It's Not Just In Your Head

In this episode, we take a deeper dive into the origins and psychological and international implications of the existence and widespread use of the DSM - Diagnostic Statistical Manual - which is the bible of mental disorders used by psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, social workers and psychotherapists. When you seek therapy through either public or  private insurance, you must be diagnosed with something from the DSM for insurance to pay for services. Psychiatrists prescribe medication as treatment based on diagnoses within the DSM.

Where did this model of understanding human suffering come from? Why are biological/individual explanations for mental, emotional, and behavioral phenomena dominant in the field of mental health? How much do culture, politics, economics, and power influence our conceptualization of mental health within the USA and around the world? Does imperialism find ways to use the DSM its adjacent industries as an instrument of "soft power" to maintain and spread US cultural  hegemony?

-Wiki page on the DSM-5:

ATTENTION! This is a Boring Dystopia/Obligatory 'don't sue us' message:  This podcast provides numerous different perspectives and criticisms of  the mental health space, however, it should not be considered medical  advice. Please consult your medical professional with regards to any  health decisions or management.

Get early access to full episodes at patreon.com/itsnotjustinyourhead. Email us at [email protected]

Tati Cosper contacted us to raise awareness about the connections between hunger, poverty and mental health in America - so we did an episode on it with her! Why are people malnourished in the richest country on Earth? How is it that people can work a full time job or multiple jobs, and not be able to feed their children? We explore stats such as "school-aged children who face severe hunger are 56.2% more likely to have PTSD and 53.1% more likely to have severe depression," and question how it is that 40% of food gets thrown in the trash in America. Is capitalism the best economic system for the production and distribution of food for children and working families?

Why are people malnourished in the richest country on Earth?

3 Devastating Effects of Hunger on the Body

To be thin but not healthy - The body-image dilemma may affect health among female university students in China

Weight status and body image perceptions in adolescents: current perspectives

Food Insecurity and Bulimia Nervosa in the United States https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6555671/

As Thanksgiving Approaches, Fewer Than Half of Households With Kids Very Confident About Affording Needed Food

ATTENTION! This is a Boring Dystopia/Obligatory 'don't sue us' message:  This podcast provides numerous different perspectives and criticisms of  the mental health space, however, it should not be considered medical  advice. Please consult your medical professional with regards to any  health decisions or management.

To hear the full episode early become a patron at patreon.com/itsnotjustinyourhead

Max has been wanting to explore this for a while and Harriet gave him permission to do this as a solo episode - but it's not really an episode. It's an actual mindfulness meditation. Max would like listeners to try using this meditation as they would any guided recording (relaxed sitting or laying position, eyes closed) and to give him feedback on the experience.  This is a sample of what could be developed into a guided meditation series that blends traditional mindfulness (increasing focus, relaxation, compassion) and political education.  

ATTENTION! This is a Boring Dystopia/Obligatory 'don't sue us' message:  This podcast provides numerous different perspectives and criticisms of  the mental health space, however, it should not be considered medical  advice. Please consult your medical professional with regards to any  health decisions or management.

In this episode, Harriet and Max offer different interpretations of the Capitol Hill riots and what caused them from both a personal psychological perspective as well as from a more "zoomed out" view that takes history and broader factors into account. Harriet gives an overview of the last several decades and how the decline of value of the "white male wage" due to both neoliberal austerity policies (deindustrialization, outsourcing, automation) and capitalist divide and conquer strategies have played a role in creating the conditions of the right-wing movement we see today. Max shares his views on how the rise of extremely sophisticated psychological influence operations "on the battlefield of social media" explain some of the technical mechanisms that has amplified, spread, and strengthened the far right.   

Commanding The Trend: Social media as information warfare by Lt. Col. Jarred Prier, U.S. Air Force https://perconcordiam.com/commanding-the-trend/  

ATTENTION! This is a Boring Dystopia/Obligatory 'don't sue us' message:  This podcast provides numerous different perspectives and criticisms of  the mental health space, however, it should not be considered medical  advice. Please consult your medical professional with regards to any  health decisions or management.

Get early access to our full episode on what caused the Capitol Hill riots at patreon.com/itsnotjustinyourhead. Email us at [email protected]

We spoke to one of our supporters and comrades, fellow mental health and social worker Eric Piece about the intersections of LGBT issues and capitalism. Eric identifies as a gay man and just as strongly as a union member and socialist. He highlighted the ways labor unions have always offered stronger protections for the LGBT community, and some of the pitfalls of thinking of LGBT people first as people with sexual orientations and gender identities as opposed to people with material, class interests first. How did Pride get co-opted and commodified? Why are white gay men painted as gentrifiers in diverse urban environments? Did Reagan use the AIDS crisis of the 1980s to divide and conquer the working class? All of this and more in this episode.

ATTENTION! This is a Boring Dystopia/Obligatory 'don't sue us' message:  This podcast provides numerous different perspectives and criticisms of  the mental health space, however, it should not be considered medical  advice. Please consult your medical professional with regards to any  health decisions or management.

Sneak peak of our episode with Eric Piece, social worker, union member, DSA member, about the links between LGBT and class struggle. Full episode at patreon.com/itsnotjustinyourhead

Millions of tenants are at risk of being thrown out onto the street this year due to the covid-19 eviction moratoria being lifted federally and throughout different states and regions. The mental health field is ill-equipped to conceptualize any way to treat such widespread and looming trauma, and the world of tenant organizing might have something to teach us. Could it be possible that building solidarity through tenant organizing within buildings, across buildings, throughout neighborhoods, can prevent trauma and increase social bonds? In speaking with Talia Smith, tenant organizer with Omaha Tenants United and Autonomous Tenants Union Network, we came to think that tenant organizing could very well be a modality of healing just as much as psychotherapy can be.

Omaha Tenants United: 

Autonomous Tenants Union Network: 

ATTENTION! This is a Boring Dystopia/Obligatory 'don't sue us' message:  This podcast provides numerous different perspectives and criticisms of  the mental health space, however, it should not be considered medical  advice. Please consult your medical professional with regards to any  health decisions or management.