The Right to Mental Health?
JUNE 2021 Chuck Ruby, Ph.D., Psychologist
psychintegrity.org/the-right-to-mental-health
This excellent article is about our human rights when we are seeking therapy or other mental health assistance. He separates mental health from physical health to point out the lack of coercion or forced treatment in relation to physical illnesses.
I was thinking about how this applies regarding medical assistance/treatment and human rights.
Ruby wrote:
>>>>>The solution to stigma and discrimination, and the subsequent threats to human rights for those seeking mental health assistance, is to realize that the essence of mental health care is not literally about health and illness. It definitely isn't about using chemical, mechanical, and biological knowledge and skills to correct dysfunctional physiology.
Instead, the term "mental health" is a figurative description of social challenges, personal meaning, emotional distress, and one's responses to these things. Therefore, it is in a domain completely separate from the study of medicine and the literal idea of health and illness, not a different type to merge with the physical type.<<<<<<
I like this idea of mental health as a combo of “social challenges, personal meaning, emotional distress, and one's responses to these things.” That sounds like a new, better version of the DSM!
and then he goes into this comparison…
>>>>>The resulting irony is that while we frequently see such coercion within the mental health system, we rarely see it with physical health. People who are diagnosed with physical health problems, such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease are rarely treated involuntarily, against their will (unless, of course, they are judged mentally ill and, thus, not able to make "wise" choices).<<<<<
But when it’s a “virus”, that’s a whole other story. There’s a huge amount of “coercion” and related tactics leveled at those who would remain unvaxxd now. Part of that is the accusation that we must be “mentally ill” or “ignorant” for refusing The Vaxx which leads to the “mandates” because we “don’t know what’s best for us and others.”
(Continued in Part 2...)#Coercion #Human rights #Stigma
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