Below, I am posting the excellent article from the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) on the situation of mental health and those who suffer from it. SR
The Historical Crib, the Split Mind and the Will-To-Be
A discussion meeting was held in Yeovil on June 23, 2007, on the topic of Schizophrenia and “The Necessity for Change” Analysis. The “historical crib” and “the will-to-be” are two important concepts which can help explain the current situation for mental health suffers and other people, and contribute to empowerment.
The discussion took the form of an exchange of experiences and views between the participants as peers, taking advantage of this opportunity which was inspirational and affirming. The discussion was followed by a piano recital.
We reprint below the presentation “The Historical Crib, the Split Mind and the Will-To-Be”, given by Rachel Nettleship to open the meeting.
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The word schizophrenia translates to English meaning “split mind”. All those who are said to suffer from schizophrenia are said to have a “split mind”. This means they have two distinct trains of thought occurring at the same time where other people have just one. The second train of thought cuts across the first with insulting language, or negative thoughts or provides a running commentary. In terms of consciousness, this can be seen as anti-conscious thought attacking conscious thought. In this sense it is a more stated example of what is going on in society and what all human beings are faced with when in the historical crib. The historical crib can be defined as the cocoon we are born into in that it holds us in a stagnant pool of misinformation and indoctrinates us with the view that things are as they are and can never be changed. It is the struggle against this cocoon that is seen by the status quo as negative behaviour. The initial step in the struggle against this imposed status quo can be viewed as the will-to-be. For those who have been labelled with the diagnosis of schizophrenia the will-to-be is intensified as they are struggling against a huge onslaught of negative voices that seems to be out of their control. Therefore their will-to-be and self-expression is heeded by the ruling class in an even more negative manner than other people. This striving to be free of their mental suffering is the same struggle we all face to be free of the historical crib. In this sense someone said to be suffering from schizophrenia has equal potential to see things outside of the historical crib and by facing the fact that there is a struggle against this anti-conscious thought, brings to their attention that there is another consciousness or way of being striving to be free.
The development of human consciousness can be summarised as follows:
1. Consciousness that there is something that gives the individual easy answers, i.e. the historical crib.
2. Consciousness that this historical crib, which has been the guardian of being, is now coming into conflict with another force – the will-to-be.
3. Consciousness that the historical crib is going to fail the individual one day.
4. Consciousness that the final estrangement with the historical crib is only a matter of time.
The will-to-be demands a crisis of itself in that it needs to struggle and question the historical crib, to finally release itself from false history and the inhuman ideas and values of the imposed society. For anyone this crisis is seen as negative behaviour not in keeping with social and traditional norms, but for someone said to be suffering from schizophrenia this battle is far more arduous. When schizophrenia goes into crisis it is in the form of a psychotic episode. This is viewed by the status quo as negative behaviour that the person is “extreme” or “ill” and not seen as a crisis brought about by the struggle to be free of the voices, commentary or negative thoughts they are afflicted with. This psychotic episode should be seen as the brain’s way of striving to escape anti-conscious acceptance. Those suffering schizophrenia quite rightly do not want to accept the status quo and like anyone go into crisis. When this occurs those of us labelled with schizophrenia are often hospitalised or overly medicated. What needs to happen is to turn the brain’s rebellion into a rebellion against the fundamentals of their own problems, and the fundamentals of society’s problems with the support of the people and the society.
It is thought that the causes of schizophrenia are two-thirds genetic and one-third environmental. However, the majority of new cases appear within families with no history of the disease. This suggests that the causes can be sourced to our society and the contradictions it inflicts. If someone is to develop a “split mind”, then under the historical crib must be conflict. Capitalism creates a split mind as it seeks to destroy what is true with anti-conscious acceptance of its rules and norms. Someone who is striving to be free of this dogma may be more vulnerable to a “split mind”. In essence capitalism and the historical crib creates split mind thinking by perpetuating lies and deceit, creating paranoia and distortion of what is real. This is reflected in what is described as paranoid schizophrenia where a person may feel they are being watched or that they are being followed by MI5. It is simply a reflection of the chaos created under an imposed history that does not reflect the people’s reality. This is not to say that there are not fundamental causes to the condition of psychosis, but these are generally the product of the imposed system which perpetuates inhumane treatments like abuse and traumatic experiences. These experiences can be the fundamental issue on which the brain develops psychosis.
What does the historical crib say about those who are mental health sufferers?
The historical crib tells those with said “mental illness” that they are the problem in themselves, that they are aggressive and violent, and that they as the problem must be dealt with. The mental health system categorises mental health sufferers into their own label or diagnosis; the media sensationalises the idea that those with said schizophrenia are a danger to society. The drug companies say they need medication and the government says they must be sectioned and locked away. In the historic crib we are told that nothing can change, that this is what is and if we don’t accept it we are “extreme” or “ill”. So-called schizophrenics are told that their suffering is for life. These myths are where there is necessity for change. As regards to being violent, in fact proportionately not only do mental health sufferers commit less violent crime than the rest of the population, but they are more likely to be the victim of crime. As regards to mental health problems being for life, people who are said to suffer schizophrenia as all peoples have always striven to understand their problems and want to actively participate in finding out what can be done, and pro-actively find a way out of their crisis.
The mental health system and society must treat those suffering from said “schizophrenia” as equals and enable the full participation of these individuals in standing up against their problems and involving and drawing on their own wisdom and experience in creating the subjective conditions for their emancipation from an oppressive illness and oppressive society. In so doing they join the workers, women, national minorities, youth, disabled and other mental health sufferers in ending their marginalisation and becoming part of the movement to end the oppression of all, and indeed ending the “split mind” syndrome that the historical crib imposes. Like the infliction of the negative thoughts that plague those with said schizophrenia the historical crib can only survive because of its built-in confusion and insincerity, but this also forms the basis of its eventual destruction. In this way both the historical crib and the illnesses and inflictions it creates are doomed to fail. What’s left is total consciousness and the realisation that history, like human beings, is a living phenomenon and not some dead force “out there” as it was in the historical crib. History and humanity now becomes something that reflects the various forces of society at work. In this way there is a way out of both personal crisis and the crisis of society, which bear close relationship. Those of us who suffer psychosis or have been diagnosed with such a label as schizophrenia have not only to struggle against the average lies of the historical crib but overcome the barrier of such a label as schizophrenia to believe that we are equal members of society and we can and must change things. Only by becoming part of the struggle for progress in the society can we progress in terms of our own problems. We are inextricably linked to every other person who suffers oppression, and in actively participating in the struggle for a new world we are actively participating in fighting our own barriers too. We must fight for and assert our rights for a social and supportive health service which supports us fully in our road to recovery of our own history, our own mind and our true consciousness.
Those with so-called schizophrenia are a part of us and reflect our struggles against the confusion and lies, and abuses of the current society. Only by recognising the rights of all to gain freedom from oppression can we create a world where such problems can not only be dealt with but there fundamental causes stopped. Those of us in the condition of psychosis or said schizophrenia must empower ourselves to fully participate in the struggle for a just society in which along with workers, women, national minorities, the disabled and the youth we are at the forefront.
Source: http://www.rcpbml.org.uk/wdie-07/d07-034.htm
