Toxic overload, page 2

reply to post by mopusvindictus

First off, great post. Very informative read. I just had a couple things:

I know you're focusing mostly on mental health here, but you also touched on physical health. There are a lot of diseases out there to be afraid of, but in America and most of the rest of the world, life expectancy is at an all-time high. This might be a weak argument on my part, because with modern medicine we're able to survive a long time while being unhealthy, but it is something to think about.

As for mental health, I don't agree that there are so many more problems now than there have been throughout our history. I'm not going to say psychiatry is new, but the public's acceptance of this science and the availability of it is relatively new. While, in the past, a child might be called "hyper" or "rambunctious," now they are taken to a doctor and diagnosed, and labeled with one of countless mental disorders. Thus, the stats show a rising epidemic, when in reality it may not be very far above the historic levels of such personality traits.

I see it as something similar to the sexual revolution that started in the 60's. Before that time, society as a whole was thought to be sexually reserved, mostly because it wasn't socially acceptable to talk about such things. When Dr. Kinsey did his research, however, he found that it was actually quite the opposite. And once people started getting it out and it became okay to talk about sexual things, the general image of our (American) society started changing.

Similarly, now that it's okay to talk about mental problems, we're starting to see that everybody is a lot more screwed up in the head than we once thought. I don't really think this is a modern ailment, but just a condition that comes along with being human.

All that said, I'm not discounting the points you've made in your post. I think that most of these toxic things that we surround ourselves with are a problem and a health concern that should not be taken lightly. However, I don't think it's nearly the epidemic that you paint it to be.

EDIT to add:

You also mentioned the correlation between fast food and education. I think this has less to do with something in the burgers making kids stupid, and more to do with our society moving away from family values and parents not having time for their children, where a quick meal at McDonalds is easier than a home-cooked meal with the family, and parents are either failing to understand or failing to emphasize the importance of a proper education for their children.

[edit on 23-8-2008 by Wintermute]