Over the
first half semester of this course, this class has discussed many topics, from
the science of the brain to how we see our voices. So far we have discussed how
people look at feeling and healing through techniques like journals, community
memorials, and the classroom. Our conversations sporadically go from idea to
idea, and some get lost between everyone’s different focuses. A topic I would
like to focus on is having privilege to feel.
In out
textbook, Writing & Healing, academics
discuss what they have found about feeling and how they teach it, mostly
through writing. Some articles are simply retelling their experiences or a
scope of people’s experiences. Something we have to read in the book yet is the
idea of having the privilege to take time to work these feelings out.
Troubling
thoughts and feelings can happen to anybody, no matter their socioeconomic or
cultural status. However, the resources available to people on how to handle the
issues differs. Most students luckily have the school system to provide some
help. But even that could depend upon the school. There could be a range of
what is deemed worth a therapist or counselor’s time. A psychiatrist in a “struggling”
high school with a fifth of the student population living with someone other
than their parents and every student knowing at least one relative who has been
in jail may be busier than one in an “average” suburban school. A kid dealing
with a tough break-up may have to wait in line behind the fourth girl so far
this year to get pregnant.
And what
if a person is not a student? In order to have the luxury of going to a therapist
or a group, they need the money. Under the parity law, many insurance companies
offer copays for mental health issues, but not all therapists accept all types
of insurance and the copay may not be ideal. Twenty dollars for a session could
also be spent for kids’ jeans or two meals for a family or four. If you’re a
single parent juggling two jobs and three kids, you may have to think about
these costs dearly. And more so, the issue could be time. You may feel guilty
for leaving your kids with your sister and holding off on night classes for a
nursing degree.
Besides
money, time, and availability, there is also the issue of social acceptance. As
a writing major at Ithaca College it wouldn’t be unusual if I used creative
assignments as an outlet for whatever personal issue I was grappling, and if
it’s written well, have people be supportive to me in return. It wouldn’t even
be super out of the ordinary if I saw a therapist from CAPS. If my stress and
anxiety got so bad I could e-mail my professors and push back my due dates one
time without much of a judgement from them, because I do not work from them.
I’m so lucky that there are ways that I can deal with the issue that won’t drastically
change how I am viewed in my working environment.
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How can
we reach those who feel they don’t have the time or money to deal with their
issues? How can we provide information on accessible means of healing? How can
we encourage people to invest in their mental and emotional health?
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