WANDERING, LOST & WOUNDED SOULS UNDERSTANDING PROBLEMS RELATED TO MENTAL HEALTH

By Ann Martin-McAllen Ph.D.

The book is oriented toward healthcare professionals and such students. Also to teachers, their students, law-in-forcement, and the criminal justice system, as well as the general public. It identifies the many causes of mental health problems that have resulted in the violence and deaths of many innocent people, sadly, children in our culture. It also looks at the various types of treatment available inorder to provide people with the help they need, but must be able to connect with them emotionally. It looks at why so much rage and trauma, and what can be done to change peoples beliefs, attitudes and behavior, allowing individuals to live fulfilling and happy lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Jul 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9798765234112

Book preview

WANDERING, LOST

& WOUNDED SOULS:

UNDERSTANDING

PROBLEMS RELATED

TO MENTAL HEALTH

ANN MARTIN-McALLEN, Ph.D.

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Copyright © 2023 Ann Martin-McAllen, Ph.D.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means,

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except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use

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intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you

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ISBN: 979-8-7652-3412-9 (sc)

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2023907965

Balboa Press rev. date:   04/25/2023

Dedication

This book is dedicated to four men who inspired me, encouraged me, were my advisors and guides, teaching me many things. Beginning with my father and role model, Dr. Henry W. Martin, who told me when I was young that just because I was a girl didn’t mean I couldn’t accomplish whatever I wanted to accomplish.

He was followed by my mentor and friend, Dr. Sheldon C. Downes, the architect of the Rehabilitation Studies Program at East Carolina University. He introduced me to Existentialism, Humanistic Philosophy and the incredible people like Viktor Frankl, Rollo May, Abraham Maslow, and Erich Fromm. Next came Dr. William Kane who was not only my advisor in the doctoral program at the University of New Mexico but also my guru and guide into the world of Health Promotion.

Finally, Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Ben Klein, recognized that something else was wrong when I went through the pain clinic. He suspected, rightly so, the auto crash injuries were more than just injuries to my back. He, as did the rest of the men on this list, empower me, giving me back my independence and self-respect.

Everyone should be blessed as was I with such a group of brilliant, generous, compassionate, and Spiritual men.

Contents

Dedication

Preface

Introduction

1     Mental Health In America: Our Disgrace

2     What Is Mental Health?

3     How Does It Manifest?

4     How Are We Affected By Others’ Mental Health?

5     Substance Abuse And Other Addictions

6     Factors That Contribute To Mental Health Problems

7     Where Do These Problems Begin?

8     What About Therapy?

9     What Can A Therapist Do And What Should Be Expected From Therapy?

10   Guiding Us Through The Maze Called Life!

11   Where Do We Go From Here?

Acknowledgements

Resources

THE HIDDEN ROOM

(Gets to the heart of us all that is concealed,

unseen, a confidential part of who we are!)

Deep within the silent recesses of our minds

is a hidden room…

A room which contains our secret self,

It contains our inner most thoughts,

Thoughts that seem sometimes to be only faint shadows,

Shadows of reality, of hope, of fear,

Within this room is the secret to who we really are,

Our private self that we keep hidden away,

This room is our protection from others,

From anyone really knowing us,

It protects our vulnerability,

We keep this room protected and sheltered from harm,

From the light of recognition,

If only we could see in this room,

If we could enter it with our consciousness,

As we touch each other’s lives,

We threaten to open the door to this room,

We fight it not trusting what will happen

if we allow the door to open,

Allowing a little light to come into the room

to reveal what is there,

Who we are!.

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Preface

This book is the first in a series based on The Seven Dimensions of Wellness. These books can and maybe seen as a BRIDGE between the present-day perceptions and future reality. It begins by exploring Emotional/Psychological Wellness, known as Mental Health.

