• In the age of viral videos, we tend to either condemn or offer condescending pity to others.
• A fuller notion of compassion involves imagining our way into the minds of our fellow sufferers.
• Literature opens us to the possibility of seeing the world through other perspectives.
• Cultivating such an ability enables us to be more compassionate for our clients and for one another.

In The Unbearable Lightness of Being, the 20^th century Czech novelist Milan Kundera unpacks the etymology of the word “compassion.” Languages that derive their understanding of compassion from Latin (com-, “with”; passio, “suffering”) tend to view compassion as synonymous with pity. Understood as such, compassion is the recognition of another’s suffering at a distance, a sympathy that looks on from without. For Kundera, such a disposition “connotes a certain condescension towards the sufferer. ‘To take pity on a woman’ means that we are better off than she, that we stoop to her level, lower ourselves.”

In contrast, languages such as Czech, Polish, German, and Swedish form their words for compassion by combining an equivalent prefix with a word that means “feeling.” Compassion thus becomes a kind of co-feeling or feeling with that enables one “to feel what wretches feel,” as Shakespeare’s King Lear puts it. Such an art of emotional telepathy, Kundera says, is the supreme virtue, “the maximal capacity of affective imagination.” It is the empathic ability to think one’s way into the minds of others and spend time walking around in their shoes.

In the age of viral videos and identity politics, when media is ubiquitous and increasingly designed to generate clicks, this fuller form of compassion seems to be on the wane. We are bombarded daily with images of cruelty, injustice, and the callousness of human affairs. Corporations and politicians fuel our desire for spectacle in an effort to monopolize our attention. Who can resist such alluring sights and love the sinner while hating the sin, as Gandhi (following the medieval theologian St. Augustine) suggests? What is more, who would want to? The sin, after all, is repugnant and it is constantly being thrust before us. What role does “co-feeling” play in a world of violence and iniquity?

Mental health clinicians are confronted each day with stories of meanness, abuse, and neglect. We treat the ravages of trauma and attend to the destruction that profound suffering leaves in its wake.

And while our clients are often the victims of unspeakable tragedies, they are also often the authors of the pain and sorrow that they experience. To say this is to acknowledge the complex humanity of the sufferers we meet. It is to be honest about the agency and lack thereof that exist side by side in the messiness of human existence. Yet acknowledgement and honesty are hardly enough.

In his recent writing on trauma, the Irish philosopher Richard Kearney speaks of the significance of “wounded healers,” those capable of healing others because they themselves carry similar wounds. The examples Kearney uses to illustrate this point – Odysseus, Oedipus, Jacob, Christ – come to us by way of literature. This is no mere coincidence. Standing athwart the all-too-human tendencies to demonize and condemn or sympathize and offer condescending pity, great works of literature remind us of the humanity of others by allowing us to imagine our way into their woundedness and hear their stories from within.

Consider an example from a classic work of Russian literature. Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment centers on the murder of a miserly old pawnbroker by an ill-humored law student named Raskolnikov. Neither the victim nor her killer starts out as a particularly sympathetic character, the former being a crass penny pincher, the latter being so convinced of his Napoleonic greatness that he has no problem spilling blood.

As we follow Raskolnikov, however, and witness his story progress from the time leading up to murder to his mental breakdown that follows to his arrest, conviction, and incarceration, we learn to see him not as some irredeemable fiend but as a complex human being driven by forces and desires that affect us all.

The catalyst for this conversion is Raskolnikov’s story. Were we to be given a diagnosis up front – throughout the novel, various psychologists testify to his “temporary insanity,” “morbid monomania,” and “hypochondriac state of mine” – we would not see through the criminal and deranged behavior to the fellow sufferer hidden beneath.

Rather, it is by witnessing Raskolnikov’s care for the dying Marmeladov (an unlikable character in his own right whose anguish comes to inspire a similar empathetic turn in readers) that we begin to see him not as a murderer but as a man. It is by imaginatively entering into his desperation and destitution, his love for his sister, his harrowing dreams set near the graveyard in which his infant brother lies, his genius and his pride, the mercy he receives from Sonya and the humility it takes to accept it – it is by walking alongside him with co-feeling, as those also wounded by this life, that we begin to understand.

The power of literature resides in this: it teaches compassion where the world tells us to pity or condemn. Imagine a world in which Raskolnikov is being judged on social media. Imagine the vitriol and the rage. Now imagine Raskolnikov seeking psychological care. Would he be better served by someone ready to listen, to hear his story and enter it alongside him, or by someone who pities him from without, maintaining the sterile distance of the expert, unmoved by a fellow sufferer’s wounds?

Dostoevsky provides an answer. For while he is quick to caution against identifying too closely with another’s feelings – as Ivan notes in The Brothers Karamazov, “another man will never be able to know the degree of my suffering, because he is another and not me” – Crime and Punishment offers us the compassion of Sonya, a woman who, forced by her own poverty into a life of bondage and ill repute, is able to feel what Raskolnikov feels and thus reveal him to himself.

In Sonya, Raskolnikov finds the compassion of a wounded healer. And if we learn to be attentive readers, perhaps we can too.

References

Dostoyevsky, F. (2002). The Brothers Karamazov: a novel in four parts with epilogue. Trans. Pevear & Volokhonsky. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Dostoyevsky, F. (1993). Crime and Punishment: a novel in six parts with epilogue. Trans. Pevear & Volokhonsky. Vintage Books.

Kearney. R. (2021). Touch: Recovering Our Most Vital Sense. Columbia University Press.

Kundera. M. (1987). The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Trans. Heim. Harper & Row.

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Mental health conditions are common. One in five U.S. adults experience a mental illness and global estimates show at least 50 percent of us will experience a mental health condition in our lifetime. Decades of research have documented the relationship between parental mental health and that of their children: The mechanisms are complex and include hereditary factors (genetic and historical trauma, for example) as well as social-environmental factors, such as stress, financial stability, and the neighborhoods we live in. Parenthood is an incredibly important gift. Yet society does not meaningfully support families experiencing mental illnesses. I spoke with three mental-health advocates who are also parents living with mental health conditions. Here is some of the wisdom shared.

Prioritize self-awareness, self-love, and self-care

As parents, we are often bombarded with messages that we must sacrifice endlessly to give our kids the best life possible. This message has been exponentially harmful to women and primary caregivers who often give up careers, health, and relationships to be there for their kids. These actions often leave us depleted, resentful, and not the best version of ourselves. All of the parents I spoke to referred to the importance of learning what kind of “me time” was needed to support their mental health and how this practice of self-love and self-care resulted in better parenting and family relationships.

