Water, Water, Water, is all that needs to be said (If you want to read a logical and rational opponent's argument then-turn to Maude Barlow; and if interested in understanding how it was passed
The following is a collective of Mental Health Articles that I have published in various Canadian newspapers between 1985-1995(All articles written by me, except False Memory Syndrome which was written by Jodi McCaw and edited by me)
Throughout history people have always thought that dreams contained important messages.
As the Jewish Talmud says, a dream that is not understood is like an unopened letter.
Sigmund Freud stated that the interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind.
Given the potential insights that can be gained through dreams, it is unfortunate that we lack the means to tap into this reservoir of knowledge.
Part of the problem lies in the nebulous nature of the dream itself. Dream therapy or interpretation is extremely subjective at best.
Moreover, in order to be a proficient practitioner in this field requires several years of training, well beyond the seven years of doctoral work required for a PhD..
Conveyed through imagery, dreams defy logic. Lacking the temporal ordering inherent in our waking lives, they seem incomprehensible and are dismissed as trivial.
Culturally conditioned to relegate inner experiences to a subordinated role, we are deterred from understanding the significance of our dream world, rendered to remain
ignorant of the potential wisdom inherent in dreams.
General agreement is lacking on the exact role and function of dreaming. No verifiable evidence can dispute the fact that dreams may be nothing more than a somatic process in
which a meaningless visual image is produced by electrochemical reactions in the brain.
Regardless of the paucity of scientific knowledge in this area, dreams are intuitively appealing and highly significant for people and for that reason alone are worthy of intellectual discourse.
Moreover, dreams are private experiences which are of unknown scientific validity, because they are intended to be personal not universally meaningful.
To suggest that dream interpretation requires mastery of a universal symbol book is to do an injustice to the dream as a unique expression of the self.
It is only from the individual’s unique experiences that one can derive the meaning of her/his dream. So it is the dreamer, not the therapist, who must assign significance and meaning to the dream.
Given that emotions rather than logic guide our dream world, our natural defence systems are relaxed. As such, our emotional lives are revealed with a great deal of honesty in dreams.
If we attempt to remember our dreams, we can gain a deeper understanding of self, which can be empowering.
To denounce dreams as ludicrous and at best, humorous is to mistake the superficial content of dreams for the latent, content, as the significant component of dreams.
In a large number of cases, dreams are the product of unresolved problems. In dreams our anxious thoughts and emotional concerns have a chance to be released.
Whether these emotional concerns or conflicts are caused by repression of earlier infantile traumas, as Freud suggests, or reflective of current concerns, is immaterial.
The point is that dreams allow for the opportunity to experience unresolved conflicts and thus to reclaim aspects of ourselves with which our waking self is unfamiliar.
However, it would be a mistake to believe that dreams can magically create solutions to problems.
As the dreamer is the creator of the dream content, dreams can only utilize the resources at hand, and through restructuring, highlight their bearing on a problem.
If there is nothing in our past experiences that can help us cope with the present issue, dreams may be able to do no more than call attention to that fact.
Dreams seem to solve problems because they place a problem in the perspective of our entire lives’ backdrops, revealing connections between the past and present experiences. Dreams work with a larger version of reality than is accessible to our waking selves.
The dream content itself can be initiated by ‘day residue,’ which is usually an indifferent event occurring during the previous day.
The event strikes the dreamer as challenging and emotionally intrusive through associating itself with an unconscious emotional concern.
It is suggested that the purpose of the symbolic nature of dreams is to conceal the pain associated with the unresolved anxiety or emotional concern.
To that extent, our logical minds never abandon us, they allow conflicts to reveal themselves in symbolic form only, making them incomprehensible to consciousness.
Dreams, by virtue of their emotional honesty, serve as an enhancing experience to the dreamer.
Dreams can serve as a healing process because of their ability to confront and to reveal important aspects of self that we do not attend to when awake.
The question is whether we want to be exposed to the thoughts, anxieties and beliefs that we hold.
Taking responsibility for self and growth is one of the greatest challenges of life. Perhaps that is why dream recall is so fragmented.
Within the last two decades, there has been a dramatic increase in allegations of child sexual abuse by adults, most often women.
