How Do We Fix Society?

The last couple of days I have been watching a lot of documentaries about psychology.  For once it wasn't so heavily based in abnormal psychology, which is my usual focus.  I am well acquainted with most major disorders including personality disorders, mood disorders, dissociative disorders, psychotic disorders, pervasive developmental disorders, and others.

The first movie I watched was a documentary about sleep and what the benefits of sleep mean and what are the effects of sleep on the human mind.  I still need to do more research into some of the theories thrown about in this movie, because I'm always skeptical about theories and things until I do more research and review experiments that more concretely explain what is going on.  I'll get more into this later.  The second movie was about the effects of stress on the human body.  Lastly, I watched a special on solitary confinement and how this questionable prison treatment effects inmates and how it could prove to be more detrimental and actually reverse recovery for those subjected to isolation and humiliation over the course of years.

A theory proposed in the National Geographic special on Sleep was a finding that when one enters REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage of sleep that people report, once woken up during REM, that they are experiencing more negative emotions.  People disturbed from a non-REM dream took the same test and were discovered to report more positive emotions and outlook.  However, without REM sleep the human mind cannot fully rest and it was also discovered that those who received REM were more creative and able to make loose connections of words more easily and come to revelations.  One psychologist proposed that those suffering from Depression perhaps spend too much time in REM sleep, seeing as REM sleep tends to invoke more negative feelings in a person.  As mentioned earlier, I still want to do more research on this before I agree wholeheartedly and run around telling people "oh you get too much REM sleep".  And even if that was the case, what can a psychologist do to help their patient?  Is medication really the only solution to help those with chemical imbalances?

Now with stress I learned many interesting things backed up by years and years of research by separate scientists.  One neuroscientist discovered by observing and taking blood samples of some baboons in Africa that hierarchy in societies play a major role in how much stress someone will feel.  Another scientist conducted research in England called the "Whitehall Study".  Basically those on lower social statuses tend to accrue more stress.  More stress affects the body in numerous ways supported by scientific research:  reproductive system changes, dopamine (chemicals that tell your brain to enjoy life when you're doing something fun like a hobby or maybe trippin out on mdma) levels are decreased, fat cells are stored in dangerous locations that are linked to poor health such as higher risk of heart disease etc.  What's interesting is that those on lower social standings such as people living in the ghetto do have more to stress about and are constantly existing in an environment that is less than ideal when you can take a five minute subway ride and see out the window all the hundreds of two-storey big yard houses that are just miles away from your dingey, bullet-hole ridden, sunken roof townhome. How much more depressing would it be if when you have to walk by rich mansions to get to your run down home where you don't know if you'll be shot by a nearby gang when those rich folks up the hill are worrying about dandelions sprouting up in their trimmed lawns?  I'm not saying rich people never are stressed out, but certainly those who are poor are facing more stress and a feeling of powerlessness that aggravates stress levels.  I know, because I'm poor and stressed the fuck out about money and where I'm going to get my next meal.

Lastly we look at Solitary Confinement. This documentary suggests that solitary confinement changes people over time.  Their paranoia levels increase and they are more prone to lash out and act impulsively, which usually lands the offender in one of the most punishing vicious cycles this writer has ever encountered -- you're further isolated and have further privileges revoked which make you more susceptible of acting out which will thus further isolate you which makes you crazier and so on and so forth.  It really is sad and disgusting.  Why is this even allowed in America still?  I bet there are people out there that will exclaim "well it was their own fault for ending up in jail!" One of the inmates at solitary confinement was just a drug dealer and user.  A lot of these people they interviewed actually had non-violent offenses, but because they lashed out at a prison beforehand they're thrusted into this controversial jail.  The isolation eats away at them and those who were probably not even violent in nature are now becoming more volatile.  We are social creatures.  How does anyone think this is a good idea?

And now I'm trying to put this all  together.

Social isolation breeds psychosis.

Lack of sleep breeds psychosis.

Too much REM sleep breeds depression (supposedly, I'm still on the fence with this 'discoery').

Stress breeds unhappiness and health problems.

Health problems can cause more depression.

Now I examine my own life:  I suffer from insomnia, when I get paranoid or depressed I isolate myself from others, and whenever I do sleep I tend to sleep too much which would mean I probably end up in REM too much over the course of those 12-14 hour sleep binges, and since I'm low on the social structure (my income is well below the poverty line here in the USA) I suffer from a lot of stress which causes a lower immune system and causes more health issues.

I have a lot of shit going against me here and then I wonder why I'm so fucked in the head and suffering from mental disorders up my ass.

And let's not even focus on my life here. Look at those who end up in prison.  They even mention in the Solitary Confinement doco that a lot of those poor bastards who end up in there have mental illnesses.  But we closed state institutions because it was unethical?  Sometimes I wonder what have we done to help those who are still suffering from schizophrenia or anti-social personality disorder?  Sure, we closed the hospitals that would abuse them, take them in against their will, stick needles in them, bash them, rape them, and even lock them up in solitary confinement in a padded room for days or months according to their outlandish or violent behavior.  But what happened when all of those sick people were released when the hospitals closed?  Now we don't have facilities to HELP these people!

Now all we have is the broken prison system.  Or the streets.  Yeah, go curl up in your cardboard box, talk to those folk only you can see and hear, who tell you that those around you are out to kill you, and so you snap one day and grab some shoelaces from a discarded boot and choke someone on the street to death because you're convinced that you were sent by God to kill that sinner in their tracks before they could do Evil in the World.  And then you wake up in solitary confinement, your meals given to you in a slot, and you're told to take these pills this morning and later in the evening you're given more pills.  Is this really the life you should lead? You didn't ask for this illness.  You didn't know those voices inside your head were a fabrication of faulty wiring in your brain.  You didn't know.

And even those who do know the difference between right and wrong... they need REHABILITATION.  Not ISOLATION.  Not POLICE BRUTALITY.  NOR DISCRIMINATION.

Yeah, sure, those who are violent and dangerous need to be removed from society.  But can't we offer them counselling and help so that when they're released back into society we can minimize the relapse rate?  Minimize the suicide rate?

I feel like everything I'm learning in psychology is all connected.  Everything I'm learning in sociology and anthropology.  Everything I've been accumulating in my brain over my lifetime is all pointing to something.

Our society is broken.

Right down to the economics.

But I must end this blog post here. I need to further collect my thoughts.

But one fact remains solid in my mind:

Our Society. IS. BROKEN.