For Devika Bhushan, a pediatrician, immigrant, and mother who lives openly with bipolar disorder, sleep has to be prioritized. Inadequate sleep is a well-known trigger for mood episodes in bipolar disorder. She and her husband, Ashish, have created a collaborative team approach, in which her husband ensures that he is available for overnight and early morning needs for their toddler. In turn, her husband can take breaks in the evening, while she spends one-on-one bonding time with her toddler; as she says, “Setting things up in this way helps to ensure that I’m my best and healthiest self as much of the time as I can be — and able to be the best parent and partner that I can possibly be.”

Empowering kids by keeping them informed

Parents spoke about being conscious of their children’s chronological and developmental age, both of which can impact their ability to understand the information provided to them. All three advocates said that they have or will inform their children about their mental-health condition and how it impacts their functioning. The decision to disclose such information to a child may be influenced by the severity of the condition and symptoms a parent experiences. For Bhushan, it is important that her toddler understands why he is not allowed to wake mommy up in the morning; he is also aware that his mother takes medication every day and needs it to stay healthy.

Sulman Mirza, a triple-board-certified psychiatrist who is active on social media (@sulmoney), says he has not yet disclosed his diagnosis of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder to his four children, but he plans to use his personal narrative to promote their understanding of their own mental-health needs, if they should arise. He acknowledges the impact of mental illness and even intergenerational trauma on how parents raise their children, stating that he wants kids to know that “your parents are human beings who are trying their best, and they have their own struggles, but it (hopefully) does not make them love or care for you less.”

Growing wiser through struggles

The idea of post-traumatic growth helps us understand that struggles can come with wisdom, strength, and power. In the case of experiencing a mental illness, these parents said that their own experiences with missed diagnoses, and their impact on their functioning and overall health have created a helpful level of awareness about their kids’ needs and development, giving them the opportunity to support their children’s mental-health needs holistically, compassionately and as early as possible. Ashley Perkins is a pharmacist, educator, mental health advocate, and co-founder of We Matter Too. She also lives with PTSD, ADHD, and autism. “I think all of this has made me a more compassionate parent given my child is more than likely autistic and has ADHD as well,” she says.

Sharing collective wisdom

Using our lived experience to empower other parents is one way to be a mental health advocate and promote family health. Mirza reminds us, “You’re not alone. Parenting is a hard period, and adding in mental illness makes it harder. But it’s still doable.” He also wants parents to know that “It is not a guarantee that your kids will have the same conditions you have” but your experience gives you the wisdom to engage in prevention efforts and support them if they do develop a condition.

Perkins reminds us: “Sharing parts of your reality, which includes the challenges you go through, is okay because it allows your partner and your child to understand what it is you are dealing with. This allows them to support you. When you explain things to children in a way they understand, they grasp the concepts well. It also invites an environment of acceptance regarding mental health, and they will be more likely to open up to you when they are struggling because they know you understand.”

eamwork, perseverance, and creativity are important ingredients to make all of this work. Bhushan says: “You absolutely can be an incredible parent and partner with a well-managed chronic health condition, such as bipolar disorder. It just means you have to be willing to think creatively and put in constant work to prioritize your well-being so that you can be the best version of yourself, for your loved ones as well as for yourself.”

Teamwork, perseverance, and creativity are important ingredients to make all of this work. Bhushan says: “You absolutely can be an incredible parent and partner with a well-managed chronic health condition, such as bipolar disorder. It just means you have to be willing to think creatively and put in constant work to prioritize your well-being so that you can be the best version of yourself, for your loved ones as well as for yourself.”

Kids are capable of compassion and understanding if we give them the opportunity.

Kids are smart and perceptive. They pick up on changes in their parents’ mood and stress levels. Including them in tough conversations, in a developmentally appropriate way, can be an empowering experience for them to learn about health promotion from an early age. This can foster compassion and kindness, which they can extend to themselves and others around them. Perkins says that sharing about her mental health conditions with her son normalizes the full range of the human experience, ultimately opening up the space for him to share his own worries and struggles. She also notes that being open about her need to prioritize her health helps her son understand that it is not a lack of desire that prevents her from being with him at times, and instead helps him be more understanding about the differing needs of others when navigating meaningful relationships. Perkins’ son, Wyatt, wants other kids to know that “I love my mom no matter what” and that he appreciates being informed about his mom’s struggles. Perkins also reminds us that these conversations are ongoing and can be challenging, so make sure to remind kids that asking questions is always okay.

This post is also published on the TEKU Healing Corner Blog.

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Lately, it’s been hard for Jack Innanen, a 22-year-old TikTok star from Toronto, to create content. “I feel like I’m tapping a keg that’s been empty for a year,” he said.

Spending hours shooting, editing, storyboarding, engaging with fans, setting up brand deals and balancing the many other responsibilities that come with being a successful content creator have taken a toll. Mr. Innanen, like so many Gen Z influencers who found fame in the last year, is burned out.

“I get to the point where I’m like, ‘I have to make a video today,’ and I spend the entire day dreading the process,” he said.

He’s hardly the only one. “This app used to be so fun,” a TikTok creator known as Sha Crow said in a video from February, “and now your favorite creator is depressed.” He went on to explain how his friends are struggling with mental health problems and the stresses of public life.

The video went viral, and in the comments, dozens of creators echoed his sentiment. “Say it louder bro,” wrote one with 1.7 million followers. “Mood,” commented another creator with nearly five million followers.

As people collectively process the devastation of the pandemic, burnout has plagued nearly every corner of the work force. White-collar workers are spontaneously quitting jobs; parents are at a breaking point; hourly and service employees are overworked; and health care professionals are coping with the exhaustion and trauma of being on the front lines of the pandemic.

According to a recent report by the venture firm SignalFire, more than 50 million people consider themselves creators (also known as influencers), and the industry is the fastest-growing small-business segment, thanks in part to a year where life migrated online and many found themselves stuck at home or out of work. Throughout 2020, social media minted a new generation of young stars.

Now, however, many of them say they have reached a breaking point. In March, Charli D’Amelio, TikTok’s biggest star with more than 117 million followers, said that she had “lost the passion” for posting content. Last month, Spencewuah, a 19-year-old TikTok star with nearly 10 million followers, announced he’d be stepping back from the platform after a spat with BTS fans.

“A lot of older TikTokers don’t post as much, and a lot of younger TikTokers have ducked off,” said Devron Harris, 20, a TikTok creator in Tampa, Fla. “They just stopped doing content. When creators do try to speak out on being bullied or burned out or not being treated as human, the comments all say, ‘You’re an influencer, get over it.’”

