Week 8_ Wenru Shi_ A01

Week 8 _ Wenru Shi _ Section A01

     

     People are taught how to become normal when they were young. We cannot have deep despair and upset, otherwise we will be diagnosed as Depression. We cannot be exciting all the time, otherwise we will be diagnosed as hyperactivity. We cannot behave different than others, otherwise we will be diagnosed as thousands of psychopathic illness. However, as a human being, “It’s ‘normal’ to feel the wide spectrum of emotions ” (Haydock, n.d.).

      For many indigenous praises and meditation, “Mental disorder, behavioral disorder of all kinds, signal the fact that two obviously incompatible energies have merged into the same field ” (Marohn, 2014). However, these mental illness are, again, socially constructed. Human beings can have their own spiritual worlds. Western psyche always define those people who act abnormally as people who have mental illness, while they may just have difficulty differentiating their own spiritual world and the mindset of the large community.  Western imperialism is always attacking Indigenous people’s practices of healing mental disorder, and meditation. They think these approaches are lack of scientific credentials; however, who can claim the mental illness has clear definitions of its reasons? For example, in the article “What a Shaman Sees in A Mental Hospital,” the author pointed out healing mental health is “[reconciling] energies of both worlds”(Marohn, 2014). Using my own experience, China has mental treatment — instead of using herbs and any modern facilities, traditional Chinese doctors recommend “meditation” — the same as some Indigenous practices and rituals. 

Question:

Again, like public education system, who set up these rules of how to be a norm? 

Reference:

• Haydock, S. B. (n.d.). I would always rater be abnormal than holistic: Nine micro-essays. Retrieved from https://themissingslate.com/byline/shana-bulhan-haydock/

• Marohn, S. (2014, Aug. 25). What a Shaman Sees in A Mental Hospital. The Mind Unleashed. Retrieved from https://themindunleashed.com/2014/08/shaman-sees-mental-hospital.html

• Community Summit Aims To Break The Stigma Of Mental Illness[Image]. (2017, Aug. 2). Texas Public Radio. Retrieved from http://www.tpr.org/post/community-summit-aims-break-stigma-mental-illness