A lot (if not most) “mental disorders” are caused by internalising and otherwise understanding the message of capitalism. “Accept” is the wrong word here, because acceptance implies agreement, when in fact it could be as simple as “going with it”.

Take hoarding for example. We live in a world of things. We are told from a young age that material possessions are important, that things are important. Marxists know that it’s the relationships that make up things, of course, but capitalism focuses on the things themselves. When one considers thing worship in the form of rampant consumerism, high value “antiques” and other nonsense it is a surprise that not more people are hoarders. Shows like Pawn Stars and the like, Antique Roadshow and other antique “hunting” shows like it really drive home the idea that that old junk forgotten in the attic could be worth a lot of money some day.

People who have a “mental disorder” are really just open and receptive to the dominant ideological ideas in our society. What spawned this post was a BBC article about a woman who is going to “cure” hoarding by making an animated film. That idea is silly because one does not cure a disease by managing its symptoms. The animated film is going to show “how destructive hoarding is to relationships”. Even the artist admits that “it took time to realise hoarding was a problem for her family”. No shit, we are trained and socialised into thinking that having things is actually a good thing. The animated film won’t work; a cynic-slash-realist would say the artist found a niche to exploit and make money/a name for herself on. No hate there, we all have to hustle in capitalism.

This is why the sidebar says “train magic resistance”. Sometimes having “mental health problems” can be a bit like being a lightning rod for all the worst things in capitalism. One way of helping yourself and/or others is to unpack why something is the way it is. Once that is done, and the issue is identified, it is much easier to tackle it and ultimately solve/defeat it.