PSYCHIATRIC VIEWPOINTS ON EVERYDAY NEWS
In the summer around Father’s Day, when several mass shootings were making headlines, I wrote a few articles recommending a new model for dads: DIGS (Dads Interested in Gun Safety). Although national data for the rest of the year is preliminary, it looks like there could be a slight decrease in shootings and gun deaths. On Friday, however, a 6-year-old boy deliberately shot his teacher.
Either way, the deeper and broader meaning of DIGS has to do with the role of men. Instead of the traditional emphasis on strength and emotional control, a greater ability to be vulnerable and emotionally available seems to be needed now.
In this deeper sense, the acronym DIGS can also stand for something else, perhaps Dads Into Giving Support. Perhaps we just saw a vivid and unforgettable example of this on the professional soccer field a week ago on Monday, a sport based on violence with the indirect spectator enjoyment of controlled aggression and victory.
Despite new knowledge about the risks of concussions causing brain damage, women have become more interested in playing the sport, as has happened in boxing and other contact sports. Personally, I know this risk all too well, being unconscious in the hospital for a week after playing intramural football my freshman year at the University of Michigan.
I don’t know how my teammates reacted to my injury, but these players from both professional teams showed another emotional side to men after Damar Hamlin fell unconscious: crying with worry and potential loss of life. rather than tears of joy at having won; kneel down to pray instead of protest; and hug each other for support instead of congratulations. Clearly, these rough and tough players have shown their soft and caring side.
Whether it’s the prayers and/or the quick expertise of the CPR medical team, Hamlin is recovering so far. Also, softness didn’t stop his team from playing and winning yesterday.
Compare the good news about Damar Hamlin on Friday with the 2nd anniversary of our Capitol building uprising. Invaded mostly by men and led by a man, this unprecedented display of inappropriate male aggression, the old macho model of masculinity, was on full display without consideration. And, as if it were an updated fortuitous signal, rioters in Brazil have just invaded their capital.
When I woke up this morning, I also read the news about the nurses’ strike at 2 hospitals in New York. On Friday, we had just updated 2 strikes related to mental health. Finally, too, Republicans in the House ended their internal dispute over who should be their leader.
It’s no surprise there’s so much emotional baggage left over from this news. The challenge is to find mentally healthier ways to resolve loss, trauma, humiliation and conflict, and our mental health expertise should be able to help.
Doctor Moffic is an award-winning psychiatrist who specializes in the cultural and ethical aspects of psychiatry. A prolific writer and speaker, he received the unique designation of Hero of Public Psychiatry from the Assembly of the American Psychiatric Association in 2002. He is an advocate for mental health issues related to climate instability, burnout professional, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. for a better world. He sits on the editorial board of Psychiatric Times™.