What Goes Up, Comes Down

Burnout has affected generations of social media creators. In 2017, Instagram influencers began leaving the platform, saying they were feeling depressed and discouraged. “No one seems to be having any fun anymore on Instagram,” a contributor to the blog This Is Glamorous wrote at the time.

In 2018, Josh Ostrovsky, an Instagram creator known as The Fat Jew, who had also spoken about burnout, echoed those sentiments. “Eventually there will be too many influencers, the market will be too saturated,” Mr. Ostrovsky said.

That same year, many large YouTube creators began stepping away from the platform, citing mental health issues. Their critiques centered on YouTube’s algorithm, which favored longer videos and those who posted on a near-daily basis, a pace that creators said was almost impossible to meet. YouTube product managers and executives addressed creators’ concerns and promised a solution.

But problems with burnout in the creator community are endemic. “If you slow down, you might disappear,” the YouTuber Olga Kay told Fast Company in 2014.

When a fresh crop of young stars began building audiences on TikTok in late 2019 and early 2020, many were hopeful that this time would be different. They’d grown up watching YouTubers speak frankly about these issues. “When it comes to Gen Z creators, we talk so much about mental health and caring for yourself,” said Courtney Nwokedi, 23, a YouTube star in Los Angeles. “We’ve seen a bunch of creators talk about burnout in the past.”

Still, they weren’t prepared for the draining work of building, maintaining and monetizing an audience during a pandemic. “It’s exhausting,” said Jose Damas, 22, a TikTok creator in Los Angeles. “It feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day.”

“TikTok is just as demanding as YouTube,” said Gohar Khan, 22, a TikTok creator in Seymour, Conn.

Thanks to the app’s algorithmically generated “For You” page, TikTok delivers fame faster than any other platform; it’s possible to amass millions of followers within a matter of weeks. But as quickly as creators rise, they can fall.

“It almost feels like I’m getting a taste of celebrity, but it’s never consistent and as soon as you get it, it’s gone and you’re constantly trying to get it back,” said Lauren Stasyna, 22, a TikTok creator in Toronto. “It feels like I’m trying to capture this prize, but I don’t know what the prize even is.”

The volatility can be rattling. “When your views are down, it affects your financial stability and puts your career at risk,” said Luis Capecchi, a 23-year-old TikTok creator in Los Angeles. “It’s like getting demoted at a job with no warning.”

Creators have encountered all kinds of problems, including bullying, harassment and discrimination. “Some creators get their content stolen too, so someone else will go viral off their content then they get all the press,” Mr. Harris said. Not to mention, fan communities and internet commentators can be vicious. “You can’t just film what you want to film,” Mr. Harris said. “They’ll make fun of you if your views drop.”

“I do worry about my longevity on social media,” said Zach Jelks, 21, a TikTok creator in Los Angeles. “People just throw one creator away because they’re tired of them,” he said.

‘Next, Next, Next’

No one has benefited from the creator boom more than the technology industry. After over a decade of largely snubbing influencers, in the past year, high-profile investors have done an about-face. Venture capitalists in Silicon Valley are now pouring money into creator-focused start-ups, and platforms themselves have begun to compete for talent.

“The over-saturation and this push for everyone to be a creator seems disingenuous,” Mr. Innanen said. “It seems like a cash grab. It makes me feel very disposable, which maybe I am. It’s just next, next, next.”

Creators also operate without the type of traditional employment protections and benefits that come with many salaried jobs. Some leaders in the creator economy, such as Li Jin, whose venture firm invests in the industry, have called for more sustainable monetization paths for creators of all sizes. But most are left to fend for themselves or risk potentially exploitative management agreements.

“You’re completely self-employed, and it’s not like you can continuously make the same work,” Mr. Innanen said. “You have to evolve and adapt.”

“I feel like I can become washed up any second by an algorithm,” he added.

“There is a dark side to it,” said Jake Browne, 30, founder of the Go House, a content house in Los Angeles. “There’s all these investors and platforms, and they need creators to create content on a mass scale. It’s sort of, let’s get everyone to do it and we don’t care about them. The top 10 percent will make us money.”

That pressure will soon feel familiar to more people who shun low-wage or unreliable work to pursue careers in the creator economy. Platforms like Substack and OnlyFans have arisen to sell the dream of entrepreneurship and independence to more people, many of whom have lost faith in more traditional sectors of the economy.

“The influencer industry is simply the logical endpoint of American individualism, which leaves all of us jostling for identity and attention but never getting enough,” Rebecca Jennings wrote recently in Vox.

It likely won’t change soon. “I feel like social media is built to burn people out,” Mr. Jelks said.

To cope with depression, many TikTok creators have sought therapy and life coaching, or tried to be more open with their fans and friends about their struggles.

“When I’m depressed, I talk to the people around me,” said Tatayanna Mitchell, 22, a YouTube and TikTok creator in Los Angeles. “I make posts on my stories and share those quotes that are like, ‘It’s OK to talk to people if you need help.’” Last September, Ms. Mitchell announced she was “quitting TikTok,” citing toxicity and harassment. However, she rejoined shortly after. “I was just sad,” she said.

Walid Mohammed, 21, a manager for Gen Z creators who lives with Ms. Mitchell and several other social media stars, said that being in proximity to one another has helped them. “As a house we have meetings every morning at 10 a.m. to talk about this stuff,” he said. “We talk about stress and how we have to keep working, but that it’s important to take breaks, you just have to stay consistent. We try to cheer each other up.”

Mr. Innanen said that representatives from TikTok have been supportive when he has used the platform to speak out about mental health challenges and invited him to participate in a panel on the issue with other creators.

“We care deeply about our creators’ wellbeing, and take their concerns seriously,” a TikTok spokesperson wrote in an email statement. “We’re focused on understanding their individual content goals and experiences, and our teams continue to work to provide resources, support, and an open door for feedback.”

But even the most helpful platforms can’t alleviate the precarity that’s inherent to a creator’s job, or the pressure many creators put on themselves. “It feels like I personally am failing and may never recover if a video flops,” he said.

A version of this article appears in print on June 13, 2021, Section ST, Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: Content Creators Burn Out and Break Down.

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A couple of days ago I wandered over to the café which is just a short stroll up the road from my house. I ordered my usual double-shot espresso and then moved off to the side to wait for my name to be called. I frequently enjoy these short interludes when I can simply observe the busy hum of the early-morning activity.

