Modern society sets impossibly high standards to reach
Madam Editor, In the western world and in Ireland in particular, we live in an era where we have more money, more hospitals, more medicines, more cars, more TV’s, more food, more phones, more leisure time, more opportunities, more education, more freedom, more “self” help groups, more “new age” advocates and more political correctness. And yet, we have more divorce, more depression, more addicts, more violent crime, more burnout, more stress, and unfortunately more suicide. We have more of everything except fulfilment, we seek satis- faction everywhere. Sometimes, even when we find that satisfaction, it lasts a very short time and never fills us up. We also have more organisations directly involved in suicide care, almost 50, with more fund raising events, more counsellors, more funding and more awareness of self harm than ever before. And, despite all these commendable efforts, people are still taking their own lives in large numbers. Our culture tells us how we should look, what we should wear, what we should eat, and even how we should feel. Society sets the standards that we must try to reach. Most, if not all of these standards are impossible to reach, thus instilling in people a sense of failure, a sense of impossible goals, a sense of hopelessness. Some forms of depression can be caused by chemical imbalance, and this cause is a small percentage of the depression in this country. I am not an expert in mental health, but I know that, if there is no physical cause for depression, that depression is the expression of hopelessness. Our focus is on physical needs and physical blessings instead of spiritual well being and spiritual blessings. In my belief, counselling must start where the Bible starts; with knowledge of God and our identity in Christ. If we really knew God, our behaviour would change dramatically and immediately. Instead of looking around us for answers and reasons, we should look upwards. What determines our mental and spiritual health and freedom is a true understanding of God and a right relationship with Christ alone.
Mise le meas agus buíochas,
Kevin Glancy Carrick- on- Shannon