Discussion How do you think your political views influence your mental health?

[SchrodingerIsDed]

When I was a liberal, I felt like society owed me a cure. I kept waiting and waiting and waiting and society never came to rescue me.

When I became conservative, I took matters into my own hands and created a decent life. For me, that was freeing. And I'm only speaking for myself, not asserting one class is better than the other. I'm more of a centrist really, but I lean both directions, so I can mingle with both the left and the right. :)

No being mean in the threads guys. Especially to me, :)

 

[EvisceratedJester]

My mental health and my political views in no way really influence each other. My views of mental health, in general, in general are influenced by my political views (I.e. how things like systematic structures end up leading to mental health issues amongst the general public, especially amongst vulnerable demographics), but that's about it.

My mental health improvement largely had more to do with changes in how I think of myself, along with the use of shrooms, not really due to my political views. I've had my highs and lows back when I was more centrist/slightly right-leaning and after when I became more left-leaning.

 

[SchrodingerIsDed]

My mental health and my political views in no way really influence each other. My views of mental health, in general, in general are influenced by my political views (I.e. how things like systematic structures end up leading to mental health issues amongst the general public, especially amongst vulnerable demographics), but that's about it.

My mental health improvement largely had more to do with changes in how I think of myself, along with the use of shrooms, not really due to my political views. I've had my highs and lows back when I was more centrist/slightly right-leaning and after when I became more left-leaning.

Ahh gotcha. Makes sense.

I wanted to also include philosophical views like philisophical pessimism, antinatalism, that kind of thing, too. Do you have any philosophical positions that adjusted your mental health in one way or another?

 

[EvisceratedJester]

Ahh gotcha. Makes sense.

I wanted to also include philosophical views like philisophical pessimism, antinatalism, that kind of thing, too. Do you have any philosophical positions that adjusted your mental health in one way or another?

Some bullshit along the lines of this:

Anyway, I personally like the fact that life comes with no meaning. I've come to find that there's something very freeing about the fact that none of this will truly matter at the end of the day. It doesn't matter if you fail or if others look down on you because one day you'll die and that will be it. It takes a lot of pressure off of your shoulders. Why bother holding myself back if my messing up won't mean anything in the grand scheme of things? I honestly prefer the relief of none of this truly mattering versus the pressure that comes from the belief that everything that happens is all in the name of some sort of grand purpose I must try to live up to.

It's not that deep or philosophical per se, but in my defence I'm in my early 20s and I've never been much of a "philosophical type".

 

[SchrodingerIsDed]

Some bullshit along the lines of this:

It's not that deep or philosophical per se, but in my defence I'm in my early 20s and I've never been much of a "philosophical type".

Yeah, I like that. That does tend to be the younger perception, though, sure. The understanding--no, you may have the understanding, but the *feeling*--of the risks of the world don't kick in until later. So you have that to look forward to. :)

What type are you?

 

[EvisceratedJester]

Yeah, I like that. That does tend to be the younger perception, though, sure. The understanding--no, you may have the understanding, but the *feeling*--of the risks of the world don't kick in until later. So you have that to look forward to. :)

What type are you?

Type of what?

 

[SchrodingerIsDed]

You said you're not the philosophical type. So which type are you?

 

[EvisceratedJester]

You said you're not the philosophical type. So which type are you?

Yeah, I still don't know what you mean. Saying I'm not the philosophical type just means that I'm not that philosophical. That's it. It's not meant to imply that there are other "types". It's just another way of saying that I'm not that good at being philosophical.

 

[995.]

A few years ago, when I first attempted, I was at that time heavily influenced by redpill forums and extremist right-wing beliefs.

Now my views are way milder, I view politics mostly as a joke and don't spend any mental energy fussing over them. I accept all views but will lightly roll my eyes when I disagree. I understand I'm uneducated when it comes to politics and have little to no influence, so it doesn't matter to me at all really. I just enjoy my dark humour

I guess other factors, like philosophy as you mentioned, and of course biological and cognitive processes (impacted by general society too) influence my mental health

 

[missy_jo]

I grew up very conservative and somewhat poor, and was fortunate enough to realize that voting conservative was voting against my own best interests. They were always blaming some group of "others," and it was always those in society with less influence, for the ills of society and/or their own lack of success. I turned rather progressive (and still am) and built a life for myself and found a lot of what many in society see as success - good career, money, whatever, etc. As a liberal, I don't at all have a mentality that society "owes me a solution or fix." That's just me, but I don't see that as political. I think that outlook stems from other types of life experiences.

And none of the politics of any of that had any effect on my mental health. Being poor definitely did, however. But not politics of being just conservative or just liberal. My mental health issues were separate.

