"[S]ensual touch releases hormones in the brain that allow us to feel “fully functional” as human beings. When those chemicals remain suppressed, the madam observes, people go to “very dark places”, such as internalising feelings of severe inadequacy and distress, or turning to unhealthy sexual behaviour. … “They’re told, ‘You can keep this down. Don’t feel that,’” she says, referring to the abstinence culture in faith-based communities. “But how do you deny what God put in a young body – which is that desire?”
…
“We’re more like therapists than anything, and not just for virgins,” she says. “We have people who come in who’ve lost their wives recently and just need somebody to talk to and cuddle with or be close to. It’s more about companionship. I think that’s the most rewarding part of it – when you give someone the intimacy they’re missing.”"
— TheGuardian, ‘More like therapists’: adult virgins turn to Nevada brothels for sex – and healing (2024)
"Unfortunately marriage and relationships are becoming another luxury item. Marriage and pairing off with a mate is correlated to your wealth."
— Scott Galloway | YouTube (2023) 0:55
"The psychotic individuals in our society, without intentionality, do not behave in ways that produce rewards. Perhaps some people believe that schizophrenics are parasites in relation to our society. This estimation of the worth or the lack of it regarding these individuals serves only to compound their suffering. The mentally ill and psychotic individuals, in particular, are destitute in social, personal and financial spheres.
Carl Roger’s disapproved of conditions of worth, and, in fact, he believed that human beings and other organisms strive to fulfill their potential. This striving represents what Roger’s termed “the actualizing tendency” and the “force of life.” …
The goal of therapy from the humanistic orientation is to allow the client to achieve congruence in term of his real self and his ideal self. This means that what a person is and what he wants to be should become the same as therapy progresses. Self-esteem that is achieved in therapy will allow the client to elevate his sense of what he is, and self-esteem will also lessen his need to be better than what he is. ...
“Conditions of worth” affect the mentally ill more severely than other people. Simple acceptance and empathy by a clinician may be curative to some extent, even for the chronically mentally ill."
— Ann Olson, Humanistic Intervention in Psychosis (2013)
"Down through the eons social and economic advantages accentuate and create deep-seated and systematic differences in outcomes between social groups.
There is evidence that psychological characteristics such as feelings of self-esteem and the sense of control that one feels over one’s destiny are strongly associated with social class and background."
— Marie Byrne, Self-Actualization Against The Odds
"Promiscuity, sex without commitment, and use of sex to manage stress or tension are all things that are frequently a part of male sexuality, whether we like it or not. But, male sexuality is not a disease, not a public health crisis, it is not evil, and it does not overpower men’s lives or choices. Shaming men for these behaviors isolates men, and ignores powerful, important and healthy aspects of masculinity. …
Male sexuality is portrayed as something that men must guard against, and it is often described as though it is a demonic force, lurking within our souls, which must be constrained, feared and even rejected. … Unfortunately, as long as we continue to shame and condemn men in general, and for specific sexual acts such as watching porn, we are merely isolating men. Further, we are exacerbating the problem, because removing porn or shaming men for their desires or fantasies, does not teach men how to be a sexually healthy man."
— David Ley, Shaming Men Doesn't Build Healthy Sexuality (2016)
"[My aunt] spent most of her life in a desolate environment deprived of the natural social connection that non-mentally ill people receive naturally due to the stigma of association with “crazy” people.
After being diagnosed with a schizoaffective disorder myself, I also fought very hard against this internalized stigma. I realized the sexuality of people with schizophrenia is very important for human connection and chose to make it a priority. … Even treating schizophrenia can make sexual dysfunction worse. … The efforts put into helping people with schizophrenia are so few and far between that it’s not even a topic people even think of when considering our well-being."
— Sarah Myers, The Importance of Sexual Health in People with Schizophrenia (2022)
"The fact is that the purpose of all psychotherapy is to help the patient improve their functioning."
— Allan N. Schwartz | MentalHelp.net