Sometime ago, I received very distressing news about a young woman who after crying out for help from her family, overdosed on pain medication before they could get to her. Hearing the sorrow of this wasted life, cut short because of the pain and anguish she seemed to have been feeling, it spoke to me touching that possibly super sensitive fragment of my heart. What does this tragedy say to you and/or make you feel? If a person is on pain medication, then there must be pain involved whether physical, mental, or emotional. And if you are aware of and/or understand the Mind-Body Connection, you’ll see how emotional pain can be connected to physical pain.

Hearing about this tragedy brought immediately to mind the many individuals who are in great distress and are not being heard or if they are being heard, their loved ones may not know what to do or where to go for help. This sounds so ridiculous. Yet when we continue to hear about all the shootings especially by individuals who have been identified as having mental health problems, we hear or should be hearing a wakeup call to pay attention and do something about it. But because of the stigma in this country regarding mental health, it is not surprising that people are afraid to or at least hesitant to seek out professional help.

Additionally, the other reason can be the lack of substantial mental health treatment due to the lack of funding/reimbursement for these needed services. Even individuals who have met the criteria and received a disability, collecting Social Security Benefits and have Medicare, may not be able to get treatment because, Medicare may not cover or pay for substance abuse treatment. But will pay for detox in a hospital.

The other important possibly is that the mental health provider is not trained appropriately so they are unable to get to the real cause of the dysfunction. An accurate diagnosis should be followed up with appropriate treatment. Next, we will look at the effects of childhood trauma on one’s life.

A few minutes after hearing about the young woman’s heartbreaking death, still reeling from the emotional pain I was feeling about the tragedy, I sighted another disturbing situation. Along the street on the sidewalk walked a youngish woman pushing a cart, who appeared to be homeless. Immediately on seeing her, the thought came into my mind about the lost souls here on earth that feel adrift or stuck in their own grief and bewilderment not knowing where to turn or what to do next, just wandering around in a sort of daze or state of bewilderment.

I then felt a great desire to write a message on Facebook, which may seem very strange, to the woman who took the pain medication to stop her pain and became brain-dead. What I wanted to say was, I weep for you, for your loss, for your feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. My thoughts following this were, maybe if someone reads this it will save a life. They will know or at least be aware that there is someone out there who cares about them and their pain even if they have never met.

The grief I feel about these distressing incidences only builds on the heartbreaking reports and the terrible anguish caused by the loss of human life at the various places like the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2012. This is partly because of all the innocent children, the victims of this tragedy, in addition to the six adult staff members. We, as a nation, wept for all the victims. This calamity was just one of the many horrifying events that have afflicted and maybe even cursed our nation over the past several years.

The Sandy Hook Elementary School disaster has been described as the deadliest mass shooting at a high school or grade school at that time in US history, and the second-deadliest shooting by a single person in our history, after the massacre on April 16, 2007, at the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia. Thirty-two people were killed and 17 wounded. An additional devastating event was the Columbine High School massacre which occurred on April 20, 1999, in Columbine, Colorado which killed a total of 12 students and one teacher.

Plus, more shootings keep occurring all too frequently such as the February 14, 2018, shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida where 17 people were killed and 17 more with fatal injuries and the Sutherland Springs, Texas, First Baptist Church on November 5, 2017, killing 26 and injuring 20 others.

Then there was the Las Vegas tragedy in 2017 of 59 deaths including the shooter and as many as 422 injuries from gunfire, totaling 851 injured. In addition to these we have the Santa Fe High School shootings in Santa Fe, Texas in the Houston metropolitan area on May 18, 2018. Eight students and two teachers were fatally shot, and thirteen others were wounded. This doesn’t begin to mention all the terrible tragedies which have occurred and still are.

So, what is, causing all the pain and sorrow? What are the reasons and the root of all this anguish, the agony that would cause an individual to inflict such horror? These are the questions that distress us. So why write about this and where do we go from here? Yes, I said, ‘we’. We keep hearing about one tragedy after another, but not enough seems to be happening to make the changes that need to be made so these appalling acts will cease to occur. But the answer, while it may not be considered simple, is quite evident. It can be as straight forward as education and comprehension. Looking at what the person’ s needs are that are not recognized and then not met.