The Particularity of Mr. Hakimana

As I was waiting, I found myself tuned in to the conversation the barrister was having with one of the other waiters. The barrister was explaining an order that had just been placed.

“Now Mr Hakimana only likes a small amount of milk [indicating a little gap with her index finger and thumb] and he likes it in a separate cup so he can add it himself. He also likes his muffin warmed for just 20 seconds and he prefers the butter and relish to be served on a different plate with the knife on the butter and relish plate, not the muffin plate.”

The barrister smiled, shrugged, and ended with, “He’s a very particular person.”

I can remember being intrigued by the wonderfully specific details that were needed to successfully deliver this chap’s order, but what really captured my attention was the statement about being a “very particular” person. Without even realizing I had become so engrossed in the description, I found myself thinking, “Yes, he is a very particular person. Just like all of us.”

The Particularity of Everyone

It occurred to me that we are all “particular” in our own ways. Very particular in fact. Some people are very particular about the way their hair is positioned, while others are more particular about how much alcohol they drink on a weeknight, whether or not they can run six miles in under an hour, or which sock they put on first.

People might be particular about the pets they have, the meals they serve at Thanksgiving, or how they arrange their clothes on the washing line. It turns out that the way sweets are arranged in a jar is also a thing in which some people take a particular interest.

Individuals can even be particular about having nothing, in particular, to be particular about. These people can be exceedingly difficult to coax an opinion or preference out of about anything. They’re just particular about going with the flow and not making waves.

We are, in fact, designed to be particular. We’re not designed to be particular about specific things. We’re just built to create and protect a prolific bunch of particulars.

Everyone has preferences. We actually have preferences about lots of different things. We have different preferences about different things: I like to go running before the sun gets up, whereas my friend John likes to go sailing before the sun goes down.

We can also have the same preference for different things. My wife likes her Lady Grey tea to be piping hot, which is how I like my sizzling Chinese garlic shrimp served. And, people can have different preferences for the same thing. I like my steak cooked “blue,” whereas my sister will only eat steak that is cooked “well done.”

Everyone’s preferences differ to a greater or lesser extent. It’s remarkable, really, that we get along as well as we do as often as we do. There are certainly skirmishes, mishaps, and misunderstandings, and tragic interpersonal conflicts, but these are generally not the order of the day.

That’s probably why they grab the spotlight when they do occur. Thankfully, they are not commonplace. Have you ever stopped to think about the kaleidoscopic variety of particulars swarming around your workplace, your study group, or your tennis club every time there’s a gathering?

The Importance of Respecting People’s Particularities

For the most part, we’re pretty good at finding ways to protect our particulars, while also not interfering unnecessarily with others’ efforts to look after their particulars. Mostly we don’t even notice we’re doing it. When kerfuffles do occur, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s anything wrong with the people concerned. People with different ideas about the particular way things should be are, for the most part, not sick or broken or otherwise in need of fixing.

Differences in the way we like things to be are just part of the way life is. Spending time convincing, cajoling, coercing, or otherwise persuading people to alter their preferences often increases rather than diminishes the unrest.

Time could possibly be spent more usefully finding out the significance of the state of any particular particular and how it contributes to a life worth living. Places that have somehow found ways for people to enjoy the particular particulars that are on their minds throughout the day are the best places to frequent. It will be a marvelous day when every place is that kind of place.

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As of 2023, the United States has almost 250 million social media users. That number climbs to nearly 5 billion people worldwide and is expected to reach 6 billion by 2027. The average person spends an astonishing two and half hours of their time on social media each day. To put that into perspective, if you started using social media at age 10 and continued till age 80, you’d have spent over seven years of your life on these apps.

With statistics like these, we all need to be asking about the long-term risks to our health, including our mental health. But what does the science actually tell us about the links between mental health and social media use? Here’s the latest science, and steps we should all consider taking today.

Google “social media” and “mental health,” and you’re sure to get a lot of hits. Prominent themes in news stories include higher rates of depression, anxiety, and stress especially in younger people. Yet the actual scientific research tends to be more split on the topic. So what does the research say? Let’s review some of the largest analyses looking at the links between social media use and mental health published in the last few years:

• Problematic social media use in youth is linked to higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress (2022 systematic review and meta-analysis)
• Problematic social media use is correlated with worse well-being and higher distress, as well as more loneliness and depression (2020 meta-analysis)
• Screen time does not appear to be linked to worse mental health outcomes including smartphones and social media time (2022 meta-analysis)
• Social media can create community, but when used excessively, it’s linked to depression and other mental health disorders (2022 meta-analysis of countries across the world)
• Social media use correlations with worse mental health in youth are described by some studies as “small to moderate,” while others looking at the same data reported the associations as “serious, substantial or detrimental,” suggesting disagreement in the interpretation of the data (2022 umbrella review of data)
• Young adults with higher social media use may feel more socially isolated (observational data, 2017)
• Older adults who use social media may experience “enhanced communication with family and friends, greater independence and self-efficacy, creation of online communities, positive associations with well-being and life satisfaction and decreased depressive symptoms.” (2021 scoping review)

As you can probably tell, even the most comprehensive journal articles on this topic have rather conflicting messages. Yet there are some key stable themes that we can extract from all this work that can help guide us towards safer social media use for our brain health.

1. Our digital devices, especially our smartphones, are packed with technology and apps designed to capture our attention. Companies behind these products are largely incentivized to keep us looking at the screen, not necessarily happy.
2. Children and youth may be at higher risk for negative mental health outcomes from social media use than adults.
3. Problematic (unhealthy) social media use is emerging as a clear risk factor for worse mental health, but the definition of this term is unclear. Usually, it’s something similar to characteristics of addiction (e.g., preoccupation, compulsion, withdrawal).
4. Social comparison that occurs due to social media exposure may increase the risk for worse mental health outcomes, and this may be more of an issue for young women.
5. Social media can provide meaningful connections to people who might not have access to strong in-person networks specific to their interests or needs.

What does this mean for how we might approach social media use?

With most people on Earth participating in at least one social media platform, it’s unlikely that the social media genie is headed back into the bottle anytime soon. Some have argued for large-scale restrictions on social media use for children and adolescents while others propose an outright ban. How and when a person engages with social media will always be unique to the individual, but when looking at a personal approach to use, most will benefit from asking if their use passes the test of T.I.M.E. (adapted from Brain Wash).

T: Time-restricted

Is your time spent on social media time restricted? If not, can you set a time limit that you feel comfortable dedicating to social media?

I: Intentional

Is your social media use intentional, or are you falling prey to doomscrolling, social comparison, or the plans of the app developer that’s trying to steal your attention?

