ms. Devlin has admitted to her acts against Janet. In her album, Ms. Devlin admits her sins against Janet. In her book, Janet details the acts that Ms. Devlin convinced her to do to herself.

Of the twelve songs in the album, almost all expose, in raw emotion, the savage cruelty beset upon a child and then a woman by Ms. Devlin. Her mind driven into depression by the belief of failure. In this album alone there is ample proof that Ms. Devlin has tortured Janet for most of her life.

In the twelve chapters of the book, Ms. Devlin writes of using self-doubt to cripple the efforts of Janet to the point that she took to seclusion and alcohol to cope with her feelings of inadequacy. One only has to listen to the music and read the words to know the truth.

The Defense For Janet Devlin

Your Honor, as I represent both the Plaintiff and the Defendant, I must admit that Ms. Devlin admits to her behavior. She has confessed in both word and song to her crimes. She, in fact, has used both the album and book to not only reveal the truth to all that will listen, but she has also gone so far as to bring awareness of how a highly intelligent and talented person can be lost in depression and self-abuse.

Though her actions are reprehensible, the final act of exposing the truth to the world may have a greater impact on Janet and anyone who faces the emotional and physical trauma caused by depression and addiction.

For this reason, I ask that the court grant a reconciliation between Ms. Devlin and Janet on the condition that any further acts of abuse, humiliation, or shame be dealt with quickly and severely. The Prosecution and Defense rest…so that we may listen to the album again. 

Review – Album:  Confessional, Book:  My Confessional

Release: 5 June 2020 Album:  Insomnia Music, Book by Omnibus Press 

Album Category:  Pop, some Gaelic influences

The raw truth of Janet Devlin’s life is disturbing; however, the album, Confessional, that lyrically exposes her internal battle is not a collection of morose songs. The listener might not realize that some songs deal with dark subjects of depression, self-harm, and addiction. This makes the album more than just a confessional, but a highly crafted artistic canvas of emotion and music.

The album begins with an anthem that announces the scope and purpose of the music collection. With one exception, the tracks lyrically stay true to the theme of the anthem. The exception is Big Wide World that is almost a giddy emotional outburst from the rest of the album. Musically, songs such as Cinema Screen, Away With The Fairies, and Holy Water, have an upbeat feel, while other songs carry a softer and/or somber tone. This gives the album a balanced feel that combats the serious, and sometimes disturbing, lyrics of many of the songs. 

Book Category:  Autobiography  [Book Format: Hardcover]

The twelve chapters of the book share the title and order of the songs on the album; however, this is not a “why-I-wrote-this-song” book. Each chapter seems to loosely relate to the album but not in a way that is overt. Ms. Devlin uses prose to tell the story of her life in the book and uses lyrical poetry and music on the album to give an emotional feel to that story. 

The blending of the album and book creates a deep connection to the hidden life of someone betrayed and shredded by a twisted reflection of herself. The book doesn’t allow the reader to be a casual participant. The experiences of depression, cutting, anorexia, isolation all are exposed, but not as the evil afflictions that we think of them. Ms. Devlin becomes the Siren that takes the reader into dangerous waters of mental oddities and self-destruction and gives us a glimpse of how our brains can twist self-harm into a release from self-loathing.

There is no clear explanation for the cause of the type of behavior that Ms. Devlin has lived with since she was a child; however, it is not just a reaction to external trauma, nor an issue of a ‘defective’ brain. What Ms. Devlin accomplishes with the blending of the album and book is an inside view of how a highly intelligent person can be mired in a world of self-loathing and addiction…and perhaps a map of how to get out of that world.   

BOOK:
Informative  ★★★★★
Relevancy  ★★★★★
Readability  ★★★★★
Visuals  ★★★☆☆

Mass Shooters Not Criminals Before They Picked Up A Gun

18 Sunday Feb 2018

Posted by Paul Kiser in Crime, Government, Health, History, Mass Shootings, Medicine, Mental Health, Politicians, Politics, US History, Violence in the Workplace

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Columbine High School, Congress, Conservatives, gun, Gun control, gun laws, gun lobby, gun rights, gun violence, mass murders, Mass shootings, Mental Health, mentally ill, NRA, psychopath, Republican, suicide, Violence, Violence in the Workplace, Virginia Tech Massacre

Gun extremists like to portray the perpetrators of mass shooters as known criminals that should have been identified and stopped. That is a damn lie. Like millions of people in the United States, mass shooters often have anti-social behavior and/or involve themselves in hate-filled social media posts. Almost all of those people will not become a mass murderer. None of the mass shooters are identified as criminals until after they have picked up a gun and killed people.