More recently, a number of survivors of child sexual abuse have won court cases and substantial financial settlements against the people who abused them.
This has definitely contributed to a dramatic increase in public protestations of innocence by people accused of sexual abuse.
The False Memory Syndrome Foundation was founded and is largely populated by parents whose adult children have, they say, falsely accused them of child sexual abuse.
What makes these parents different from any other group of accused abusers is that they not only deny the charges, but claim that their children developed “false memories” of the alleged abuse as a result of irresponsible, over-zealous therapists, self-help books, and/or media hype surrounding sexual abuse.
It is contended that almost any complaint can be suggested to be the result of childhood sexual abuse.
It is important to note that “False Memory Syndrome,” despite the psychiatric nomenclature, is not a diagnosis, nor is there any support for such a syndrome in the clinical literature.
The False Memory Syndrome Foundation has had tremendous success in disseminating its message in the mainstream media.
A few years ago, a lot of attention was paid to survivors of CSA, who told their stories of abuse and their struggles to overcome it.
The current popular view is to ask to what extent the proliferation of allegations of sexual abuse is a result of real sexual abuse, and how much of it is based on so-called false
memories.
Whether memories of child sexual abuse can be repressed, or more precisely can be inaccessible to conscious awareness, for a period of time is a hotly debated issue.
Those who believe in false memories argue that it is absurd to suggest that one could forget such a traumatic experience.
Those who believe in repression argue that it is such traumatic experiences that are most likely to be needed to be repressed.
Many researchers in the area of child sexual abuse and psychotherapists have argued that for many who were abused as children, there was a later period of time when they had no
memory of the abuse.
In contrast, critics argue that the evidence for repression of such memories is based only on case studi3es and clinical anecdotes (even though adherents of the false memory
syndrome also make considerable use of case studies and anecdotal reports).
These critics argue that laboratory studies on memory have demonstrated that through suggestion, leading questions, or hypnotism subjects can be induced to recall factually
incorrect memories, which they believe and find indistinguishable from real memories.
The empirical literature on the effects of suggestion on memory focuses on every day, untraumatic memories.
In contrast, childhood sexual abuse is, undeniably, a traumatic experience. Moreover, there is also substantial evidence, both clinical and research, that children and adults can be resistant to suggestive questioning, particularly with respect to personally salient events.
It is notable that few of the voices arguing “for” false memory do therapy with survivors of childhood sexual abuse, but most of those arguing “against” do.
Reading the arguments of both of the two sides of the false memory controversy, I am continually struck by their differing tones.
Those arguing that repressed memories of sexual abuse may well be false reiterate their concern with the innocent victims of false accusations.
They draw a parallel to a witch hunt conducted by grown children, deluded by therapists, the self-help industry, and their own weaknesses, against their parents.
Those arguing against false memories passionately affirm their allegiance to and concern for victims of childhood sexual abuse.
Surely there is a tremendous irony in the fact that the concern is over whether alleged victims are telling the truth, rather than whether alleged abusers are.
The False Memory Syndrome Foundation asks, so far as I know, no questions about whether people who want to join them did, in fact, not abuse the child who is now accusing them - certainly they never publicly discuss the question of whether some of
their alleged abusers might be real abusers. The False Memory Syndrome proponents repeatedly criticise people for saying “if you believe you were abused, then you were.”
Yet, eerily, they appear to subscribe to the mirror-opposite proposition, “if you believe that you did not abuse someone, than you did not.”
It is clear that an alleged victim has less to gain from a false accusation than an alleged abuser has to gain from a false denial.
There is a lot more evidence that the word of alleged abusers should be distrusted than the word of alleged victims.
It is essential that we understand the horror of child sexual abuse, the pain and damage it causes. It is better to err on the side of protecting victims.
Therapists must continually walk a fine line between assisting their clients in their self-discovery and pushing them.
Therapists must be guided by the best interests of their clients, not by worries about the damage being done to the patriarchal family by the long overdue acknowledgement that childhood sexual abuse is a widespread and serious problem.
The danger of false memory syndrome is that the real victims will once again become invisible. Psychologists and psychotherapists cannot stand by and let this happen.
Aside from yourself have you ever met anyone who wasn’t neurotic?
Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with neurotics. That’s what makes us unique human beings.