M: Mindful

Is your social media time mindful or mindless? Do you find yourself losing large chunks of your day to scrolling? If so, consider reevaluating your use.

E: Enriching

Does your social media use enrich your life? Does it educate you? Connect you with others? Provide an opportunity to grow your business. If it’s hard to answer yes, it’s likely that your apps are extracting more from you than you’re getting in return.

The post The Conflicting Science of Social Media and Mental Health appeared first on My Blog.

By: Kimberly Nelson, MA with Courtney Kelly

Receiving a diagnosis is a significant milestone on the road to recovery. It clarifies courses of treatment, supplies precedent, and gives rhyme and reason to symptoms that may otherwise be confusing or even scary. “Identifying a set of experiences with a name can often be a relief for those with mental health conditions. It helps them recognize that they’re not alone,” said Carrie Hanson, Clinical Director of CooperRiis Healing Community. When conceptualized appropriately, diagnoses are powerful tools patients and practitioners can use to identify targeted interventions, develop comprehensive treatment plans, and cultivate effective management strategies.

Mistake 1: Resisting Your Diagnosis

But conceptualized inappropriately, diagnoses can get in the way of recovery. Issues arise when mental health conditions are viewed as threats to established identities. Unable to integrate their psychological challenges with their sense of self, a person with this attitude towards their diagnosis may refuse to accept they’re struggling. Denial can easily devolve into delusion, and delusion makes it impossible for individuals to recognize how their mental health is impacting their lives. Healing can only begin when folks acknowledge it’s needed to begin with, so this stymies the recovery process at the start line.

As an example, mental health conditions have historically (and erroneously) been associated with “weakness.” This association has caused more than a few to resist treatment on the grounds that accepting a diagnosis would make them a weak person. But refusing to confront challenges doesn’t make them go away. It often makes them worse. If you believe you’re not “supposed” to be feeling anxiety when you are, you’ll not only start to feel anxiety about your anxiety, you’ll also be less likely to seek help for it.

Psychoeducation offers a powerful antidote to this type of denial. When people learn that mental health conditions have nothing to do with their character, that symptoms result from forces outside of their control—genes, traumas, environments, norms—they start to realize that diagnoses don’t undermine who they are. They can be strong, virtuous, courageous, and experience psychological challenges. In fact, accepting those challenges as real is itself a demonstration of strength, virtue, and courage.

Mistake 2: Becoming Your Diagnosis

On the flip side of resisting a diagnosis is letting it consume you. Also known as engulfment, overidentification with a mental health condition can be just as detrimental to the recovery process. This is especially true when paired with internalized stigma. A metastudy on the relationship between identity and recovery from severe mental illness found that the more negative associations a person had with their condition, the worse they’d fare during treatment. Patients with schizophrenia who believed they would never be able to live a purposeful, fulfilled life with their condition were more likely to isolate themselves from others, opt out of evidence-based programming, and fail to apply management strategies they learned.

Internalized stigma can be tricky to unpack, as it’s typically buried under years of acculturation. Our perspectives on mental illness are shaped by subtle (and not-so-subtle) messaging from the media, our family members, and the people in our communities, for better or worse. And in the case of the latter, “folks may view their health care providers as the ‘bearers of bad news’ rather than facilitators of healing,” explained Hanson. Given that a positive therapeutic relationship is critical to recovery, this mindset obstructs progress. To secure better treatment outcomes, patients must establish better outlooks on their lives.

Cognitive behavioral therapy can help. By equipping individuals with the tools they need to dismantle maladaptive beliefs, CBT can empower folks with mental health conditions to let go of the stigma that may be getting in the way of recovery. “Their careers, relationships, and even routines might look different than they once envisioned, but that doesn’t mean people with psychological challenges can’t live full, gratifying lives,” said Hanson. “Recovery is possible. For some people, it begins with learning to believe that.”

Mistake 3: Giving Up Control to Your Diagnosis

For others, it begins with recognizing that they still have agency in their lives. Overidentification can melt into entitlement for those who believe a diagnosis means they’re no longer responsible for their own actions. While it’s important to recognize that mental health conditions can impact or even impair decision-making, it’s also important to remember that all decisions have consequences. Having a diagnosis does not erase the harm a hurtful statement can cause, for example.

“Once, a resident had an angry outburst that frightened some of his peers. When we confronted him about his behavior, he said he couldn’t help it. We calmly pointed out that while his condition did make emotional regulation hard, he still had to apologize to those his actions affected,” recalled Hanson. By supporting him in doing so, this individual’s therapeutic team helped him exercise agency. And agency, like a muscle, strengthens with use.

It’s never a good idea for anyone to beat themselves up for something they said or did, mental health notwithstanding. The key is to balance self-compassion with accountability. Be cognizant of the internal and external factors impacting your decisions, but don’t relinquish accountability for them. Striking this balance will enable you to become an active participant in your life rather than a passive victim of circumstance.

Mistake 4: Focusing Exclusively on Your Diagnosis

Psychological conditions can make everything from retaining employment to getting out of bed extremely difficult. For this reason, it’s critical for folks with mental health conditions to nourish aspects of their identity that aren’t related to their diagnoses. Our behaviors emanate from our self-concepts; the person who defines themselves as “depressed” and nothing more is likely to act in line with that definition. But the person who defines themselves as a complex, multifaceted human being is empowered to act in line with their goals instead of their symptoms.

This is why connecting with core values is such an important practice for individuals suffering from mental health conditions. Doing so not only reinforces the fact that they are more than their diagnoses but also supports them in achieving self-actualization. “You can’t be your best self until you know who you are,” said Hanson, “and who you are is someone who has aspirations, someone to whom things matter.” A clear understanding of what you want out of life and why will motivate you to persist towards meaningful goals, even when symptoms make that hard.

When people conceptualize psychological challenges as opportunities for growth, the process of confronting those challenges becomes therapeutic. “Enrichment” occurs when a person accepts a diagnosis as a part of their story but does not let it drive their narrative. Equipped with their core values, supported by their providers, and in possession of their ambitions, their difficulties become arenas for self-discovery, and their hardships become hero’s journeys.

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Climate disasters, power-hungry narcissists, fake news, identity theft, rising food prices … Has a sense of overwhelm begun to permeate as you scroll through your feed? Do you feel a certain weariness around caring? If so, you are not alone; compassion fatigue has worsened for many people post-pandemic, leading to sleep difficulty, irritability, and numbing. Many of us are at the point of “Who cares?”

Yet more than ever, faced with existential challenges, we need people who can care deeply and act. What is going on, and what can we do?

