Anyone who has read R.D. Lang may think of madness in quite a different way than most view of it . Perhaps because he was aware that madness is a point of view and not necessarily a fact. Through some of his publications, we are shown that the mentally troubled family member is not necessarily the person with the actual problem - rather they are some kind of family scapegoat, albeit that they have sacrificed themselves in order to save other family members from themselves (their own madness). This, I believe, can also be played out with helpers.
Having worked for many years in the realms of mental health, I feel certain that generally - the helpers and the helped are not necessarily separate. I am not saying that people with mental health problems don't really have them, nor am I proposing that the helpers do have mental health problems. What I refer to is the split between the two. Me okay, you not, kind of thing.
What is rarely looked at is how this split occurs and, how a person's mental health difficulties can be exacerbated by the projection of the helpers own difficulties. A cruder term may be "dump" - the helper can and sometimes does dump their own troubled minds into the very person they are trying to help.
The problem is that psychology and its theories, although useful and often when experienced, are correct, can become like a religion. Its as though there are a set of life truths which are not only undeniable, but are to be lived and worked by. If you have a psychological problem then, there is a religion that can not only name it, but also help it.
Of course I have seen many helped by the intervention of therapy and having worked in this field I have some idea of the outcomes. So in part, I do have "the faith" - but, it is not just the theories I refer to. I refer to the people who use them to help others. Some of those people are, in my opinion, as troubled as those they help. They walk the walk, and talk the talk but, are completely unaware of their own difficulties.
Its bizarre in a way because the focus is so much on "them" (the patient or client) that its easy to be in denial of one's own troubled mind.
I will offer some examples at a later date but, for now I want to think only about the definition and diagnosis of troubled people. I am not thinking of a psychosis, rather I refer to depression/anxiety and so forth. I am thinking of how better some people feel about themselves if someone else is the anxious, the depressed, the unstable one and...how easy it is to project troubles onto or into those people.
It works in a similar way as when someone is doing a huge favour for someone else. The helped person is immediately put into the vulnerable position. So, for example, if someone is collecting someone else's children from school - it may be hard to criticise the helper and it may be that you would even accept criticism without argument because the helper is helping you...its too uncomfortable to do anything else. I guess some people would rebel against that and perhaps rather not have their kids picked up than be in the helped position - I only generalize.
There are people who thrive on other's hardships or troubles - not because they are unkind or would wish troubles on people - they thrive because by comparison, they are not (as) troubled and therefore are successful at living. Of course the human condition dictates that they too will be troubled - but not to the extent of it being so apparent as the depressive or the anxious person. Of course my first point applies I believe: the troubles can be projected onto and into the person who is acting there troubles out. (the depressed or anxious etc)
Love Jen
