Whelmed

Whelmed The Gambler by Rachael Elliott Dave Snell

The smarter you are the more likely you are to struggle with your mental health. I dunno whether that makes y’all more or less likely I hate the song The Gambler. I used to to hit the skids to be honest. You did make regularly play poker in bars and they would it into uni, but then you actually chose to play this rubbish song every night. My come here when higher education is the dislike for the Rogers is not the subject of biggest money-making scam the boomers this column, but leads nicely into the topic managed since the housing crisis so… Jury’s of Picking Your Battles. I guess this is what out. The Gambler song is about, so I must’ve retained something while I was losing all my Recent stats from the NZ Health survey chips. reported that women aged 15-24 were experiencing anxiety and depression at Picking your battles is hard. double the rate of men the same age, and Māori youth are 1.5 times more likely to It’s particularly hard when all of life seems have a diagnosis of anxiety disorder than to be a battle at the moment. Dealing with non-Māori. Our trans, non-binary, gender COVID or the risk of COVID, the war in queer, and takatāpui whānau are even more Ukraine (it’s a war, not a special operation), marginalised, so they’re even deeper in the power companies, climate change, Jordan hole. Peterson, some guy on Facebook who thinks Joe Rogan has some valid points, So don’t try and tell me that there isn’t a stuff at work, animals needing to go to the societally constructed, gender specific, vet, whether this guy on this quiz show is kyriarchal component to our mental health wearing a toupee or not…. crisis. The effect of gender-roles and the negative experiences of these throughout But I digress. There is a lot going on at your life, often starting before you even the moment. When you are stressed, you realise what is happening, is a very large are at your most vulnerable to emotions. and specific risk factor for mental illness. Hyper vigilance they call it, which is fancy Not to mention the fact that we’re usually psycho-babble for stay the fuck out of left literally holding the baby (or the sibling, my way. Everything seems like a personal or parent or grandparent).

Despite being the gold fucking standard of humanity, wom*n (yes, all wom*n, inclusive) are being thrown under the fucking bus. In every country from which data is available, in every racial, ethnic, and attack, every odd look from anyone else age group, from every historical period: appears to be a personal attack, and what we have lower arrest rates than men for the hell is that goddamn noise? Being able all crime categories except prostitution to recognise when this is happening, try (which shouldn’t be a crime, sex work is to distract or find something to manage work). Several peer-reviewed studies over emotions, and taking stock of what is going the last few decades have shown that on can be a massive help. wom*n outperform men in many of the key areas that make for good leadership: Something I like to try first is a body scan. self-awareness, kindness, self-control, I think of Robocop, imagining some sort of humility, social skills, and moral sensitivity. laser scanning my body and trying to see While men outperform us in unprovoked whether there is tension and whereabouts aggression, psychopathy, narcissism, greed, it is. and the kinds of Machiavellian tendencies that create things like white collar crime, Usually, it’s my jaw clenching. mishandling of a global pandemic and the need for the #metoo movement. And yet That can provide opportunities to relax they’re still in charge. And you still ask us in specific areas and try and feel better. why we need feminism. Perspective taking also helps. Will you be this pissed off tomorrow about this Anyway, I digress. Why are wom*n more misguided metal head cos he thinks Tool is likely to struggle with their mental health the greatest band in the world? If not, this than men? MaYBE iT’s ThEiR HoRMoNEs? might not be a battle worth fighting. If it is Are wom*n more likely to be anxious and a battle worth fighting, does it need to be depressed because we do all the emotional fought face to face? labour or because men aren’t allowed to have feelings? Either way you can thank the Sometimes just having a good old rant by patriarchy, and the solution is feminism. becoming a Nexus columnist or boring a work colleague to tears might help get it all Perhaps we’re anxious and depressed because we’ve been sexualised since we were children? Nothing like never being sure if you can trust a person to keep you on your toes.

Perhaps it’s because we still get paid less out. Venting can release steam. If, after all than men for doing the same work. Nothing that, it is still a battle worth fighting, fight it. like feeling unappreciated to make you want It may be your mind’s way of telling you that to stay in bed all day. this is an injustice that is worth addressing. Maybe it’s because we’ve been taught 10 In that case, fight it with everything you different ways not to be raped but boys still have. Kenny Rogers be damned. haven’t been told not to rape us? That deep down, some men think they’re entitled to Take care. our smiles, our time, and our bodies, even when we say no.

Maybe we’re all fucked up because we’re more likely to experience mental and " Venting can release physical violence and abuse than men, and steam. If, after all that, trauma is directly linked to the development of anxiety, depression, and a host of other it is still a battle worth mental illnesses. fighting, fight it. It may Maybe, until we sort that out, wom*n are be your mind’s way of going to struggle more with their mental telling you that this health than men. is an injustice that is If you want to help? Call out your friend’s worth addressing. " shitty misogynistic jokes. Even just saying that you don’t get it, or you don’t find it funny- that one small awkward moment is worth something huge. Because suddenly, the 1 in 4 women in the room that have been sexually assaulted? Feel just a tiny bit safer.

And that’s a tiny step in the right direction.