A
month ago I went to TV presenter Ruby Wax's book signing.
How to be Human: The Manual was written in conjunction with Ashish Ranpura, a neuroscientist, and Gelong Thubten, a Buddhist monk.
I
recently finished the book. It's a light-hearted look into humankind:
our behaviours, attitudes, quirks and drives. Although an interesting
read, I found I had a lot of problems with it. The book's opening
chapters describe our anthropological roots- how our caveman
ancestors' behaviours wouldn't have been that different to ours
today, and how their small, close-knit communities instilled in us a
fear of being outcast. All of this is described as if profound, but
there's a lot already written about this out there.
She
then moves on to present day mental health conditions, and how these
issues are formed. Despite writing this with the help of a capable
neurologist, she still touts the now-debunked
left-brain / right-brain theory, suggesting one side works with
emotion, the other with critical thinking.
Along
with this, she touts the dubious 'higher power' reference in
addiction groups- the idea that we ask God or some other entity to
'remove defects of character.' I have some small experience of
attending addiction groups, and some experience of being a
neuropsychology patient. Take it from me, putting religion into
treatment for a neurological condition will only cause more harm.
Science won't. (That's why I'd personally advise people to avoid the
Anonymous groups.)
Ms
Wax is also guilty of using the phrase 'commit suicide.' It's
generally accepted that we should change the language to say 'died by
suicide.' People who take their own lives should not be viewed as
criminals, but people who didn't get the help that they drastically
needed, and a mental health advocate like Ms Wax should have known
better.
One
of the more interesting parts of the book is about 'mindfulness,' a
buzzword at the moment, and a form of meditation. A few people have
encouraged me to give it a shot. Ms Wax describes, though, 'when I
slip into the depths of depression, it would be cruel to do any kind
of therapy, let alone mindfulness... If you could tune into your mind
in the depths of depression, you'd most likely hear the voices of
hell, because that is a symptom of the disease.'
What
concerns me is that a number of professionals and relatives have
tried to push mindfulness on me, and when I gave it a shot I had this
exact problem. I overthink. And I don't need more of that. Given all of this... Why didn't the neuroscientist Ash proof read this and make those corrections?!
How
to be Human is an interesting but somewhat misleading read. Approach
with caution.
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