Mental Health and Weather

The more that I continue to reflect on the psychotherapy treatment I am still doing, and that I have done over the last forty years, as well as what I read about in books, journals and in discussions with my colleagues, the more I see similarities between the treatment of mental health issues and the weather.

Psychology and psychiatry have both become very skilled at describing what is happening.  Weather people do that too.  We can describe the kind of storm that people are going through in their lives and in their minds.  It could be a panic attack storm, or a depressive storm, or perhaps a more destructive bipolar storm.

All of the mental illness diagnoses are descriptive.  They do not really give any idea of the cause of the problem.  But they usually are very good descriptions of what is going on.  However, if the cause is not known, finding a solution becomes more difficult.

Mental health professions are very good, although not quite as good as weather people, at making predictions.  We have a good idea of when someone will fall apart or pull themselves together. We can look at history and try to predict the future, often with surprising accuracy.

Weather people are better at that.  They have a lot of computer models to follow, all with little swirling diagrams of high and low pressure systems, wind currents, water temperatures, and cloud formations.

Psychologists don't have too many computer models that are used to predict human behavior.  Marketers have very good ones, and they use them more than Psychologists.  Google, Amazon, Walmart and Target are especially good at knowing what you will buy, even before you do, and then selling it to you. But I expect that computer models of your behavior will be coming soon.

Too often however, helping people to change is too much to trying to change the weather.  We can talk about it , be supportive, undeerstanding, and make suggestions.  But often, too often, the best we can do is give people an umbrella to help them weather the storm.

NOTE:
Now this post seems pretty negative.  I don't mean it to be.  I really just want to give people the idea that change is difficult, especially significant behavioral change.  I want people to realize that it's not surprising or their fault that it takes a long time.  They should hang in there and keep at it.

But I know that what catches on on the Internet, and it the world in general, is promising, hopeful messages, with an upbeat spirit and a happy ending, even when the odds of that are not very good.

Our brains like to be happy, even if it isn't realistic --- almost especially if it's not realistic.

So next time I will be more Inspirational, and not be such a grumpy old man.

I will be upbeat and show you how you Can Be anything you wish to be.
I'll try.
i mean I WILL!
(Happier now?)