I’m writing this book in the hopes that through education, it will help teach the people in our society, who need help and/or know someone that needs help, that assistance is available. It is therefore important to destigmatize mental health and to create a new awareness and understanding of the importance that this consciousness can bring.

My Master’s Degree is in Rehabilitation Studies. Rehabilitation Counseling for Substance Abuse was one of my tracks and the main focus of my studies and work. I have seen many individuals who may have appeared as lost souls turn their lives around and become productive and fulfilled citizens. Hence, I know we have the power and ability in our country to make the changes that need to be made, to address the issues that are haunting us and our citizens. The cries for help seem to be falling on deaf ears. But the real problem is that when you have dysfunctional people controlling the money and the way it is allocated and spent, you can’t expect much difference.

The previously mention tragedies and those not mentioned, should be a wakeup call for us as a Nation, forcing us to face the reality of the waste of human life and what these individuals could have given back to not just the Nation, but the world. I believe there is an answer that is staring us in the face. The Introduction will explain the concepts and ideas that will address our concerns and the problems that are facing and humiliating us as a Nation. It will also reveal and validate how changes in our country’s perceptions and values can bring about a whole new culture related to serving the needs of the people.

Introduction

This book is created to be used as a guide conveying an awareness of the problems linked to mental health in this country and the delivery of such services. It is written in part for the layperson, meaning for the average person, so they will become more aware of what comprises mental health and its problems. Also, it is important that they comprehend the role they may be playing in others’ lives and how others are and have affected their lives.

Just as importantly, it is also written for health care providers to whom people come for health care services. (Later we will provide according to the World Health Organization and Health Promotion Model what constitutes HEALTH.) Another group of professionals that need to be included are teachers. They are in a position furthermore, to witness behavior that could be the beginning of dysfunctional conduct, of children and young adults acting inappropriately when trying to get their needs met. All these professionals need to be enlightened as to what constitutes good mental health, so they can be aware of and able to consider the beginning or symptoms of dysfunctional behavior. Recognizing the troubled child, who maybe a wandering, lost and a wounded Soul.

The evidence suggests that there are many individuals who consider themselves to be health care professionals, which include mental health professionals, who have no real knowledge or understanding of the people who come to them for services. There seems to be a wide gap between the quality of the services rendered and what they could be. This is due to the fact they have little or no awareness of the clients/patients to whom they are providing health care services.

Another equally important organization that needs greater understanding in mental health issues is law enforcement. They are faced with individuals who suffer with various mental health problems and act out in part through rage and other behaviors that are threatening to the public as well as police officers. They need education that will assist them in correctly identifying what the nature of the situation is before them and deal with it properly and of benefit to both the individual, the public and the police officer.

My hope is that by reading this book they will gain more realization of the needs of the people to whom these services are provided. Moreover, that the provided services will be of a higher quality then have been delivered in many incidences in the past. Another population, to whom this book will help prepare for the delivery of quality services, are students studying to become healthcare professionals and teachers. Also, any person who has contact with the public in general needs more awareness. From a broad-spectrum, this book is an overview of the realities of life.

Because of the purpose of this book and its contents it is not intended to be written at academic research level. Therefore, I acknowledge candidly the limitation of the data and assert that my analytic models are presented for speculation and illustrative purpose only.

As stated earlier, educate can be the beginning of the answer to the mental health problems which at times end in disaster not only for the person with the mental health disorder, but to others who are innocent victims. Education needs to be provided for the vast numbers of the citizens in our society who are vulnerable and may develop mental health problems, as well as for the public. For this is not only a mental health problem, but also a public health problem.

