Twitter Rant (best encapsulated by this tweet: We are overselling science. We are overhyping genetics and neuroscience all the while our society crumbles under neoliberalism.)
I went on a bit (okay it was 50+ tweets) of a Twitter rant today. Someone asked me to make it all in one place so it is easily shareable. So, here it is. It was completely off the cuff. I just wrote what I felt.
This might be a decently long rant. I lost interest in the science of eating disorders a long time ago. Maybe 2-3 yrs ago? It just didn’t interest me anymore. I was initially interested in science communication. I figured I had the background in neuro and genetics and I liked writing. I have also always been outspoken, so it was easy to be so vocal and it was challenging in fun ways. But last few years I’ve stopped giving AF about it all. Indeed, if it wasn’t for @andrealala89, the blog would be dead.
Partly it is that I work a lot but the other part of it is that even when I do have time, I don’t have an interest. Why? Because so much of the research seems like a waste. So much of it is low-hanging fruit type research, which I think is a by-product of publish or perish and how grants work (err don’t really). And so little of what I come across addresses the ACTUAL ISSUES that in my opinion are the main problem: policy and politics.
Should we put millions of dollars into another genetics study or neuroimaging study or into advocating for more resources and services? In the last few months, I have started to feel that this blog is almost a disservice. I want to go back and edit my old posts. I want to go back and delete every time I said we need more research in order to treat EDs. We need MORE genetic and neuro studies.
I don’t believe that for a second anymore. I think I did before because I was studying neuroscience, because I live in a huge city with access to services. Because I live in a country where a lot for my healthcare is covered by taxpayers. Because I had access to @sheenasplace. But right now, every time another attractive “life coach” in their 20s or 30s who promises to help you cure your problems with food follows this blog, I roll my eyes. We have individualised the problem and we are individualising the solutions. And everything comes down to $$.
We are mistakenly IMO hyper individualising mental health issues: It is YOUR brain. It is not your fault, but it is YOUR brain. So the rationale is then that the solution should also be individual. Make YOUR peace with food and body. Oh and why should others pay? We are hunting for nucleotide-based causes of mental health issues and all the solutions I’m seeing are those that revolve around $$. For-profit Tx centers. Manualised therapies with courses so you can be certified. Private coaching. $$$$$$.
I remember at ICED when I first met @TheCowThatSkis - we bonded over our confusion about all the private Tx sponsors of the conference. We are individualising the illness and we are increasing selling recovery. LITERALLY. Like I said recently, I often can’t tell apart treatment websites/life coach websites/etc. from Gap commercials.
I am just so sick of how completely removed discussions about mental health are from politics, economics, #sdoh. This has just got to end or we are never going to improve anything. We will just all have expensive pills so we don’t feel shit. I’m not being melodramatic. Who ISN’T on an antidepressant? Has anyone looked at wages over last few decades? Wealth inequality? Poverty?
We are screwed if we keep pretending the anxieties and stresses that adolescents and young adults feel is due to their faulty genes.
The mantra that people should first focus on recovery seems so removed from reality of so many people’s lives. They are not people you’ll likely see on Twitter or in other social media networks. They might not label their issue as ED or anxiety or depression. (There are a lot of cross-cultural, language, gender, age issues at play IMO in terms of self-identifying with a mental health issue).
But I’m just sick of baby boomers being oblivious to the reality of the lives of adolescents and young adults today and how that contributes to mental health – apparently rising mental health – issues. When we spend our time looking at problematic thin ideal. We absolutely HAVE TO take into account capitalism and the role of money. We HAVE TO take into account the pressure to be perfect.
And few things anger me more than idiotic platitudes about how we should stop striving to be perfect and we should just chill. A lot of us live in societies that idolize hard work and perfection. More than that, it is increasingly necessary just to make it.
The attitude that people should just chill out and it’ll all be fine is so dismissive of the reality of ^ competition in school, in work. With high-stakes testing, ^ economic inequality, ^ student debt, ^ part-time/casual “sharing economy” BS jobs, we are focusing on genes.
I’m just so sick of treatment for EDs being centered around making “peace” w/ food, weight while the same ppl say EDs are not *really* abt that. So, okay. If it is not REALLY abt that. If it is issues with emotional regulation. Anxiety. So on. Why not address the causes of anxiety? But we probably won’t you know why? Cos who is going to fight against neoliberalism? Sure isn’t profitable for the for-profit Tx centers.
Trauma and abuse, poverty and inequality, pressure to succeed and be perfect, oppression. All of this is political.
OF COURSE we will find some alleles that predispose people to EDs. BUT SO WHATTTTTT. SO WHAT. What are we going to do with that information? Make individualised treatment? FOR WHOM? For the people who will lose access to health care when Orange Hitler & co will repeal Obamacare? When Wynne’s gov (in Ont) cuts $1 billion for our healthcare services?
I’m cool with that research being done. It is fine. I’m very much for basic research funding. BUT I AM absolutely NOT pro the rhetoric that we absolutely need that science to improve recovery in EDs and other mental health conditions. We are overselling science. We are overhyping genetics and neuroscience all the while our society crumbles under neoliberalism. If we just focus on finding the biological causes of MH issues w/o looking at social & political milieu, we are feeding into neoliberalism.
Biology might explain why some ppl are more likely to develop AN and others to develop BN or develop an ED in the first place. But, but it is not going to correct all the social, political, and economic drivers of anxiety and depression that feed into eating disorders. And ya, we can prob develop pills for that sure and make some white CEO really rich and morph into Brave New World.
(As an example:) People in the LGBTQ community have higher rates of mental health issues than straight people. Is it because of the genetic differences between LGBTQ people and straight people or because of the oppression and trauma they face living in a homophobic society? Hmm. Hmm.
And so I think we have to think about all the social, economic, and political factors at play for two reasons: one, focusing on fighting toxic neoliberal policies improves the lives of the 99% and two, it is arguably easier to change than genetics.
I just worry that we are so focused on hoping that science will somehow save us and will help us cure EDs we r missing the bigger battle.
So when you read articles about science research about mental health. My advice is go: Oh, cool . Probably wrong, but cool. And then get back to advocating for all the various policies that will improve the lives of regular folks.
I just wonder: What will help reduce rates of anxiety, depression, EDs, etc. Genetics research or increasing min wage to a living wage?!
Also: We cannot confuse neural correlates of certain mental states with the notion that those states were CAUSED by neurobiological differences. Like you know, there’s lots of research on epigenetics of say PTSD. Sure, genes play a role. But lots of social factors ^ risk of trauma too.
The choice of whether we focus on genes vs social factors that ^ risk of trauma/abuse, like poverty, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia is, IMO, a political choice. Certain parties benefit when we focus on genes vs. social issues that, more often or not, require government $.
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