I should first ensure that we have a mutual understanding: neurotiscism, as opposed to psychoticism, suggests a contact with a community-defined ‘reality.’
Psychoticism implies a perceptual and cognitive distortion of reality. In other words, neurotics are ‘fully functioning’ human beings...with hangups.
That’s not to be flippant. It’s just my perception of the truth.
There are various types of neuroticism and various outlets to deal with our neurosis. For example, one could point to smoking, rigidity, excessive fitness of TV watching.
These are examples of dealing with insecurities or anxieties or detachment from self, egotism, over-dramatization, to name a few.
Given my initial supposition, I believe that everyone can benefit from therapy or counselling sessions.
It’s a mistake to think that it is unapproachable, and at the same time unacceptable.
What a shame, that which we don’t question, society imposes on us. Similar to an emotional or mental breather; what an opportunity!
Easier than over-the-counter prescriptions, but, ah, how to account for that measly hour.
Gosh, wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t give it that much thought, but instead gave ourselves that much ’of a break.’
I’m not suggesting that everyone must pay to have a professional counsellor. I’m merely suggesting that it is very difficult to find a ‘listener’ in a partner or friend, if you will.
Listening, genuine listening, without imposing judgement, opinion, or rationale for our behaviour, ah, now there’s the rub.
To find someone who doesn’t influence our mind or critique our view with subtle hypocrisy. There’s the essence of listening.
Listening without influencing our mind is one of the most challenging tasks. It ain’t no easy task.
A nod or ‘aha’ can convincingly demonstrate that our perception is invalid. I applaud practitioners and friends who can go beyond themselves and truly listen.
It’s very demanding to check your own ego and offer sympathetic listening. In fact it’s so difficult that payment is a necessary inducement, to find someone from whom we can reflect ideas. This is no fault; this is human nature.
Interestingly, given how important mental health is, we invest so little time in managing it. We spend more time shopping for articles than looking for an effective/appropriate therapist.
Regardless of educational level, if the fit isn’t there, leave the therapist - you do have the right.
People seem to think that either they don’t have that right or they don’t know as much. I think you probably do, even more.
You can probably tell, in a couple of sessions, whether you feel comfortable, genuinely listened to and respected. If it doesn’t make sense, then it isn’t working.
If you are babbling on too much, and walk away saying you learned very little, then perhaps you have.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s great. In fact, obviously, it’s necessary to have a sounding board.
But if that’s all you have after many sessions, then make the decision that his is what you want out of counselling.
If, on the other hand, your feelings and thoughts are being reconceptualized and challenged, then it’s worth it.
Psychotherapy should be deceptively simple. That’s the beauty of a good therapy session - having your thoughts reconceptualized in a fashion that makes sense, and yet is not too intrusive.
An effective counsellor must be able to check his/her ego at the door - not try to impose his/her opinions.
You should walk away feeling that the therapist was ‘there for you’ - genuinely, and authentically listening to you.
I agree that’s all well and good. But an effective therapist also knows how to end a session.
After a very emotional session, the last thing you need to hear is, ‘Well, that was very interesting and I look forward to hearing more, etc.”
An effective therapist knows how to bring closure, through emphatic listening, ah, now there’s really the rub!
When it comes, whether expected or completely spontaneous, it hits you like a gust of wind.
It envelopes your mind and body into a tailspin of acute, paralyzing terror.
Overwhelmed by its sheer power, your mind becomes frozen. To suggest a state of daze or cloudiness would be an understatement.
It’s more like a depersonalization or derealization, a feeling of being completely detached from yourself or from your surroundings.
Vulnerable to any environmental or physiological change, your body heats up.
Perspiring, you begin to hyperventilate, your heart rate accelerates and your legs feel as if they are going to buckle under.
Along with the physiological symptoms, your cognitions also begin to play tricks on you; fearing craziness or death.
Perhaps the sensations will exit as quickly and inexplicably as they came, with the only side effects being projectile vomiting or spastic diarrhea but usually you are mentally crippled for hours afterward.
Your mind remains suspended in a twilight zone, bewildered and exhausted.
What you’ve just experienced is a panic attack. It is considered to be a non-rational response to an objectively described innocuous stimulus.