It’s vulnerable to care.

When we care, we allow ourselves to feel our desire for something to be a certain way. But as soon as we feel our longing, reality confronts us with our limits. We cannot 100 percent secure any outcome. Forces outside our will and effort always play a role in how things turn out.

The pandemic was a clear example of how our lives, indeed our world, can be upended by something as small as a virus. Certainty is a fantasy and striving for ultimate control is a strategy to deny our limits. We are indeed only human.

Faced with the pain of caring without having control, some people go into worry mode where conscious anxiety spikes and they run scary movies. But many others do not consciously feel anxious. Instead, they escape what they feel. They numb out and avoid the inner experience. And the trigger is unrest.

Is your alarm waking you or are you pressing snooze?

In my book, Embracing Unrest: Harness Vulnerability to Tame Anxiety and Spark Growth I share the key to transforming experience avoidance. Unrest is a valuable alarm inside all of us, meant to get our attention at the optimal moment for growth. When we are vulnerable, unrest speeds our breathing, tightens our muscles, and agitates our nervous system.

Unrest wants to wake us up so we can access the power of adaptive emotion to live our most authentic, resilient, and connected lives.

But there’s a catch: Unrest only works as a wake-up call if we perceive it accurately. If we do not, unrest ejects us from our inner experience. It signals us through the sympathetic nervous system and is physiologically indistinguishable from fear. If we don’t recognize the growth-promoting purpose of unrest, the alarm meant to wake us and bring us into the moment will make us shut down and press snooze on our inner lives.

We have a choice: Approach or avoid.

Unrest is a phone call letting us know we are on the cusp of a growth moment, and we need to learn our unique ringtone. We need to become aware of body sensations letting us know we’re faced with longing and limits. Even though we’re wired to avoid anything that feels like fear, unrest is a call to come home and feel in the body. We have a choice: Approach or avoid.

When we tune into those uncomfortable sensations with precision, we can soothe our nervous system. Through slowing down and really feeling our held breath and tense muscles we send a message to the body that it is not in danger. This nervous system activation is not an immediate threat to life and limb. It’s simply unrest heralding emotion, inviting us to come home and feel.

Doing what we can with what we have.

Feelings are energy meant to motivate and empower us so we can adapt to reality. We are meant to be able to accept our limits without collapsing in despair and going numb. We are meant to be able to move from the anger and grief of not being able to make things as we wish, to the place of doing what we can with what we have.

When we face our human limits, we come out the other side with the energy to care and act. We matter and feel how others matter. We feel more alive and connected. Even though we do not have ultimate control, we can still care. And that matters.

References

Brown, Brene (2015). Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead. New York: Avery.

Santomauro, D.F., Mantilla Herrera, A.M., et al (2021). Global prevalence and burden of depressive and anxiety disorders in 204 countries and territories in 2020 due to the COVID-19 epidemic. The Lancet, 398(10312), 1700-1712

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Schooling has a halo around it in society’s eyes, and halos tend to interfere with perception and judgment. Maybe that’s why nearly everyone, including journalists, whose job it should be to keep their eyes and minds open and report honestly to the public, continues to ignore the ever-growing evidence that school is a major cause of anxiety, depression, and even suicide in children and teens.

Every scintilla of evidence that social media may be contributing to the mental health crisis among young people gets blown up in the popular press (see here), while the overwhelming evidence for the role of the school is ignored. An exception is an August 2022 Scientific American article by Tyler Black, an emergency psychiatrist who works at a major children’s hospital,. Black shows clearly and starkly the temporal relationship between suicides and the school calendar.

I first became interested in the relationship between schooling and mental breakdowns in 2014, when a clinical psychologist who works with children told me that her business increases dramatically every fall when the school year begins and declines again in mid-to-late June when it ends. Her view was that children simply do better psychologically when school is not in session.

I wondered then whether I could find objective, published evidence for a relationship between mental breakdowns and the school calendar. I scoured the literature and found no research directly related to that topic, but I did find a graph, published online by one hospital, showing the month-to-month number of children’s emergency psychiatric visits to that hospital for every year from 2000 to 2013. The numbers were startling. The average rates of admissions were less than half as high during the school vacation months of July and August than they were during the months of full schooling. The online article made no mention of this striking and consistent relationship, but the data were clear. I published the data in a post on this blog, in August of 2014.

Four years later I conducted another search and found new research, and one older study that I had missed in the earlier search, confirming and extending what I had found for that single hospital. The research revealed that throughout the nation, suicides, as well as lesser mental health breakdowns for school-aged children and teens (but for no other age group), rise sharply at the beginning of every school year and then decline every summer. I summarized those findings in another post in May 2018. But now there are even more data. I begin with data presented in Black’s Scientific American article.

Children’s Risk of Suicide Increases on School Days

The subtitle here is the title of Black’s article. He showed graphically, using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Wonder database for the years 2000 to 2020, a tight relationship between the school calendar and suicides for school-aged children (under age 18). The data revealed that during school months, the suicide rate was consistently highest on Monday through Thursday, declined significantly on Friday, and was lowest on Saturday and Sunday.

His data also showed that, month by month over the 20-year period, the suicide rate was lowest in July, which is the only month that is fully vacation for nearly all schools; increased somewhat in August, when some children start school and most begin to anticipate school; increased much more in September, when most children are back in school; and by October was 43% higher than it was in July. The rate then remained about that high through the rest of the school year, except for a dip in December (when most children have a winter vacation), and finally declined sharply in June when summer vacation begins for most students.

His graphs show further that the relationship between month and suicide did not hold for young adults (age 18-30) beyond secondary school age. In fact, for them, the suicide rate was slightly higher in the summer months than during the rest of the year.

Other relatively new studies reveal a similar temporal relationship between school and suicide in other countries, including Germany, Finland, India, and Japan. The study in Japan encompassed a 40-year period, from 1974 to 2014, and revealed on average a roughly 40% jump in suicides at the start of each school year compared with the rate during summer break.

Suicides Declined When Schools Closed in the COVID Pandemic and Rose Again When In-Person Schooling Resumed

When COVID struck and U.S. schools closed in March of 2020, many pundits predicted that this disruption in children’s routines would be disastrous for their mental health. But at least three independent systematic surveys—one of which was conducted by the nonprofit organization Let Grow and which I published in the American Journal of Play—revealed that, on average, both parents and children themselves reported the children to be less anxious and depressed during at least the first three months of lock-down (when the surveys were conducted) than they had been before schools were closed. You can find my academic report of the Let Grow study and review of the other studies here (and my blog posts on the research here and here).

