Wrestling Through Adversity

From the dark ages, the treatment

of those mentally ill has progressed from chaining to a wall those afflicted

with mental disturbance who never saw the light of day. However, in US

emergency rooms, our young people on the brink of despair are held hostage for

psychiatric care.

We have been bound to the

antiquated biomedical model of mental health care. It is fortunate that we, as

a society, are experiencing a mental health crisis of enormous proportions

currently only in the sense that we are beginning to hear a wake-up call as we

witness a total breakdown of our mental healthcare system regarding the mental

stability of our youth and other groups of everyday people.

Healthcare professionals and

societies are beginning to understand that mental health is integral to overall

health and is more than the absence of symptoms of psychological distress. The

mastery important to us all includes the acquisition of the capacity to

reflect, to relate on a deep level with others emotionally, and to empathize in

the face of change or stressful situations.

Resilient young people who possess

these qualities and the ability to wrestle through adversity when they have the

skillsets to do so, lead more successful lives when they know how to make

lemonade out of lemons.