It is far more debilitating than your everyday anxiety attack in terms of intensity of symptoms and/or duration, usually accompanied by an overwhelming desire “to get the hell out of wherever you are.”
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the bible of psychiatric illnesses, panic disorder consists of four attacks in a four-week period or an attack followed by a period of at least a month of persistent fear of having another attack.
While most educated psychologists would agree that almost everyone has experienced a panic attack (some people may not realize it at the time), anywhere between five and 15
percent experience panic disorder and agoraphobia.
While panic disorder seems to be equally common among males and females, agoraphobia (which is usually accompanied with panic attacks) is between two to four times more common in women.
Agoraphobia seems to be an unknown quantity to a lot of people, including professionals.
It is defined as a fear of being in places from which escape would be difficult or embarrassing, or in which help may not be available in the event of a panic attack.
Its origin comes from the Greeks, and was defined as a fear of open places. But more common agoraphobic places consist of standing in lines, grocery stores, public transportation, crowds, restaurants, hair dressers, being on a bridge, virtually anywhere
from which it would be difficult to leave.
As a result of these fears, agoraphobics either restrict travel or need a companion when away from home, or else endure agoraphobic situations despite intense anxiety.
While people with mild agoraphobia lead basically “normal” lives, attending work and performing necessary functions, like grocery shopping, to a large extent they lead restricted lives.
Other mild agoraphobics may not avoid places but simply endure great distress when out of the home.
Perhaps, they prefer the aisle seat at a movie theatre or tend to be the driver rather than the passenger in a car.
Unfortunately, severe cases of agoraphobic results in a complete restriction of activity, leaving the person “housebound.”
In fact, there are a number of severe agoraphobics who have never left a particular room in her/his house, asking trusted partners to do the errands.
Most panic-disordered and agoraphobic individuals are extremely self-conscious of their disorder.
(Disorder is how it is classified. This is not meant to convey a derogatory connotation because everyone is afflicted by some disorder, whether it be a neurosis, perhaps in the form of a personality disorder or a psychosis, whether it be depression or schizophrenia etc.).
They make every effort to disguise it. In all likelihood, bystanders may not notice someone in a panic state.
Unfortunately, most people who experience panic perceive it as some horrible vice or taboo that should not be discussed. As such, most people are left in the dark about what this disorder is and how prevalent it is.
Like most ailments, panic disorder and agoraphobia have a genetic as well as an environmental component. While some individuals may have a constitutional vulnerability for the illness, they may not be afflicted unless the environmental stressors are prevalent.
Moreover, an “affectionless control” family environment, in terms of critical unemotional parents, childhood sexual abuse, or alcoholic parent(s) can be mediators or precursors for this disorder.
Thyroid problems and nutritional deficiencies can also play roles in the development of panic.
Therapy usually consists of drug therapy, either antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications, accompanied by cognitive-behaviour therapy.
These therapies have been found to be only moderately effective. Obviously, more research is necessary in this area.
Rather than rely on archaic, Pavlovian therapeutic interventions, anxiety clients must be empowered through empathic counselling which allows them to examine personality traits and perceptual distortions.
These people are quite aware of the fact that their fears are irrational. Band-aid solutions are of no long-term therapeutic value.
The purpose for this article is not to provide a label to allow us to categorize but rather to provide a background of knowledge to elicit understanding.
Perhaps through trust and understanding we can provide a safe environment to better respond to the needs of these people.
Welcome to the magic and the mystery of the Yukon! The Yukon holds true to its slogan - the scenery is magical and its cities hold many secrets. Unscathed by capitalism and corruption, the land and the people of the Yukon strike you as refreshingly unassuming and psychologically healthy. A hospitable and gracious people, a stranger is always offered a welcoming hand, a home-cooked meal, or a place to reside upon arrival. Simple
in their wants, nothing is needed or expected in return but a friendly salutation.
When I first drove into Whitehorse I was struck by its mountainous beauty. Now don’t get me wrong, these mountains, while magnificent, pale in comparison to the Rockies or
the mountain ranges of B.C. But, I hail from the Bathurst-Eglinton area of Toronto, and with my British heritage, ... well you probably get the picture. This is a womyn who has
never been on any sort of wilderness adventure, never mind set foot on a camp site. I mean, when one’s personal “magnitude” gage consists of the North York ski hill (o.k., I have seen Blue Mountain), a mole hill is quite spectacular.
