Talkin' 'Bout Mental Health, Only When It Benefits 'Em
- Deric Hollings
- 19 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Depending on whom one asks, care for mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “mental health”) can relate to virtually any- and everything imaginable. Personally, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is preferred. Without use of hyperbole, it’s saved my life!
Interestingly, rapper King Iso addresses his observation relating to this topic on the song “Window”, from his album Get Well Soon (2022), on which he states, “Talkin’ ‘bout mental health, only when it benefit[s] ‘em, they ain’t never been through it, but did it for the audience.”
He notes how other rappers apparently use mental health mainly for virtue signaling (the act or practice of conspicuously displaying one’s awareness of and attentiveness to political issues, matters of social and racial justice, etc., especially instead of taking effective action).
I’ve observed similarly vulgar displays of virtue signaling in regard to mental health. Aside from me and King Iso, another individual on Reddit has also observed this sort of behavior. Specifically, the person states:
There are people out there on social media who like to virtue signal about how much they support the mentally ill, how they see the value of empathizing with the lonely, depressed, and suicidal. But the moment they meet a REAL mentally ill person and shit gets real, these virtue signalers vanish.
They demonize us, reduce us to convenient labels, lazy buzz words, and ignorant, negative stigmas just so that they can convince themselves that they have every reason to hate and ostracize and destroy us.
If you’re a mentally ill person who has a friend or loved one who supports you no matter what, I am genuinely happy for you (nope, not sarcasm). Because those kinds of people are a RARITY.
I imagine that the individual who wrote that was goin’ thru a thang. Nevertheless, I don’t envision that person talkin’ ‘bout mental health, only when it benefits ‘em. Well done, advocating mental health support, Redditor! Get well soon.
If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As the world’s foremost hip hop-influenced REBT psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
References:
Apple Music. (n.d.). Get Well Soon [Image]. Apple Inc. Retrieved from https://music.apple.com/ml/album/get-well-soon/1603329491
ChronicallyMad. (2020). People who virtue signal about mental health issues. Reddit. Retrieved from https://www.reddit.com/r/BPD/comments/eo3iom/people_who_virtue_signal_about_mental_health/
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King Iso. (2022, January 20). King Iso – Window | Official video [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/gyLFoix7TnI?si=ZK87Zkng1UEhUEvN
Wikipedia. (n.d.). King Iso. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Iso
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