No Room for Neutrality
When we say that mental health is political, we don’t just mean copying and pasting a cookie-cutter DEI statement on your website. It is not just about plastering buzzwords such as “anti-oppressive,” “anti-racism.” “LGTBQIA+ affirming,” etc. in order to increase your website search engine optimization (SEO). Politicizing mental health means actively fostering a space in which individuals & communities are able to exercise their right to express anger, injustice, and imposed powerlessness. This may be a controversial take (it really shouldn’t be), but…
I believe that taking a stance is a fundamental aspect of decolonized psychotherapy.
I hold the belief that practicing & promoting neutrality in the face of injustice ultimately undermines, and negates, principles of inclusion and anti-oppression. Neutrality at the individual and systemic level is often founded in privileged principles; often, it is only those that are in a position of power and privilege that can espouse non-partisan ethics. For these groups of people, they have the privilege of being able to make a choice. Their visible appearances and circumstances do not invite unsolicited discourse around whether they deserve the right to exist in a liberatory fashion.
For those that belong to historically oppressed groups - whether related to race, ethnicity, ability status, socioeconomic status, religious affiliation, citizenship status, etc. - adopting a stance of resistance is not a choice, but a survival tactic.
Since the presidential election of 2016, we have continued to witness increasing levels of individuals that present with political anxiety. Political anxiety/stress is characterized by experiences of fear, worry, and vigilance as a result of unpredictable political climates. These effects on physical and mental well-being are particularly heightened in people of the Global Majority (Black people, Indigenous people, Brown people, Latinx peoples—particularly Indigenous and Afro-Latinos —Pacific Islanders, Native Hawaiians, the Inuit communities/Alaska Natives, Native Americans, Arabs, Western Asians/Middle Easterners with dark skin, North Africans, Southeast Asians, South Asians, East Asians, Africans with dark skin, and biracial and multiracial people who are mixed with one or more of the above, and people and groups who can’t access white privilege) - with the United States reporting approximately 117,000 premature mental and behavioral health-related deaths among these communities (Dawes, 2023). Furthermore, 65% of surveyed LGBTQIA+ individuals reported concerns around their safety, as compared to 51% of the general population that report this same fear (Thriving Center of Psychology, 2024).
A research study conducted by Weinschenk & Smith (2024) concluded that political anxiety and general anxiety do not share an underlying construct - in other words, politics as a cause of anxiety seems to be a separate source of worry that affects individuals that are not necessarily presenting with general anxiety. Although there is evidence that suggests areas of overlap between political anxiety and general anxiety, there is just as much evidence to suggest that they are maintained by different types of sociocultural stressors, including the finding that political knowledge positively predicts political anxiety while negatively predicting general anxiety (Weinschenk & Smith, 2024). Notable effects of political anxiety can include the following:
Increased stress and depression levels
Insomnia and other sleep-related concerns
Gastrointestinal issues
Headaches and muscle tension
Interpersonal tension/conflict
When browsing the Internet as a means of reviewing the literature on ways to cope with the effects of political polarization, there were a few threads of discussion that seemed to carry through multiple articles, blogs, and other forms of media. These include, but are not limited to:
Limiting one’s social media consumption
Engaging in physical and/or mindful activities
Maintaining a routine
Acknowledging and accepting your emotional experiences
Engaging in acts of political activism and community action
Practicing self-care
While I recognize that these methods can be helpful in regards to promoting self-efficacy, resilience, and overall regulation, it is important to emphasize the fact that:
Just as much as it is a privilege to have a choice of your involvement in politics, it is just as much of a privilege to be able to practice self-care.
Meaning, for those that are made to operate from a survival standpoint (i.e. perpetual state of hyper-arousal of the autonomic nervous system; fight-or-flight) due to historical, racialized, and systemic trauma, it can be almost impossible to prioritize traditional methods of coping as popularized by the media. Additionally, we must confront the unfortunate truth that, even though 23% of Americans report seeking therapy for political stress (Thriving Center of Psychology, 2024), a vast proportion of the general population lack the means and resources to access mental health services. This is especially true for people of the Global Majority, considering that 75% of the mental health workforce identify as white (Anxiety & Depression Association of America, 2023), and only 12% of professionals in the field are LGBTQIA+ community members (Zippia, n.d.).
Lastly, therapy is not, can not, and will never be, sufficient enough to eradicate systemic injustice.
I wrote all of this just to say that I do not know if I can ever show up perfectly as a therapist for those seeking refuge within the therapeutic space. There is no amount of radical acceptance, cognitive restructuring, or x y and z that will work to dismantle systems that ultimately work to sustain this country and its status quo.
But - here’s what I can, and promise to do: As a therapist, I am committed to practicing transparency around my sociopolitical values and practicing in alignment with these values. I hope to empower you to take up just as much space as you need - as much space as you deserve. I will make my solidarity loudly known, both within and outside of the therapeutic space. I will enact advocacy within my limits of power & privilege, understanding that action outweighs dialogue. I will show up in whatever way you need me to, whether that means joining you in your rage or allowing collective grief to occupy the space between us.
References
Coping with Socio-Political Stress | Student Health Services. (n.d.). Boston University. Retrieved July 14, 2024, from https://www.bu.edu/shs/behavioral-medicine/behavioral-resources/coping-with-socio-political-stress/
Dawes, D. (2023, February 2). How Does Our Political System Influence Mental Health? Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Retrieved July 14, 2024, from https://www.rwjf.org/en/insights/blog/2023/02/how-does-our-political-system-influence-mental-health.html
Political Anxiety. (2017). GoodTherapy. Retrieved July 14, 2024, from https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/political-anxiety
Political Anxiety Statistics | Survey. (2024, July 3). Thriving Center of Psychology. Retrieved July 14, 2024, from https://thrivingcenterofpsych.com/blog/political-anxiety-statistics/
Political Stress. (n.d.). UCSF Department of Psychiatry. Retrieved July 14, 2024, from https://psychiatry.ucsf.edu/copingresources/politics
Serres, D. (2013, May 15). Here’s How Desmond Tutu, Elie Wiesel, Paulo Freire, and MLK Approach Neutrality. Organizing Change. Retrieved July 14, 2024, from https://organizingchange.org/here-is-how-moral-leaders-approach-neutrality/
Therapist Demographics and Statistics [2024]: Number Of Therapists In The US. (n.d.). Zippia. Retrieved July 14, 2024, from https://www.zippia.com/therapist-jobs/demographics/
Waller, B., Hinojosa, C., & Dawson, D. B. (2023, November 1). BIPOC/Minority Mental Health Needs More Diverse Care Professionals - How ADAA is Helping to Create Equality. Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA. Retrieved July 14, 2024, from https://adaa.org/learn-from-us/from-the-experts/blog-posts/consumer-professional/bipocminority-mental-health-needs
Weinschenk, A., & Smith, K. (2024). Is political anxiety different than general anxiety? Politics and the Life Sciences, 1–9.
