Violence and alienation: An issue of public mental health

Abstract

This century has seen more extensive social and political change than ever before. Some, such as antibiotics, has been beneficial, but much has led to alienation and political and cultish ideologies. These in turn have spawned widespread violence. Not all violence is physical; some is inner-directed and can lead to suicide. Some is inspired by genuine idealism but too often this degenerates into cruelty excused as a struggle with alleged evil. Violence can be nation- or even continent-wide-Africa, Latin America, Middle East, Indochina, but also Europe including the former Soviet Union. It is also local, especially in inner cities throughout the world, linked to drugs but also as mindless vandalism. Solutions must be both at the macro level, through the UN and its agencies; the UN charter must be revised to allow appropriate intervention within national borders. At the local level, underlying causes such as human rights abuses and unemployment can be put right. Much more research is needed but action cannot await the findings. The author's recent personal experience in Osijek in former Yugoslavia shows that the most important factor is the people themselves, but outsiders can provide knowledge, resources and support.

Populist Upheavals: What can we do?

“…It is necessary to understand what the real possibilities are of the peaceful coexistence of Muslims and Christians, what the content is of the most common and deepest ethnic and cultural prejudices [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. We have to understand why the Christian message is not a guideline of conduct and even the recommendations of the sovereignty of the church are rejected [44].…”

Existential concerns, assumptive world, and alienation among Kashmiri youth exposed to collective violence: Do the theoretical models fit target population?

“…In summary, it is thus evident that exposure to violence, wars, and other traumatic stressors may create existential concerns among people (Hoelterhoff & Chung, 2013), challenging their existing worldviews and possibly shattering their assumptive world (Janoff-Bulman, 1992). These impacts may trigger several cognitive and emotional reactions and make them feel alienated from their self, society, and the world at large (Curle, 1996; O’Donnell et al, 2006). It is also worth mentioning here that these reverberations may be particularly consequential for young people.…”

Does the recent intensification of nationalistic and xenophobic attitudes in Eastern European countries adversely affect public mental health?

“…The question arises whether the described changes have an impact on public mental health [1–4] According to so-called ‘positive psychology’ [5] and ‘positive psychiatry’ [6], such transformations have an impact on the average state of health. A xenophobic attitude is accompanied by a higher incidence of anxiety, disputes by reason of the polarization of opinions, a sense of embarrassment and contradictions with so-called ‘Christian values’, adverse demographic perspectives, depression and reduced life satisfaction [7].…”