Word conundrums, birds with arms, helpful running
Also: does exercise help with depression? 15 studies say "Of course, duh!"
Look, it’s fun. Of course it is. But maybe it’s not the best idea.
I don’t charge for this newsletter and heaven knows you can listen to the Depresh Mode podcast, for free if you so choose. That’s because the whole thing is donation-driven. It’s public radio style, depending on people recognizing that to make this stuff costs money. If enough people donate, we can exist. If they don’t, the whole thing will shut down. Would you like it to keep happening? Go here, pick a level that works for you, then select DEPRESH MODE from the list of shows. And thank you.
Words! Guhhhhh…. Hard.
I’m often very interested in vocabulary and usage as they pertain to mental health. That’s because I spend all of my professional time thinking, talking, and writing about the subject, have done so for years, and I still worry about whether I’m getting it right. I want to be accurate about words surrounding mental health and I certainly don’t mind being blunt in those situations, but if you’re being blunt using the wrong words then you’re just an asshole. I don’t wish to be one of those.
That’s the subject on Depresh Mode this week: how to use words in a way that goes beyond not harming and actually helping. I’m joined by two wonderfully smart and attuned people: Helen Zaltzman of The Allusionist podcast and Dr. Ksera Dyette, a professional therapist in Boston.
And of course, one of the first things we learn is that there IS no codified, etched-in-stone source of the right and wrong things to say or how to say them. Instead, you have to be tuned in to people as best you can, be curious and respectful about their perspectives, and do your best. And make mistakes, apologize succinctly, and move on.
One of the most interesting issues in this topic to me is person-first language. That’s when, instead of saying “Bob is schizophrenic” or “Bob has schizophrenia”, you say “Bob is a person with schizophrenia.” The idea is to not associate a person with a condition they have but to establish them as a person who happens to have this one facet to their lives.
This seemed pretty enlightened and forward-thinking when I heard it a few years ago but it turns out there are plenty of people out there who are against person-first. As our guests explain, you shouldn’t have to establish that a person with a mental disorder is a person and you shouldn’t have to hide that situation by placing it later in the phrasing.
From rose iris theodosia elysium on Medium:
One of the primary arguments against person-first language is that it separates people from their disability, which often is central to their life experience. “Disabilities” like autism, deafness, blindness, and paralysis alter a person’s perception and sensory experiences. After being disabled for some time, it becomes difficult to imagine life without the disability. Using person-first language implies that any disabled individual would be the same without their disability. Our life histories shape who we are, so this is not and cannot be true.
Using person-first language for disability alone, while still using identity-first language for most other traits, separates disability from other social identities. It dissuades disabled people from identifying as disabled, even as many of us feel this is central to who we are. Disability changes a person’s life, and many of us find comfort in finding others with similarly-altered experiences. When identity-first language is the default, treating disability differently implies that disabled people should not identify as such. We are discouraged from feeling kinship with each other, which isolates us and prevents us from linking our experiences as disabled people with other parts of who we are.
Dr. Dyette brings up the Mad Pride movement as an example of people who believe in, basically, shouting out what’s going on with their mental illness. It’s an activism thing.
Anyway… words: yes!
Videos really used to be something. Whoosh.
I’m interviewing Tim Heidecker tomorrow
Yes, of course, he’s from Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job. And from movies like Us and Bridesmaids. He’s very, very funny.
But he also makes music that is not a joke. Where he’s not playing a character. His upcoming album deals a lot with the pain and awkwardness of adolescence. Here’s a song from it:
The internet, technology itself really, is a disaster
Things shouldn’t advance, everything new is worse, I bought a cave.
But the internet is apparently the home to a Birds With Human Arms culture.
Watching birds with human arms probably won’t cure any of your mental health woes. BUT WHAT IF IT DOES?
Okay fine I’ll go for a friggin’ run
Well, the results are in and they may not surprise you.
According to a meta-analysis of 15 different mental health studies, exercise is good for helping with your depression. I know! Shocker!
This study utilized 348 full-text articles and their data. Countries included the United States, Australia, Japan, India, Ghana, Mexico, and Russia. Results showed that the biggest benefits in participants depression were when moving from no physical activity to some physical activity, rather than from low exercise to high levels of exercise. Just 2.5 hours a week of brisk walking was related to 25% lower risk for depression.
This relationship is thought to be due to a few different mechanisms, including inflammatory responses to activity and long-term changes to the brain. Additionally, it has been suggested that it may be related to self-esteem and body image, which can help social interactions and coping skills.
I often think of what comedian Emmy Blotnick says about Michael Phelps. Exercise helps depression and then you can see advertisements where Michael Phelps talks about being depressed. And WHO GETS MORE EXERCISE THAN MICHAEL PHELPS?
Here’s some of Emmy’s standup and she’s very funny: