Embedded Files
i. Foreword
Many years ago, during highschool, I was a mental health activist. During this period of my life, I made a lot of contributions that I remain proud of today. However, one project was never actualized. I had an idea for a documentary, titled Ruinlust, with the goal of showing the deep and complex unspoken experiences of those struggling with mental illness. "Ruinlust" was meant to describe a relatively common phenomenon seen in individuals presenting with maladaptive behavioral patterns, wherein the individual further entrenches themselves in their ailments/maladaptive traits; usually, this was a result of there being a sense of comfort in the struggle/a fear of getting better, due to the struggles being present long enough to become a "new normal". Humans struggle with change; as is made evident by humanity historically taking a long time to make widespread progress.
While I still think that there is truth to this, I have since broadened the application of this term. I believe that "ruinlust" can more accurately describe a human element that has persisted throughout all of human history; our collective tendency to "chase ruin", whether it be intentional or not, as a product of selfishness and individualism (amongst other things).
For example:
Governments, like the Trump Administration, lust for societal ruin, because it will generate them wealth and bolster their power.
Corporations do the same.
So do elites.
Ignorant individuals inadvertently push the world towards ruin by being uninformed of important societal issues.
The capitalist paradigm itself lusts for ruin, as it is a system that fundamentally seeks infinite production in a world that has finite resources.
Due to personal complications in the past, I was unable to move forward with production of the original Ruinlust documentary. After much deliberation, I have decided that it would be best to, rather than continue with the documentary idea, turn Ruinlust into a strictly literary project. The purpose of this article is to shine light on several widespread sociopolitical issues that I believe are contributing to societal collapse; in addition to a secondary goal of showing why the fundamental systems we live in must change; and a tertiary goal of providing thorough explanations about topics from various fields, ranging from artificial intelligence, to the environment, to economics, to sociology, and so on.
In other words, this project is a gateway for you to "easily" expand your understanding of many largely unspoken, but vitally important, aspects of humanity and the world around us. This project comes from the heart, and is the culmination of years of exploration and research.
Thank you for reading, and an even bigger "thank you" to those of you that have encouraged me to continue these pursuits of mine.
Per Audacia Ad Astra.
Chapter 1 \\ FRACTURED MINDS
It only feels right to start this article with the topic the project was born for.
Part of the reason I decided to begin working on Ruinlust so many years ago is because two students at my highschool killed themselves in the same month, and two people that were close to me both attempted suicide within that same year. It is no secret that there is a mental health epidemic in the world, but the question everyone has is, "why?"
The explanation, unfortunately, is not so simple. However, I can reduce it to a few distinct categories:
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Unafforadable/unsustainable living conditions
Arbitrary societal expectations
Hyperindividualism
COVID and the digital world
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Adverse Childhood Experiences are what they sound like: traumatizing experiences during childhood that have long-lasting negative effects on emotional and mental wellness. ACEs are encompassed by three umbrella categories: Child abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction.
The following subcategories are included:
Emotional Abuse
Sexual Abuse
Physical Abuse
Household Substance Abuse
Emotional Neglect
Physical Neglect
Domestic Violence
Divorce/separation/loss of parent
Criminal family member
These experiences can result in a large array of outcomes, broken down as so:
Risky Health Behaviors
o Alcohol, drug abuse
o Unsafe sex
o Smoking
Health Conditions
o Autoimmune Disease
o Cancer
o Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
o Frequent headaches
o Health-related QoL
o HIV
o Ischemic Heart Disease
o Liver Disease
o Myocardial infarction
o Obesity
o STIs
o Stroke
Mental Health Challenges
o Autobiographical memory disturbances
o Depression
o Hallucinations
o Suicidality
o Work absenteeism
Reproductive Health Challenges
o Fetal death
o Teen preg.
o Unintended preg.
Violence Perpetration and Victimization
o Intimate partner violence
o Sexual violence
o Youth violence
o Self-harming behaviors
Reduced Life Potential
o Highschool non-completion
o Unemployment
o Poverty
o Work absenteeism
Early Death
o “ACEs are associated with an increased risk of premature death. Findings from a 2009 study showed that people with six or more ACEs died nearly 20 years earlier on average than those with zero ACEs.”
As you can gather, ACEs are to be taken extremely seriously. An argument can be made that they are the biggest cause of chronic emotional struggles, even in functioning adults, since much of the trauma remains unresolved going into adulthood. In terms of direct treatment, therapy is most effective at working through ACEs and their effects, but society must work together to target the root of the problem. So, I present the Socio-Ecological Model of Adverse Childhood Experiences (we'll call it SEM-ACE).
There are variations of SEMs across public health, but this one follows a similar structure to the CDC's SEM for violence. A SEM is a model that considers Risk Factors and Protective Factors in regard to a particular subject, across a series of "levels". Risk factors are attributes that increase the likelihood of ACEs, while protective factors reduce that likelihood. The "levels" that these factors reside in are based on proximity to the individual (a child, in this case).
SEM-ACE Risk Factors:
Individual
o Being younger than 4 y/o
o Special needs (physical disabilities, mental disabilities, mental health issues, etc)
o A parent’s own history of ACEs
o A parent’s lack of understanding/awareness of positive parenting techniques
o Parental neglect
o Substance abuse/mental health issues in the family
o Parental characteristics like young age, low education, low income, single parenthood, and responsibility for a large number of dependents
o Parent’s limited problem-solving ability
o Parent’s hyper-reactivity to child behavior
Relational
o Parental stress caused by conflict among family members
o Poor parent-child relationship, negative interaction between children and parents
o Dysfunctional family
o Isolation
Community
o Community violence (unsafe schools, etc)
o Neighborhood disadvantage (high poverty, inadequate housing, high unemployment, etc)
o Poor social connections
Societal
o Policies that contribute to discrimination
o Policies that weaken household financial security
o Policies and practices that reduce opportunities and impede development for individuals, families, communities, and society
SEM-ACE Protective Factors:
Relational
o Supportive family environment
o Supportive social network
o Positive relationship with at least one non-related adult
o Health relationships between caregivers and/or adult partners
Community
o Communities that support parents (parent involvement at school)
o Communities that promote healthy conditions and good opportunities that children need in order to thrive
Societal
o Policies that strengthen economic support for families (subsidized childcare, access to social services)
o Family-friendly work policies (paid family leave)
o Social norms about positive parenting techniques
Our collective goal as a society is to figure out how to implement Protective Factors into our lives and the world around us, and eliminate Risk Factors. Very notably, the Protective Factors lack an "Individual" level; the implication here is that the onus of combating the viral spread of ACEs isn't on the children themselves, it is on everyone else. It is vital that we move towards a global society that implements human-centric policies to make everyday living easier, as this will create shockwaves that will ultimately reduce the overall development of ACEs, and consequentially the development of mental illness. In your personal life, you can make an effort to be active in community organizations, have a voice for children in need, and engage in mentorship.
Unsustainable Living Conditions
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