Aside from the magnificent scenery, the Yukon is rich in culture: Housing a number of musical festivals: Frostbite, in Whitehorse; Alsek, in Haines Junction; Dawson music festival, in Dawson; the Yukon attracts international talent, and is home to a number of
artistic gems: Jerry Alfred and the Medicine Beat (traditional aboriginal music), Inconnu (blend of folk, blues and Cajun), and of course Jayne West ( a couple of womyn right from our own neck of the woods who sing some good blues), to name a few. I strongly suggest purchasing the “Yukon Collection,” produced by a local production house, Caribou Records, to get a taste of the Yukon beat. Aside from musical talent, there is the
Yukon Quest (dog sled race), Rendevous ( a week in February devoted to the Gold Rush era with all the hoopla,.. the Keystone Cops, Can-Can dancers, Sourdough Sam contests, and naturally, lots of boozing), the International Storytelling festival, numerous womyn’s retreats, and yea, I guess I’ve got to mention all the outdoor, physical activities....an abundance of bike trails; canoeing and kayaking to your hearts galore; fishing; skiing (cross-country and downhill, just a stone’s throw from downtown Whitehorse); I could go on but I don’t want to (check out ‘Bikes and Hikes’ for a more informative angle).
Although the traditional medical community leaves a bit to be desired, there is a very healthy alternative medical culture...massage therapy, aromatherapy, acupuncture,
homeopathy etc.
The Yukon seems to draw very interesting people. Why, you may ask yourself, would one drive thousands of kms to an enigmatic place, visited by no one in their farthest circle of friends, and whose capital you are still not convinced isn’t Yellowknife (or is it?). Reasons vary, most of them personal. Its untouched quality is certainly a drawing feature. A number of individuals want to escape something, .. the big city, relatives, a
relationship, or simply the past, and retreat back to nature to get in touch with self (or, for the more concrete, reap the big bucks!). Whatever the reason, there seems to be a common thread running through the individuals of the Yukon... a peace of mind, an independence of spirit. That’s what makes the Yukon so unique; people are doing their own thing, their own way..it makes for quite a prolific community. It’s the people which give the Yukon its semblance of a principality. The imagination of its people set the limits and boundaries of the cultural and economic development.
In my case, when I ventured up to the Yukon I was in one of those ‘re-examining’ stages of life, with no immediate plans. At the time I was writing my master’s thesis, but eventually that excuse for ‘glazed mind’ syndrome had grown quite lame. Naturally soon
setting it aside, I happened upon writing mental health columns for the ‘Yukon News,’ and teaching at the Yukon College. A compelling feature of the Yukon is if you have an idea or interest, with some effort it can be realized.
The Yukon has a population of approximately 30,000, 22, 000 of which live in Whitehorse. Other vital statistics include: the Yukon has the highest per capita of bars, female doctors and M.A. holders (talk amongst yourselves). Major economic sectors consist of mining, logging, tourism and service. Political wranglings occur between the NDP and the Yukon Party, a derivative of conservatism. A downside is that the union, unfortunately, is not very strong. Its collective agreement desperately needs to be
revamped, with appeals taking over a year to be heard.
Temperatures range from -40C to 30C. The weather didn’t bother me, in fact, I preferred it to the dreary, snow-filled, dirty, simply yucky winters of T.O. C’mon-once it gets below -20C, it really doesn’t make too much of a difference..its simply damn cold! The 20 or so hours of brightness in the summertime is quite inviting. And the dark winters aren’t too bad when compensated by the spectacular light display known as the aurora bureolis.
The gay community, well like the Yukon community in general, is very welcoming. It’s hospitable, typically unhealthy in the nucleus, and on the outskirts there are the very political, the artistic, as well as the ‘bush’ lesbians. There is a very progressive womyn’s movement with various womyn’s groups and centres.
To see the Yukon is to love it. There seems to be a subtle irreverence,...quite natural and honest rather than cunning and manipulative, that gives the Yukon it’s creative energy.
Most people, intending on a short stay, remain for years. For myself, a piece of my heart will always reside in the Yukon.