Public health is the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting and health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public private, communities and individuals. Moreover, health includes not just physical health but also, mental, and social health as well. This book looks at and uses the World Health Organization’s definition of health which describes health as more than just the physical aspects of one’s wellbeing.

Education may seem like a very simple ineffective way to tackle the problem, but in educating people we have at least a chance of changing their perceptions and awareness, as well as their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. This is very important since beliefs, attitudes and behaviors are learned, passing from one generation to the next.

Individuals are susceptible to developing mental health problems or disorders when they come from a dysfunctional family. Additionally, our culture seems to ignore the fact that dysfunction goes from one generation to another, if it is not given the recognition it deserves. Dysfunction means having the inability to perform or operate in a normal or proper manner. Part of which can be seen, as a person being unable to deal adequately with normal social relations. Whereas human beings who are functional realize as least to some extent, their own potential, can cope with normal stresses of life, and work productively with the ability to give and receive love.

In some cases, it is because of what is referred to as inaccurate perceptions due to faulty internal filters, meaning personal interpretations of information they have received or things they have observed. These inaccurate perceptions can be causing problems which result in even social isolation. The behavior of mentally and emotionally troubled persons may have characteristics that prevent their establishing and maintaining relationships with others. In order, to understand it, we should begin by looking at the problems in a family. In many instances the children, regardless of their age, because now they, which can be called adult children, maybe acting out their pain, suffering, shame, and grief.

This book will go into greater depth regarding dysfunctional families and the affects dysfunction has on all the members of the family as well as the many ways the family can be dysfunctional. We also will look at how people consider their family to be normal, meaning their belief is that this is the way families function and behave. It also will bring attention to the effects of the mental health disorder on others, whether they are members of the family or significant others.

As I stated earlier this is a Public Health Problem. What is needed is a campaign directed at ending the stigma related to mental health! Our society created and maintains the present state of affairs and our society can remake our thinking and beliefs to healthy ones. Yes, it is not as simple as that, but if we examine the mentality that exists in this country, looking at our values, our prejudices, we will recognize the evolution this country is going through. Nothing is stagnate! The thoughts, beliefs, and energy we put out are forever changing. So, in what direction do we want the change to occur?

Do we keep the status quo with all the crying out by our citizens for help or do we recognize the need for change and set out on creating a plan that will result in many lives being saved and even becoming productive? It is very important that we create a plan and follow through on it becoming a reality. It may be very difficult. We could receive much negative feed-back as to its worth and necessity. The education can begin with children being taught in school not to be prejudice and judgmental. To be kind and accept people’s differences whether it is racial, religious traditions, cultural or other things seen as different or strange.

Nevertheless, being the eternal optimist that I am, and having the faith in God and my fellow man and woman, I know we can come up with a workable solution to the horrifying events which keep us experiencing the negative consequence of the lost souls who are crying out for help and not really heard. This book can add to the beginning of the wakeup call promoting awareness. It can also, promote the courage needed to face our denial and the disowning of the problems which help cause and perpetuate the continued dysfunction that exists in our culture. This could assist in facing the lack of a compassionate solution(s) and possibly making these desperately crucial solutions a reality.

There are many reasons why an individual develops mental health problems or disorders. Obviously, these reasons can be complex with various circumstances which facilitate its development. Let’s begin with the understanding that beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors are learned. People, at least to some extent, do what they see as being acceptable behavior, behaviors that are exhibited in the culture or segment of society in which they live and are familiar, or they may do the opposite by rebelling and acting out. They are just trying to get their needs met, if sometimes in a destructive manner. We will show how important it is for people to stop being so judgmental and allow individuals to be themselves if it is not harmful to others. This means people are entitled to their own beliefs, as long as their beliefs don’t result in hurting someone or other people.

Individuals tend to emulate their parent(s), families, significant others, and additional people they admire and/or respect. Their beliefs, attitudes and behaviors are seen as normal, as customs or a way of life that everyone performs and experiences. This tends to be, at least in part, why dysfunction passes from one generation to the next and continues unless and until some sort of intervention takes place and changes their reality of what is normal.

