Politicians want to improve our worsening mental health with big psychiatric initiatives. The problem with this model, says historian of neuroscience Danielle Carr, is that it ignores the social and structural forces causing widespread mental suffering.
Oh, I completely understand. That’s why I’d never oppose something like prison reform - although I think it’s a medical problem and the notion of prisons are problematic, I’d rather make life better now than hold off for making everything much much better.
Still, it happens. People used to think epilepsy was caused by demonic possession. We now know it’s just brains misfiring. Knowing that, we can treat the condition with medicine and therapy. We need to expand on that kind of understanding.
I misread your statement on prison reform and was really confused for a minute there!
You’re spot on about now vs later; anytime somebody advocates for waiting for improvements over time, it’s almost always a lie to distract from an unwanted compromise now.