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I agree with Paul and the statement, cultures can be changed. But in the context of mental health and the treatment of mental health disorders, how are we supposed to initiate the cultural change? Would the change occur through the law? How drastic of a change are we talking about? I do not think that anyone was actually suggesting that we eliminate our language or do away with the entire educational system, but then what types of change are we actually suggesting?   I have been thinking about Paul’s suggestion that, within the classroom, children and teens should be told that, everyone here is different and that everybody here is good. Although, I agree with the sentiment and usefulness of this message, could this basic of a message actually translate into cultural change? Could anything that was said in this hypothetical classroom actually stand up against the high powered and competitive culture that exists directly outside the classroom?

If labels can’t disappear from our culture (at least within the near future) could we maybe use those labels to create new opportunities? For instance, could a change in culture begin through the creation of a new type of special education system… In this new type of education, a person is not taught how to simply get by in a society that will never understand them, but instead, that person is taught how to discover and embrace whatever they’re good at and whatever makes them special. But maybe this is just further isolation…

About the European Cruise…I just don’t know how accurate that type of treatment would be. It would be one thing if the cruise provided live in therapists. It seems like it would be quite another if the only thing the depressed person did was just sit on a boat, alone, and watch life go by. And about the desire for antidepressant medication, if you were depressed wouldn’t you just want a quick fix too? Can culture really take all the blame for the fact that people want drugs? It seems to me pretty understandable that a depressed person, with low motivation and low energy who knows that antidepressants exist, would desire an easy solution involving a physical way (drug) to improve their physical state (depression).