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The Eternal Question of Placating Our Troubled Minds
W e like to think of the current mental health crisis as a relatively new phenomenon of the human experience. It helps us rationalise it as something temporary and solvable rather than something that lies at the core of the human condition. The restless homo sapien and his inability to be alone with his own thoughts.
The blame has often been directed at the seemingly dire ecological state of the planet, our increasingly urbanised world, the relentless advancement of technology and its encroachment on our lives, the pitfalls of authoritarianism, the homogeneity of Western capitalist culture, or even the flawed financial system to which we are all indebted. All of these things do affect our lives here on planet Earth but the existential angst that consumes our troubled minds has far deeper roots, stretching back to the dawn of recorded human history.
Swathes of literature and art across the millennia tell familiar fables of characters that go through the same patterns and emotional struggles. Only the context changes. The protagonist in each tale come face to face with their inner demons as they rise to meet an adversary that seems far beyond them, and time and time again find themselves on the brink of defeat. The quest or ordeal forces a complete transformation in the protagonist as they struggle to find their place in the world.