More recently, a research team headed by Benjamin Hansen of the National Bureau of Economic Research analyzed teen suicide data for the period before, during, and after pandemic school closures in the U.S. (published here). They found (in their words): “Teen suicides plummeted in March of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began in the U.S. and remained low throughout the summer before rising in Fall 2020 when many K-12 schools returned to in-person instruction.”

These researchers also developed a method to determine the day when individual counties reopened schools and found a tight relationship between that timing and the rise in suicides. For counties that opened schools in early August, the rise in suicides began in August; for counties that opened schools in September, the rise in suicides began in September.

A drop in teen suicides during COVID school closures has also been reported in China. The pandemic started earlier there than in the U.S., so Chinese schools closed much earlier in the school year than U.S. schools and began reopening for in-person schooling around the same time in March that U.S. schools were closing. According to the report, the reopening was accompanied by a sharp increase in psychological distress and suicides among students.

Why Do Mental Health Breakdowns and Suicides Increase When School Is in Session?

The answer to this question is probably not simple and may differ substantially from case to case. Hansen and his team suggest that a major cause of the suicide increase is persistent bullying. As evidence, they cite studies showing that bullying occurs more in school than in other settings and that bullying appears to be the immediate trigger for at least some suicides. Black suggests a more multifaceted set of causes. The bullying may not come just from students but also from teachers or even from the way the school is structured. He writes: “[School] can be incredibly stressful because of bullying, health- and disability-related barriers, discrimination, lack of sleep and sometimes abuse.”

In a study of “Stress in America” conducted by the American Psychological Association in 2013, teenagers of school age were found to be more stressed, by their own reports, than people in any other age group, and 83% of them said school pressure was a significant source of their stress. This was much higher than any other reported source, including bullying. Moreover, teens who were surveyed during the school year reported twice as many instances of severe recent stress than did teens who were surveyed during the summer. The idea that the pressure and competitiveness of schoolwork itself is a major cause of psychological breakdown is reinforced by research showing that students in “high-achieving schools” suffer from such breakdowns at higher rates than do those in schools where the concern for high marks is less strong (see my summary of such research here).

What Can We Do About the Problem?

So far, the most common approach of schools in addressing the problem is to try to change the children, not the school. They have brought in therapists, paid for courses in “social-emotional learning,” recommended drugs, and counseled parents, but they have done little to change schooling itself to make it more student-friendly. In fact, most school changes have been in the opposite direction, which may help explain why rates of suicide have increased from year to year for school-aged kids. Black suggests it is time for schools to modify their own practices. Among his suggestions (quoted verbatim) are the following:

• “Reduce homework (preferably get rid of it). Some of the best educational science available shows that excessive homework is of limited benefit and in fact harms children’s health and well-being.”

• “Restore funding for playtime, music, and art in school and de-emphasize academic overload. Children need relaxation, comfort, beauty, fun, and play. Children who have opportunities for play and rest will learn more in their academics, and they will also be able to sustain their development as they grow.”

• “End ‘perfect attendance’ awards and goals. … We should all, from time to time, recognize when we are at our limit and need a break.” [My words: The suggestion here is that just as adults sometimes take mental health breaks from work, kids should be encouraged, not discouraged, in taking breaks from school when they feel the need.]

• “Start school later. How many more decades of research do we need to show that children need more sleep and that adolescents do better in school when the day starts later? It’s time to make serious structural changes in the early-morning wake-up times.” [Again, me: One of the reasons given by parents for their kids’ improved mental health during the COVID lockdown, in our survey, was that they were able to sleep later in the morning.]

• “Be nonjudgmental and respect children’s identities and identity formation. This is not a ‘woke’ concept. This is a caring, compassionate concept that works for all children all the time.”

• “Recognize and address child abuse within schools. There exist (and many readers may likely recall) teachers who are abusive, punitive, and cruel.”

To Black’s suggestions for modifying schools, I add this suggestion to parents: If your child truly, consistently, says he or she hates school, or if the bouts of anxiety or depressions are severe, take that seriously and do research on alternatives. Alternatives are far more available, even to families with low incomes, than most people realize.

As regular readers of this blog know, I have conducted and written about research studies of young people who opted out of public or conventional private schooling, often because of traumatic experiences there. They opted for homeschooling or for democratic alternative schooling, and in those settings restored themselves, discovered and pursued their interests, and went on to highly successful adult lives in the whole range of careers valued by our society. Some even reported to me that they believed their parents’ willingness to take them out of conventional schooling saved their lives, and I believe them.

Our societal view that forced, curriculum-based schooling is essential for success in today’s world is a societal myth. For a summary of evidence for that, see here and here.

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Rita Watson MPH

Researchers began reporting on the effects of loneliness even before the pandemic forced people into isolation and social distancing. Although the preponderance of the research focused on the elderly, even young people can feel lonely. Social isolation is what someone experiences when they are without connections to friends, family, or neighbors. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says loneliness “reflects the difference between a person’s actual and desired level of connection. This means that even a person with a lot of friends can feel lonely.” Loneliness affects us not just emotionally, but physically as well.

As early as 2013, Matthew Pantell and colleagues reported on the loneliness factor in the American Journal of Public Health. The team determined that social isolation is a predictor of mortality, comparable to traditional clinical risk factors.

Adults and especially the elderly are often socially isolated because of their health. Young people, despite social media connections, are also an at-risk group. It was reported in 2018 that loneliness is a major issue even on college campuses. According to The Lancet:

“Loneliness has been associated with objective social isolation, depression, introversion, or poor social skills. However, studies have shown these characterizations are incorrect, and that loneliness is a unique condition in which an individual perceives himself or herself to be socially isolated even when among other people.” (Cacioppo JT, Cacioppo, S)

The cell phone problem

Sherry Turkle, Ph.D., is Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology and Founding Director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self, Program in Science, Technology, and Society. In her book Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age, she writes and is now often quoted as saying:

“Every time you check your phone in the company, what you gain is a hit of stimulation, a neurochemical shot, and what you lose is what a friend, teacher, parent, lover, or co-worker just said, meant, felt.”

However, when feeling lonely young people are more likely than seniors to be in a position to reach out and get help from friends, colleagues, and school clubs.

Indicators of social isolation

Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Ph.D., who recently published “Social Isolation and Loneliness as Medical Issues” in the New England Journal of Medicine, reported in 2017 that demographic characteristics are indicators of social isolation. This may include 28 percent of older adults who live alone, more than half of the adult population that is unmarried, 40 percent of first marriages, and 70 percent of remarriages that end in divorce.

