Mental Health and Iraq

Mental Health, in, out of, and about Iraq
or.. Killing people is generally not good for you

You could resign yourself to thinking Nothing Really Matters, like Madonna would say, as we spin around on our lonely little backwater outpost on the edge of a spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy. Then again, what doesn't matter? Little things matter. Mathematically, a little thing could be a big thing, if you keep going smaller and smaller. And a puff of breath can become a hurricane (the famed butterfly effect).

Of course, the entire universe could be considered a drop in the bucket. Some might say if it's not matter, it doesn't matter. But empty space matters. Anyway, I want to talk about Mental Health and space. Knowing the truth is good for you. They might say the truth hurts, or you can't handle the truth, but I don't buy that. Jesus said he was the truth, and I believe that to be a true lie. By believing lies, you come to know the truth better, I guess. Anyway, I read the book Need to Know, and it was good. A little ufology goes a long way. Space is the place for the helpful hardware alien.

On mental health. First of all, both American troops and Iraqis are suffering mental health consequences from the war. This is another consequence of the war that I'd like to explore further now.

One in four of our soldiers return home from Iraq with health problems, that require medical or mental health treatment. In addition to the strained marriages, they have suicidal thoughts, or thoughts of hurting themselves, or that they would be better off dead, and concerns that they might hurt or lose control with someone else. PTSD, or post traumatic stress disorder, and other trauma, sometimes doesn't appear for years. There are symptoms like inability to concentrate, trouble sleeping, agressive behavior, and flashbacks. Nightmares and recollections are common.

The Iraqis suffer, too. In an online article of the USA Today by Steven Komarow, he gives these facts: There are only two mental health hospitals in the nation. Nearly 100 psychiatrists are practicing in a nation of 26M. Insurgents target medical professionals, who are also fleeing the country. There are shortages of both specialists and medications. Children, especially, suffer. Bedwetting, nightmares, aggression, being scared, having witnessed death and trauma, and PTSD. Learned helplessness under Saddam, from the Kuwait War, the unnecessary war with Iran, and now this has taken a serious psychic toll. Before Saddam, Iraq used to have a good health care system. The experience under Saddam discouraged open discussion, which affects the present, as people were afraid of being tortured in prisons for telling what happened to them. A goal of the Health Ministry is to train tribal and religious leaders, because many Iraqis are more comfortable seeking help from these traditional institutions.

Regarding mental health on the home front, far far away from Iraq, I had a dream last night with Tom Cruise speaking directly into my head. No image, just his voice, loud and clear. Dianetics, the science of the mind, they say. I took their personality test once. Now I've got them in my head. Scary. Very. Scientologists don't even support psychiatry, or the use of psychiatric medications, I think. Of course, Tom smoked pot in Eyes Wide Shut. L. Ron Hubbard said something funky about a spaceship like a jetliner. That might be like those cigar shaped craft I read about in Need to Know. I think L. Ron may have had a few drugs flowing through his brain. Brain chemistry has natural drugs that can make it go trippy, of course, as well as the highs and lows, simply from the ingestion of foods, and self-hypnosis, and environment. Foods are drugs, when you get right down to it. The problem with this is some people get some serious natural lows. Then again, there's nothing like starting a religion to keep you busy. Lafayette Ron Hubbard ('deathful aberrant yob') had traces of the antihistamine hydroxyzine in his system when he died. It's used for anxiety and neurosis. A yob is a teenage hooligan.

Tom Cruise ('I'm so cuter'), I can see why you're not Thomas Cruise (hoariest scum). One of the definitions of hoary is 'tedious from familiarity.' It's weird, though. His full name, Thomas Cruise Mapother IV anagrams to 'macho superstar--hit movie'. Clint Eastwood becomes 'Old West Actor.' David Letterman is 'Nerd amid late tv.' Madonna Loise Ciccone is ''one cool dance musician' or 'occasional nude income' or 'came a nun. cool decision.' There's something to this anagram deal, I'm telling you. I'm 'ace wrathless, sane jeer'. Or 'hassle a jester.' Good stuff.

Anyway, with humanity's collective abilities and creativity, we really should be able to solve the world's war and quality of life issues. With sending a man to the moon and the internet and everything else, we should be able to thread the needles of economics, politics, the environment, and healthcare. Far too many people are hopeless druggies and couch potatoes and apathetic non-contributors to making a better world. I think it's sad -and crazy. Every little one of us can make a big difference. There are projected to be 9B people by 2050, and we all have to learn to get along on this spaceship earth. Some think war is the answer, and that we're far too overpopulated already, though.