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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Unwell,
Matchbox Twenty
Atlantic A Single Serving review by psychologist Dr. Bruce L. Thiessen, aka Dr. B.L.T., The Rock Doc All day staring at the ceilingEither Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty has adopted as his mission, the goal of giving a voice to the woes of the mentally ill, or he is among the mentally ill. Wait! The two options are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Perhaps both possibilities are correct. The song, FahrenHYPE 9/11 notwithstanding, (in which I suggest that Michael Moore suffers from paranoid delusions), I generally refrain from formulating or otherwise rendering a diagnosis unless I have actually had the opportunity to see a person face-to-face, and to administer a formal psychological assessment. In Rob Thomas's case, it is hard to know whether the lyrics tap directly into his experience, or whether they reflect an effort on his part to walk a mile in the slippers of a mentally ill patient. The lyrics to Unwell are typical Rob Thomas lyrics, but they are also redolent of Men at Work's paranoia-themed classic, Who Can it Be Now? In reviewing the lyrics he so convincingly sings, one gets the feeling that Thomas is always either on the verge of "losing it" or he has actually completely lost it. Hold onHold on, denial is about to come to Rob's rescue in the chorus: But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwellThough dost protest too much. Is it neurosis, or is it psychosis? It sounds like a case of psychosis that's being packaged and sold as neurosis. Here's where he puts the paranoid in paranoid schizophrenic. I'm talking to myself in publicBack to denial: But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwellFinally, realization overtakes denial: I've been talking in my sleepSo far, nobody has taken Thomas away. Everyone is to busy trying to get his autograph. Besides, he must be reasonably functional to have such a command over his music and his career. My guess is that he has either once suffered more profoundly, and has since discovered the path to stability, or he has suffered just enough to know how it must feel to suffer more. Nobody wants to be crazy. Nobody wants to be seen as crazy. That's the number one reason why would-be patients avoid seeing me. The stigma associated with the term, crazy has led to far too many otherwise preventable suicides. It has led to far too much prolonged suffering. That's why we must all work together to eliminate the term from our vocabulary as it pertains to those who suffer from a wide variety of mental health conditions. As a licensed psychologist, I am suppose to be above the fray when it comes to relying on pejorative labels like crazy, and yet I have often used to term with colleagues and others, particularly in informal settings when I take my psychologist hat off. I resist giving the term up altogether because I find it just as annoying to be consistently psychologically correct as it is to be consistently politically correct. Yet, as a general rule, I believe that we must avoid and even actively counter the use of the term if we are to avoid reinforcing the stereotype that prevents people from admitting their problems and seeking solutions accordingly. More importantly, we must avoid adopting the attitude towards the mentally ill that goes with the crazy label. When someone seems to be protesting too much, or, adamantly insisting that they are not crazy, I would suggest saying something like, I prefer to look at it as emotional or mental suffering. We all experience that sort of thing in different degrees from time to time. At this time, that feeling of suffering seems to be overwhelming you. Surely nobody needs to feel ashamed that they suffering. When you see a person who is obviously suffering in a profound emotional and/or mental way, rather than labeling him/her as crazy, try looking upon him/her the way Jesus would, with compassion. The song Unwell, which depicts a suffering person's struggle to be open about their suffering, actually sends out a powerful message: It is normal to suffer. Furthermore, it is normal, with society's taboos on mental and emotional suffering, to feel ashamed. Even though society would have one feel ashamed, suffering from a mental and/or emotional problem is nothing to be ashamed about. It is enough to carry an emotional wound. There is no need to add an insult to injury. Unwell is poignant, skillfully written and delivered, and replete with vulnerability. The music, and particularly the wounded voice of Thomas, engenders sympathy for its character, whether that character is Thomas, or is simply played by a passionate, compassionately sympathetic Thomas.
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