Going back, we were horrified when we heard about the killing of the 20 children and 6 staff members at the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut. Some of the questions that immediately came to mind after hearing about this tragedy were: why did it happen, what would cause someone to do something as horrifying as that? This followed with what could have been done to prevent it! And of course, these questions pertain to the other tragedies as well, which continue to occur.

When you see and/or listen to the messages the people have left/made before they committed the crime – the violence, it gives us a clue. On the PBS program, POV, entitled 15 to Life speaking about the children and adolescences who commit crimes, it was said that we have let them down, failed them. This story makes me very sad and angry. So, what does this say about our society? What does this say about our values? Are we a product of our culture, of our upbringing? Are we aware as parents what our children need? Do our schools promote honesty and integrity? I believe it demonstrates our priorities. I weep for all the wandering, lost and wounded souls, who are adrift because our society doesn’t really care or can’t be bothered. Or at least that is the way it seems.

What are the setups for bad things to happen? What about all the bullying that goes on in our society, especially in school? I believe that bullying is a symptom, the same as the various abuses are symptoms of a sick society. (See Chapter 6, Factors That Contribute to Metal Health Problems) Other parts of our culture which I see as very destructive are the incredibly loathsome films that are made glamorizing and glorifying the hateful and destructive world and behavior related to drugs, violence, sexual abuse, and the problems related to this mentality. To some people it seems to be exciting and alluring to be caught up in that world. The films are so sickening, that I can’t stand to watch them. I find them repulsive, repugnant, and hateful. They create a world where especially young people are becoming victims of this culture. We will explore later why this harmful behavior and obsession in some strange way meets the needs of those who are attracted to it.

This book will explore how mental health services are practiced and or delivered in our society. It also will look at what comprises mental health disorders as described by the National Institute of Mental Health. It also will provide a list of what can be interpreted as an individual’s fears and doubts. We’ll delve into substance abuse and other addictions and look at why someone uses drugs, and what are the other addictions that people practice. Also, the negative results of these addictions and the devastating behaviors that result from their utilization. On the bright side, we will explore what can be done to treat the individuals and put them on their pathway to recovery.

We all have needs. But we don’t always pursue the most constructive way to get our needs met. We will look at what can be done to approach this in a healthy, productive fashion. Additionally, we’ll look at what is certainly behind the beliefs, attitudes and behaviors that cause individuals to take the path of destruction rather than that of more beneficial development and growth.

In exploring what is in fact happening in our culture that has caused persons to give up on life, we will look at fear and examine how it controls our beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. Marianne Williamson is a Spiritual activist, author, lecturer and founder of The Peace Alliance, a grass roots campaign supporting legislation which has been before Congress to establish a United States Department of Peace. She says that we are coming either from a place of love or of fear. What does this mean? We will explore it to a greater degree in Chapter 11, Where Do We Go From Here?

We will explore this extraordinarily philosophy and see how we are all affected by it. How do we see things? Do we see people as destructive or as children of God? Whatever that means to you! This book will demonstrate how you are the captain or creator of your life. It also will reveal how your thoughts become your reality. You are responsible for the life you have created! But there is also the reality of the affect our environment has on all this.

Most importantly, we must have hope. This word ‘hope’ can provide you with the trust, faith, and direction you desire for your life. You will be able to investigate your own expectations and the level of optimism that is truly yours. You will see how to understand the possibility and likelihood that you can create the life you yearn for, that you aspire and seek. So, what is really going on in your mind or that of someone you love? We also will look at people’s feelings of helplessness and hopelessness.

Finally, my PhD is in Health Promotion and Health Education. My proposed approached to mental health services uses and is based on the values and principles of the Health Promotion Model. Health Promotion is the art and science of helping people discover the synergies (and interaction) between their core passions and optimal health, enhancing their motivation to strive for optimal health, and supporting them in changing their lifestyle to move toward a state of optimal health.

Optimal health is a dynamic balance of physical, emotional, social, Spiritual, and intellectual health. Lifestyle change can be facilitated through a combination of learning experiences that enhance awareness, increase motivation, and build skills and most important, through the creation of opportunities that open access to environments that make positive health practices the easiest choice, according to Michael P. O’Donnell, PhD, editor of the American Journal of Health Promotion.

Health Promotion is about teaching people how to improve their quality of life. This includes mental health. It also is about prevention, to help people identify their problems and those of others and find ways to make the changes that will help them improve their quality of life. It will use the Behavioral Medicine Model to explore the possibilities that will assist people in experiencing a greater quality of life in many respects by giving them back their power and teaching them how this can be accomplished. Later, in the book you will witness how these principles can be put into practice creating the changes that need to be made for the populace to undergo a beneficial quality of life.

Helping people create changes that will result beneficially in an improved quality of life can be achieved by doing things like setting up programs that will forestall poor decisions from happening or just by everyone obtaining the understanding required to make the changes needed. A portion of this will again begin with looking at the World Health Organization’s definition of health, along with Health Promotion, recognizing the bigger picture about what it takes to make a complete person. We also will delve into the Seven Dimensions of Wellness and see how by looking at the various aspects of an individual, mental health problems can even be avoided.

The Behavioral Medicine Model incorporates biological, psychological, and social elements into its approach. Another aspect presented will be that of Psychoneuroimmunology, the Mind-Body Connection. This is very interesting when you are aware that writings from the earliest civilizations have suggested the relationship between mind and body, the fundamental concept underlying behavioral medicine. Various ailments which are chronic can be significantly and directly modified by behavior, as opposed to using pharmacological treatment alone. Two of them are substance abuse and insomnia. It is recommended to use cognitive and behavioral interventions as a first line treatment for insomnia. While a third malady is chronic stress.

We’ll look at the views according to Hans Selye, who was an Austrian-Canadian endocrinologist, and considered the first to demonstrate the existence of biological stress. He believed the body's stress response is designed to heal and involves what he called, three phases of his General Adaptation Syndrome: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion. Today our lifestyle involves and creates many acute, micro stressors that add up to a large amount of chronic stress over time, leading to disease and illness. This also implies that people can change their unhealthy behaviors to improve their health, especially in treating addictions and phobias.

Another way of looking at this is that Stress occurs when the body expends energy faster than it can be regenerated (Stoff, 1992). However, when an individual chooses not to express negative feelings, added stressors from the condition possibly could result in immunological impairment. A vicious cycle is set in motion. In conclusion, physiologically, stress is the state produced within an organism in response to a demand made upon it that requires some readjustment or adaptation. From a clinical perspective, stress may be defined as the internal state that results when the capacity to adapt has been exceeded (Dacher, 1993, Klimas, et al., 1992, Kerns, et al., 1994, Stoff, 1992). Hence, Psycho-physiological symptoms, such as chronic anxiety, chronic pain, insomnia, and depression can affect the immune system (Stein & Miller, 1993). So further on we will again explore what causes us to be so stressed and how our quality of life is negatively affected by it.

Thus, it is essential that individuals recognize the significance of maintaining good mental health. It also, is important to realize and remember that these practices are driven by the Health Promotion Model which encourages well-being and is oriented toward the actualizing of human potential and is thus perceived as being positive.

Finally, case studies will be utilized following the lives and pathways of four individuals. Throughout their lifetime they were diagnosed but didn’t always receive or accept the professional help they needed. In various situations, they were misdiagnosed or just too stubborn or fearful to accept help with the same result. This occurred even though various family members and friends tried to assist them. Thus, using these four persons, Alicia, Claire, Ned and Harry, this book will look at how their individual needs, abilities, and comprehension affected their lives and their mental health. It will also demonstrate how