Given these statistics and what has happened since the pandemic, researchers and some physicians are suggesting a screening tool to detect loneliness.

At the 2023 American Medical Association Annual Meeting in Chicago, Peter A. Hollmann, M.D. of the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, advised physicians, “Don’t assume you can tell who’s lonely or not.”

“Think about how someone might be isolated or lonely and what you may be able to do about it. Ask them what they think might be helpful and acceptable to them. And then advocate for resources in the community.” (Jennifer Lubell, July 6, 2023 reporting.)

Loneliness solutions

There are many suggested solutions to loneliness, such as calling a friend, joining a group, volunteering, gardening, and finding a new hobby. Perhaps the most practical way to combat loneliness is McClean Hospital’s number one suggestion: the practice of gratitude, defined in 4 Steps To Walk Away From Loneliness | McLean Hospital. (A member of Mass General Brigham, McLean is an international mental health facility.)

Studies have shown that acts of gratitude can help us feel more positive and strengthen relationships. McLean’s post notes that “even silently recognizing a good person or situation in your life can develop a sense of gratitude.”

With gratitude, you do not have to look to outside activities, events, or people. It begins with you.

• Start by expressing gratitude for yourself.
• Think positively about embracing solitude.
• Create a quiet gratitude space in your home.
• Think of the people who have helped you to lift your spirits.
• Express gratitude for places where you felt a sense of joy, whether it was at the local coffee shop, a neighboring garden, a museum, or a walk by the water.

Take an active role in expressing gratitude. Send someone a gratitude note, just out of the blue. Fill a basket with a pack of fun postcards. Put a stamp on at least four of these. In this way, when someone comes to mind whom you think might need a connection, drop them a line. Unlike email, receiving a card or note in the mail is a tangible reminder of friendship or love.

References

Pantell M, Rehkopf D, Jutte D, Syme SL, Balmes J, Adler N. Social isolation: a predictor of mortality comparable to traditional clinical risk factors. Am J Public Health. 2013 Nov;103(11):2056-62.

Cacioppo JT, Cacioppo S. The growing problem of loneliness. Lancet. 2018 Feb 3;391(10119):426.

Julianne Holt-Lunstad and Andrew Steptoe, “Social Isolation: An Underappreciated Determinant of Physical Health,” Current Opinion in Psychology, February 2022.

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An epiphany is a moment when you suddenly feel that you understand, or suddenly become conscious of something that is very important to you. Really effective counseling emanates from sessions that nurture and encourage these powerful atypical moments.

One of the primary goals of any psychologist is to help people to move away from a status quo they have identified as not working. A status quo metaphor would be the proverbial water taking the same pathway running down the hill. These pathways, no pun intended, can become entrenched and immutable over time.

Motivated Reasoning

Judith Curry wrote in the Sociology of Science December 28, 2017 issue: “Motivated reasoning involves someone reasoning that they can re-interpret reality in a way that fits what they desire, their ideology, etc.” Motivated reasoning reinforces the client’s safety zone or status quo, which can become immune to change. Clients can maintain their dysfunctional behavior vis-à-vis their motivated reasoning. This pattern of behavior then reinforces part of a fictitious reality that supports distortion and illusion. The end result for the client is a sophisticated inner dialogue of self-deception, which is perpetually reinforced when new information, contrary to the established inner dialogue, arises.

Epiphanies

Unlike motivated reasoning, which follows a reinforcement schedule, an epiphany appears to be more accidental, unexpected, unforeseen, a chance experience. Epiphanies are rare but powerful events. An epiphany has the influence to magnify importance by its foreign nature of being out of the norm. As one client stated: “Wow! Where did that come from?”

Epiphanies are not planned. They are not reinforced. They come from an unknown place at a non-predetermined time. They were shock and awe. They are powerful moments of self-discovery, which have long-lasting effects.

How can psychologists create an environment whereby more epiphanies will occur for their clients? Are there procedures that lead to increasing the potential of clients experiencing epiphanies?

Let’s consider cognitive dissonance (CD), which is defined as the psychological conflict resulting from incongruous beliefs and attitudes held simultaneously. This discomfort includes any new information that is contradictory to one’s current conscious beliefs. Cognitive dissonance is the very concept that kicks in when motivated reasoning is summoned. Discomforts are managed through personal manipulation in an attempt to maintain one’s personal view of the status quo and resistance to change. Psychologists need to consider strategies to limit motivated reasoning.

The Inner Dialogue

The antithesis of motivated reasoning involves encouraging clients to avoid any attempts to re-interpret reality. The client would agree to self-monitor their inner dialogue of the status quo, which may be circumventing new information or ideas that at first appear contradictory. Clients need encouragement toward self-discovery by being less self-protective, and by trusting their counselor to suggest alternative views of seeing themselves and their reality. Potentially, the client would come to realize that the counselor’s primary role is to facilitate the client’s personal insight and growth.

Through this process, the client is challenged to become less guarded, biased, self-protective, defensive, safe, manipulative, and re-interpretive. Through adherence to monitoring preconceived ideas, the client can become more receptive to the unforeseen, unexpected elements of the epiphany.

“Aha” Moments

Self-discovery has often been identified as the “aha” moment. This is a moment when the obvious gives way to the oblivious. The epiphany materializes from the ether. It rises from the ashes of premeditated thoughts and conclusions to share a new and previously unrelated internal awareness.

D. Rock and J. Davis in their Harvard Business Review article “4 Steps to Having More Aha Moments” state: “In short, anything that helps you be able to notice quiet signals in the brain, or weak activations as they are called, can increase the chances of insight. By practicing leaving space for quiet, being internally focused, taking a positive approach, and not actively trying to have insight, we can all have more insights every day. More insights equate to solving complex problems faster, and that’s something we could all benefit from, whether we want to tweak a marketing campaign, solve a client challenge, or change the world.”

As psychologists, are we encouraging “weak activations”? Is there a greater potential for epiphanies and growth when the client is less self-protected by motivated reasoning? Can we create an environment where epiphany is more likely to take place? Epiphany appears to rely on the availability of “space for quiet” and an absence of predetermined ideas within the receiver. In the modern world of social media, and multiple hours spent on screens, this concept has even more relevance. Are you having any buds of beauty and brilliance? Any epiphanies?

References

Cambridge English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, 4th edition. Cambridge University Press, 2018.

Curry, Judith. JC’s (un)motivated reasoning. Sociology of Science, December 28, 2017.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary. February 10, 2019.

Harvard Business Review. 4 Steps to Having More “Aha” Moments, October 12, 2016

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