But that isn't to say politics isn't now destroying my mental health. I was suicidal from my teens to the age of 39 when I made by far my most serious attempt involving helium and I really don't understand how I survived that. I lost consciousness so I don't know what happened. But that attempt pushed me to get some legit help and make some very serious life changes about things I'd known clearly from childhood, but thought couldn't be fixed.

Those changes, and associated therapy, lifted me from suicidal to loving life. It was truly amazing and I am so happy I experienced that. Now I'm 45 (old for this site, yes? ) and watching my rights being strip away by this administration, based on total lies that are easily debunked by science and medical data, and seeing friends already lose their job because of this administration, and knowing my own job is now in jeopardy because of this administration (and I work private sector, not public) -- politics, and specifically the real life results of the policies of this cruel administration, have tanked my mental health and destroyed much of the progress of the past 5-6 years I'd made. So, in that way politics affects my mental health, but not because I am liberal. Nor would it if were I conservative. But when policies strip basic rights away and dehumanize you, all based on lies, then politics can greatly destroy mental health, for me anyway, my experience.

I'm new-ish here but was here or someplace a lot like it in my 30s before my serious attempt. If I can see a total change, please know there is help and it can be amazing what changes can happen and are available. At the same time, here I am again. And it feels especially hopeless because I've done what it took to not be here, but I'm back, and for different reasons that aren't in my control. And politics, specifically Republican policy, has been a huge part of that.

 

[SchrodingerIsDed]

Well said. Thank you for posting. I've never received much except ravenous hatred from the Left, so it's good to see just a purely objective statement of experience, rather than insulting or some-such. Thank you. I've had some good conversations with people on here, bridging the gap.

That's awful. What basic rights did you get stripped away? :(

Also how do you have only 1 post, but signed up December 3? o.o;;

 

[missy_jo]

Thank you. I don't post often. I'm mainly here to get ideas so if I try again, I don't fail. I really don't understand how I lived the first time I tried with helium, but I'm glad I did because the 6 years since have been the best of my life, until this US president. So... It's pretty amazing in my opinion the healing that is possible. But when hope feels gone, it's difficult to see anything else. And I've lost hope again.

 

[SchrodingerIsDed]

I hear you. That's what brought me here, too. Do you mind me asking why this president makes you lose hope?

 

[missy_jo]

I hear you. That's what brought me here, too. Do you mind me asking why this president makes you lose hope?

I'm really sorry to hear you are also here due to a lack of hope, and making sure a next attempt has an increased chance of "success," so-called, if I understood you correctly.

Respectfully, I'm not going to discuss specifics regarding my life as it relates to policies of the administration and Republican party in general.

But look around, they are dehumanizing some groups of people, stripping away human rights from some groups of people, firing people for their orientation, identity, or beliefs, and so on and so forth. Perhaps what is even worse about all that, is they tell lies to justify it in an attempt to temper possible backlash, and solidify those lie into the general public's mind. Lies that are easily proven as such, and lies that further dehumanize people in those groups.

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."

So I'd guess it's intuitively obvious I am part of one or more of the groups targeted by this administration to be lied about, dehumanized, stripped of employment, and stripped of human rights.

I also don't think a lot of people even understand or know exactly what is happening.

 

[SchrodingerIsDed]

I agree. I think a lot of people don't understand what is going on. But that's okay. They don't have to, right.

I wish you peace. And remember, as long as there aren't secret police knocking on your door to take you to a gulag or a prison for your representation, you can always find a way to fight back and maintain your independence.

 

[meso]

i think there's different layers for me

- political views
- political action
- political view/action on the topic of mental health

i held different political views along the years but i know that the ones that made me feel better were those who favored concrete action (individual or collective)
i don't think there is only one reading of this or this ideology, i know that some people become really passive with X, but active with Y, and some people the other way around

poltical action is less blurry : you're actually doing things, even tho there's the risk of being stuck in a kind of "performance" (talking / walking in the streets / bothering people who don't care, like a ritual, but it can be good to cope), it depends on the context (but thank god there's a lot more to do in political action)

on the political vision of mental health (like : psychiatry critics, antipsychiatry, anti-ableism, and other left-leaning things), it really helped me to know that my mental struggles were (partially or totally, depends on your sensitivity) linked to the way society is made, i knew i had to do way more than just take my pills and talk to the shrink (and i became more realist, so less disappointed, about what could i really do to improve my life, alone or with comrades)

 

[TransTaxEvader]

I grew up instilled with conservative values and filled with hate, I was constantly emotionally exhausted and suicidal because it seemed like the world was collapsing.

now that I'm far more left and can see the injustices in the world, it's also just as fucking exhausting because there's so much work to be done. not to mention, the rights to my body are actively being stripped away in the "land of the free"

soon I won't even have access to the care I need solely based off of my identity. still just as suicidal as I was when I was 10.