Great episode! I live in Chicago so I loved hearing about his experiences in the school system. I have three kids in CPS and it is a little crazy sometimes.
Heading over to iTunes to check out his music.
#38 Mike Eagle
-
dare i say it
- Posts: 239
- Joined: October 29th, 2011, 1:12 pm
- Location: Michigan, US
Re: #38 Mike Eagle
I agree--a really great conversation. Thanks to Mike and Paul for letting us be a part of it. Some possible jumping off points for conversation about this episode:
1. As a society, we don't put enough resources into mental well-being. When a person is struggling with anxiety, depression, addiction, or anything else along those lines, it rarely just affects that individual. The combined toll on a community is difficult to estimate, but I would imagine it's pretty substantial. In a perfect world, what could be done to improve this? (Or am I just too close to the situation to see that most people are basically okay?)
2. Are certain parts of the population more likely to avoid getting help for emotional issues? Minorities or non-minorities? Men or women? Rich or poor? Was there anything in your background or culture that you feel held you back in getting help? I grew up a middle-class white guy in the US, so I guess access to help wasn't that much of an issue. However, mental health was a scary thing that people just didn't talk about. I somehow got the message that emotions were only meant to be dealt with privately. You could pray about it, but that was about it. In my family, job #1 was to keep a lid on any strong emotions you might have. The idea of seeing a "shrink" was especially scary because, I dunno, they might lock you up or mess with your brain or something.
3. On a lighter note, I have very little expertise in the area of music. Can someone help me connect the dots between They Might Be Giants and independent art rap? I'm cool with both types of music, but I can't see the connection between the two.
Dan
1. As a society, we don't put enough resources into mental well-being. When a person is struggling with anxiety, depression, addiction, or anything else along those lines, it rarely just affects that individual. The combined toll on a community is difficult to estimate, but I would imagine it's pretty substantial. In a perfect world, what could be done to improve this? (Or am I just too close to the situation to see that most people are basically okay?)
2. Are certain parts of the population more likely to avoid getting help for emotional issues? Minorities or non-minorities? Men or women? Rich or poor? Was there anything in your background or culture that you feel held you back in getting help? I grew up a middle-class white guy in the US, so I guess access to help wasn't that much of an issue. However, mental health was a scary thing that people just didn't talk about. I somehow got the message that emotions were only meant to be dealt with privately. You could pray about it, but that was about it. In my family, job #1 was to keep a lid on any strong emotions you might have. The idea of seeing a "shrink" was especially scary because, I dunno, they might lock you up or mess with your brain or something.
3. On a lighter note, I have very little expertise in the area of music. Can someone help me connect the dots between They Might Be Giants and independent art rap? I'm cool with both types of music, but I can't see the connection between the two.
Dan
Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.