Preface#
Recently, I plan to resume the weekly journal series and change it to a series of one-hour creations per week (one hour is just a rough estimate, trying to control it within half a day on weekends), mainly to maintain a state of thinking and creation as much as possible. The creative content is not limited to any specific topic, but may cover recent topics that I have been thinking about.
Asians don't need therapy.
This is a sentence I heard on a talk show. Although the jokes made on talk shows should not be taken too seriously, the meaning behind this sentence is probably understood by every East Asian.
Coincidentally, I have also been thinking about some topics related to mental health recently, and have some understanding of them.
Let's discuss it in two parts. One is about the pursuit of mental health, and the other is about methods of psychotherapy.
Mental Health#
The first time I seriously questioned the concept of mental health was when I was locked down at home in Shanghai and saw many people posting ways to seek psychological counseling online. I understand the good intentions behind this, but still find it ironic. Do I really need psychological counseling? What I need is just to go out and get some sun, live a normal life.
And recently, when I was thinking about whether I need to undergo psychotherapy due to some things, I once again fell into doubt about the pursuit of "mental health". Assuming that "mental health" is indeed an achievable state, what good does it do if only I am healthy? What can you do if the people around you are not healthy? In an unhealthy society, most people's mental health problems are not psychological problems but social problems.
It seems that modern people have a kind of worship for the pursuit of mental health. But can the mind really be healthy?
If we compare it to physical health, who doesn't have some diseases like hypertension, diabetes, breast hyperplasia, cervical spondylosis...? Life goes on, right? Living within a controllable range, that's how it is. I think mental health is the same. Health, a childhood without trauma, is already a luxury. What we must accept is that we are people who can fall ill at any time. The so-called reconciliation with oneself is also about this.
And why do we pursue mental health? For happiness?
There is some truth to this. For example, the concept I have always accepted is that happiness in intimate relationships is due to mutual respect and healthy communication. In other words, the key to happiness lies in the psychological health of people in their interactions and relationships.
But is this true?
Observing many seemingly happy couples around me, it seems that it is not because both parties are psychologically mature and healthy, but because their unhealthy aspects happen to complement each other. In other words, the key to happiness is a willingness to give and take.
Psychotherapy#
The pursuit of mental health seems to be a concept that only exists in modern times. I tried to think, if the need for psychological well-being is one of the most fundamental human needs, then did people before modern times have no pursuit of their mental states?
Indeed, in the traditional Chinese concept, there has never been a mention of pursuing mental health, but there are many guidelines on how one should hold their "heart". For example, Wang Yangming, who vowed to become a saint, left behind an eternal saying before his death: "This heart is bright, what else needs to be said?" Yes, is there a need to judge Wang Yangming's mental health as healthy or not by modern standards?
The joys and sorrows of human beings do not resonate with each other. Often, I see people on the Internet complaining that white counselors cannot understand the anxieties and fears of East Asians. Helpless.
But Chinese people have their own methods of psychotherapy. In recent years, fortune-telling, seeking gods and buddhas, and other metaphysical practices have become popular among young people. It must be said that these practices do contribute to mental health. Who can say that their effectiveness is inferior to cognitive therapy? And most importantly, for a country with 600 million people earning only 1000 yuan a month, psychotherapy is truly a luxury.
There are many dimensions to how we view the world, and no one is absolutely right or wrong. If science and the psychoanalysis/psychology derived from it are another kind of redemption after the death of God, then the Chinese people, who have never had a belief for thousands of years, have already formed their own redemption ticket.
Regarding the concept of mental health, I have indeed become somewhat "disenchanted".