Mental Illness or Rebellion?

The rate of emotional difficulties and self-destructive behaviors has increased since the advent of the Industrial Revolution, with dramatic deterioration in the last generation. In attempting to understand root causes of our malaise, common sense tells us that rather than focus on our genes, which have not changed, we should focus on society, which has significantly changed. It is argued here that much of what we call mental illness is essentially a rebellion—more often passive rather than active—against an increasingly dehumanizing society in which consumption, production, and technology are worshipped at the expense of life. It is also argued that society, including mental health treatment, has become radically industrialized and commercialized, resulting in a loss of historical antidotes to emotional malaise such as autonomy, meaning, and community.