by Patrick Ellis
Mental health is a scam. With this statement there are two types of reactions to this claim.
“Well yeah duh.” and “What in the world are you talking about and how dare you say something like that.” In this blog I will be informing you of the reality of mental health and how it is utilized as a scam to make money.
First and foremost it shouldn’t need to be said that Mental Health in its whole is not the
actual problem here, but instead how society wields it within America’s culture and how people can be exploited through it. The most obvious and primary thing to focus on is therapy. This is not to say that therapy is ineffective; however as a society we use it as a source of income where the client must pay for their own mental health. When someone says they are not feeling well one of the most common responses is to see if you’ve gotten help from someone such as a therapist. A perfect example of this is if you are to look up mental health tools into your search bar you will immediately be greeted by several different mental health sites that all want you to pay for them, some even having redirect links for ads. This is obviously all brought on and perpetuated by our economy in order to exploit vulnerable people with their money. And furthermore as a society we push the need for these types of jobs and thus people are driven to them more, as proven by The U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics stating that “jobs for licensed mental health counselors will increase by 18% from 2022 to 2032. This rate is much faster than the average projected growth rate for all U.S. occupations in that time frame (3%).” On a technical level this may seem good however due to the natural flow of our capitalistic economy it also means that people will pursue this path without actually wanting to help people, but instead for net profit as we lack universal mental health providers. This is not to say that this is exclusively the reason for people choosing this career path, but it certainly can be seen as a major factor. On top of this antidepressants are gate kept from people as they require prescriptions to acquire. This can lead to people who may be clinically unwell to not get the proper care they need to help themselves due to a naturally predator economy that exploits the destitute and unwell. Riya Venkateshwaran highlights this in their blog as well pointing out that “The pharmaceutical realm shamelessly capitalizes off the increase in diagnoses for mental illness.
“Big Pharma” is a running joke amongst younger generations, because no matter what economic logic you come up with, it all boils down to a gut feeling: Profiting off of someone suffering just doesn’t sound right. Corporations are incentivized to prolong the misery of patients, forcing consumers to rely on their pharmaceuticals.” Despite this we normalize therapy within the broader topic of mental health recommending it to people despite the very fact that they may not be able to afford it nor the medicine prescribed to them. This type of cycle is extremely viscous and is only more vicious when breaking down the process of getting a therapist that you like. This was another point that Riya makes pointing out the difficulty of acquiring an effective and affordable therapist. This point is prevalently brought up by Riya saying “A highly qualified therapist would be sharp and strategically personalize their treatments for each of their clients. Leapfrogging through the field of therapists illustrates a fundamental flaw in our approach to treatment.” Once more pointing out the clear flaw within therapy. To make matters worse this wouldn’t be such a problem if it wasn’t so focused on. Of course there is the argument that some mental health related activities are free, however that very statement completely glosses over the fact that having support for mental health should be something we naturally deserve and the very fact that free must be specified is the very problem that helps lend towards the cycle used to keep people paying.
Stepping aside from my criticisms of the overall system that mental health is involved in
with our society there are also extremely prevalent examples of people catering towards mental health in order to exploit others. A good example of this is the company BetterHelp who violated their clients privacy by sharing their personal information. “The Federal Trade Commission has issued a proposed order banning online counseling service BetterHelp, Inc. from sharing consumers’ health data, including sensitive information about mental health challenges, for advertising. The proposed order also requires the company to pay $7.8 million to consumers to settle charges that it revealed consumers’ sensitive data with third parties such as Facebook and Snapchat for advertising after promising to keep such data private.” To make things worse you realize that the seven point one million dollars are for the consumers which makes you wonder how many people may have had their personal information leaked. Of course this is something we know as well, as “Since BetterHelp was founded, more than two million people have signed up, entrusting the company with their personal information, much of it related to the status of their health – and their mental health. For example, the company’s Intake Questionnaire asked
people to disclose if they’re “experiencing overwhelming sadness, grief, or depression,” if
they’re having thoughts they “would be better off dead or hurting [themselves] in some way,” if they’re taking medication, and if they’ve been in therapy before.” Information like this is extremely distraughtful to hear leaked and to make things worse it makes sense as a scam; due to how popularized mental health and therapy is.
Now it is not lost on me that I have been constantly complaining and criticizing without
actually bringing anything to the table. Unfortunately getting things like prescriptions for
medicine that might be needed is simply stuck within the economic health cycle however that doesn’t mean that improving mental health is entirely impossible. There are a large number of free and healthy alternatives instead of turning to professionals or medicine. The most prevalent of these alternatives is exercise. The reason for this is because “Exercise helps promote the growth of new neurons in key areas of the brain, including the hippocampus. Some research suggests that this may play a role in relieving symptoms of some psychiatric conditions including depression and anxiety. Animal studies have found that increased neurogenesis may play a role in calming the brain during times of stress.” This can be extremely beneficial for people in poor mental health as it is both a free and extremely healthy alternative while also helping improve mental health. The other primary alternative is meditation. Meditation helps with a plethora of both physical and mental benefits such as: lower blood pressure, less stress, better sleep, and a plethora of other effects. These two alternatives are typically the main gotos however there are still other options such as simply sleeping more and eating healthier foods.
In conclusion to everything I’m trying to say, mental health is being used to get people to
use money they may not have and exploit them. In our attempts to help people in a time where depression is at an all time high, groups have exploited the vulnerable through our capitalistic economy with some even abusing their clients. Despite this there are still ways to keep a clear mind and self through free alternatives that allow us to improve ourselves both physically and mentally. Mental health is a scam if you expect other people to fix it for you. It takes your own initiative to improve yourself even if that simply means doing breathing exercises.
Sources
Hey Patrick! I see what you mean (and can appreciate the click-bait your title provides). Obviously mental health isn’t “fake,” but it’s true that, much like bodily health, America especially likes to capitalize on the issue where it can. It’s sad that there are so many financial roadblocks put in front of people who seek mental health assistance. - Gaby
This was such an interesting read! I don't know if I agree that the way we treat mental health is necessarily a scam but I do understand your point. Therapy and medication are so expensive and the prices are really only increasing, mental health is a serious issue that so so many people can't get help with because of funding. - Maren Franklin
While I don't agree overall with your opinion here, I do agree with a few of your points. The topic of mental health probably has been capitalized to an extent in out society, but I don't think that means mental health itself is a myth. That goes for the products and strategies that help treat mental health problems as well. However, your points do still stand. We should be more focused on helping those with mental health issues than focused on how to make money and capitalize on others' troubles.
-Logan Taylor
I largely agree that mental healthcare, along with most other forms of healthcare within the United States is largely inaccessible, but I don't think you paint the fairest picture of therapy and medication as a whole. While you did name capitalism as a contributing factor to its inaccessibility, you framed therapy and medication itself as being predatory; like they are tricks to prolong the suffering of clients. The goal of therapy and medication is certainly to treat an individual and it is only within capitalistic systems that one's suffering may be prolonged for profit; this is to say that this prolonged suffering in pursuit of profit is not part of the intrinsic nature of neither therapy nor medication. Anyways, good…
Mental health is definitely a complicated thing to navigate in today's society. I agree that there are areas where the mental health system could improve. However, I don't see how the economic barriers to therapy/mental health services are different from the economic barriers that may block people from accessing physical health services, buying food/clothing, or other survival and well-being needs that people would suffer without. I also disagree with the idea that people can fix their mental health on their own- in the same way we don't expect students to learn new things without a teacher, we should apply that to how people struggling with mental health ailments learn coping mechanisms from their therapist! In both scenarios, one's own efforts…