Here is a list of the 20 worst mass shootings and indicators of instability prior to their crime:

TABLE 1.0 Worst 22 Mass Shooter Events in the USA

Millions of People Are Mentally Ill, Only a Few Kill

In some of the instances listed above the mental illness was known but was not an accurate predictor of the actions taken by the perpetrator. Almost all of the perpetrators were U.S. citizens, male, had easy access to guns, and/or was obsessed with gun ownership.

The five worst events have occurred after the ban on assault rifles was allowed to expire in 2004. Half of the top 22 mass shootings have happened in the last 18 years and the other half occurred in the 50 years prior.

More Guns, More Deaths

The simple fact is the explosion of gun ownership in the past three decades has resulted in an explosion of gun deaths. We are not safer now than we were 50 years ago, and while the funding for mental illness treatment is a factor, if guns weren’t easily accessible, the mentally ill would not have the opportunity to use them.

There are only three mass shooting events among the top 22 where the guns were not legally obtained. In two cases the guns were obtained because the criminal records of the perpetrator were not on record as they should have been. In the Columbine High School shooting, the two teenagers used friends to buy them guns. The other 19 events were people who had easy, legal access to the guns and if they hadn’t had that access, I wouldn’t need to write this article.

Trump and GOP Causing Emotional Numbness?

25 Thursday Jan 2018

Posted by Paul Kiser in Aging, Business, Crisis Management, Economy, Ethics, Generational, Government, Government Regulation, Health, History, Internet, Journalism, Mental Health, Politics, racism, Religion, Respect, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Taxes, Traditional Media, US History, Women

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Congress, Donald Trump, economy, GOP, government shutdown, Mental Health, post trauma, PTSD, Republican, Republicans, shock

There is a term for the state of emotional numbness. It is called depersonalization-derealization disorder (DD.) It is a feeling of emotional detachment from reality, and the United States seems to be experiencing DD in epidemic levels. Has Donald Trump and the Republican (GOP) steamrolling agenda created a state of emotional shock for our citizens? It would answer many questions as to the lack of reaction to the absurdity of what our country has become. 

Stock Market Non-Event

This week I was listening to Market Place on National Public Radio (NPR.) Kai Ryssdal was pointing out (22 January 2016) how the craziness of Congress and the government shutdown didn’t seem to be affecting the stock market. His point seemed to be that uncertainty has become the new ‘normal’ so uncertainty no longer affects the stock market in the way it has in the past.

It seems that the United States is in a zombie-like state as more events pile on that, in the past, would have created turmoil throughout our society. Today, events like a government shutdown seem to have little, if any, effect on people.

Trauma as Normal

During and immediately following a crisis people affected tend to shut down emotionally. They cannot process all of the events that have happened and become numb to new events. It is a coping mechanism in our brains that protects us and prevents us from experiencing further emotional trauma.

Germany in the early 1930’s is an example of mass DD. The Wall Street Stock Market crash of 1929 brought a period of prosperity and stability to an end and severely damaged the German economy.

After a series of economic issues and with a government in chaos, the German people became numb to the constant state of crisis in their country. Conservatives and reactionaries in Germany began to seize power in the absence of a coherent strategy to bring order to the country. This opened the door for the Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party to rise to control the country as the people largely sat back and watched.

What Does It Mean?

We are a nation of in a state of shock from the actions of Donald Trump and the Republicans. We are likely to do nothing that will stop the racist agenda of the President and the GOP. This year’s elections may only serve to exacerbate the situation. If the Democrats take control of Congress, it may lead to a political war between Trump and Congress. If the Republicans maintain control they will feel justified in intensifying the racist agenda. 

Our country is faced with a situation that threatens everything we stand for, and yet, we are numb. Let us hope there is a way out of this mess.

Other Pages of This Blog

  • About Paul Kiser
  • Common Core: Are You a Good Switch or a Bad Switch?
  • Familius Interruptus: Lessons of a DNA Shocker
  • Moffat County, Colorado: The Story of Two Families
  • Rules on Comments
  • Six Things The United States Must Do
  • Why We Are Here: A 65-Year Historical Perspective of the United States

Paul’s Recent Blogs

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