ntroduction to why I used such a strong word
Many on Painconcern have met the after effects of meeting with psychiatrists and their medical reports. The emotional discomfort that a psychiatric report produces can be quite considerable for some vulnerable people.
I know at first hand the emotional upset and discomfort that a psychiatrist can produce particularly when you give an explanation for something that has occurred and what they write is very different in meaning to what you have told them. My experience of some psychiatrists is that they have no understanding of what happens when the stresses that one is under is greater than the stress breakdown point. (see “First post part 3”) The DSM (psychiatrists diagnosis bible) I believe states that physical reasons need to be explored before a diagnosis of some mental defect is made. The doctor has not found a physical reason for your pain and discomfort (not examined the patient thoroughly enough). So the psychiatrist gives a psychiatric diagnosis based on the life events that the patient has gone through. The doctor says no physical cause for your pain. The psychiatrist takes this as truth for the patient. So there must be a mental cause.
There has been many complaints that psychiatrists when they produce a psychiatric diagnosis ignore a person’s culture, a person’s religious beliefs and spiritual practices, the person’s language skills, the person’s use of language as a result of belonging to a particular peer group. There was a case where a person who was autistic was asked if they heard voices. The autistic person said yes they did. The autistic person understood the question to mean could they hear the psychiatrist speaking. The autistic person got prescribed antipsychotics for a condition that they did not have.
Myself in discussion with others have needed a name for what has been be done to some of us. The name may be disliked by some. There are those who have experienced some of the things that have be done to us by authority figures and the emotional effect it has on us and subsequent long lasting emotional effects. The phase “Mind Rape” is very apt. What has been done has created very strong negative effects on our psyches. By giving what has been done a name and a definition of what has been done it is possible to work on strategies for healing and prevention. Once there was communication between the generations in the community within the family and outside the family. Now though the actions of the law the communication that once existed no longer exists. Many of the strategies for helping with emotional pain issues learnt though the process of trial and error have almost disappeared.
I remember as a 15 year old standing in front of a mirror with a razor blade in hand making a decision whether to cut my throat or not. The emotional pain at that point was very high. It was touch and go. The adults in the community outside the family whose company I enjoyed was the deciding factor why I did not. It was not bullying that led me to this point. It was the actions of my mother and the psychological pressures that she applied that caused the creation of this event. Before everyone considers condemning her. The pressures on her were immense. Things happen which with a little help do not. I have spoken to a number of people who have been very close to killing themselves due to this effect. It was pure luck that they did not. The reason they as children did not was that they had involvement with other adults outside the family in the community. It is my belief that the increase in child suicides is due to the loss of communication with adults outside the family.
As aside. I have spoken to a number of people who have been in situations where they wanted to commit suicide. Moving out of the suicidal body posture by moving appears to have been one of the factors as why they did not. This needs further exploring.
The definition of Mind Rape follows. I hope it is of use to people who need a word to describe some damaging and painful experiences they have been though so that they can begin to heal from the experience and prevent the stress from the experience on our psyches from manifesting again.
Mind Rape – A Mental Abuse that warrants a Name
Defining what it is and why it needs to be defined
Introduction
The forceful violation of a victim which takes place on the physical plane is referred to as ‘rape’. Violation can also occur on the mental plane. Some types of violation which occur on the mental plane can only be referred to as ‘Mind Rape’. The reason for the need to use such a strong term as rape will be discussed later. This type of violation has long-term effects on the psyche of the victim. This violation can result from the conscious or unconscious methods used by members of the legal, medical, religious, judicial, teaching or other professions when they try to impose their own preconceptions (or misconceptions) on lay people. The preconceptions/misconceptions can ignore or denigrate the life experiences, perceptions and integrity of the lay person. This can be devastating and it undermines the effectiveness of lay people representing themselves against the establishment.
A person of high political or social standing can impose their opinions on others by virtue of their perceived status, particularly in a context which already places a person in a vulnerable position such as a court, medical consultation, or police interview.
Susceptibility to ‘mind rape’ is likely to be present when there is a dependency relationship with a person in authority. This could be in a private capacity – such as a parent / carer and a child or vulnerable adult. It could also be in a professional capacity. The following are examples of professional dependency relationships: medical professional – patient; warden – prisoner; teacher – pupil; judge – litigant; religious leader - laity.
‘Mind rape’ can also occur between child and parent or some other figure which the child holds in authority.
A child or vulnerable adult will always be in a dependency position in their interaction with their parent or carer respectively. Other adults who we might not deem ‘vulnerable’ within a legal framework can also become vulnerable in practice – spouses, work colleagues, neighbours amongst others. We understand the generic term ‘bullying’ which can be mental or physical and can affect the ‘child’, ‘vulnerable adult’ and subordinate in the ‘professional’ sphere. I believe bullying does not permanently destroy someone’s sense of self worth. Bullying can only take place in a limited sphere. Destruction of a victim’s self worth by a person in authority is carried by the victim from one environment to another. I perceive victims of ‘mind rape’ to have a greater vulnerability to being bullied and the effects of being bullied. The victim of ‘mind rape’ can have the body language that is an invitation that says: “please bully me”. There are always people who will act on such an invitation.
‘Mind rape’ is a term which is not in the New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (2002). The two words, ‘mind’ and ‘rape’ in the Dictionary are:
A)Mind: This is defined as "The seat of awareness, thought, volition, and feeling"
B)Rape: This has several definitions. An appropriate definition is "Take (a thing) by force; seize".
A person can be said to have suffered ‘mind rape’ during interview or examination or treatment by a person in authority when the following things happen:
I) The victim’s use of language and their intended meaning as used within their peer groups is ignored. What has been said is given a different meaning and interpretation by the person in authority. The interpretation that is made fits the preferredhypothesis of the person in authority. (This can involve recording different words from those which have been said). Non-verbal communication and cultural background which can give additional meaning can be deliberately ignored.
II) The experience, values, and mechanisms of social interaction of a person within their peer groups are denigrated by the person in authority without proper and appropriate investigation. The purpose of the denigration is to destroy the person’s sense of self worth.
III) The victim’s conclusions regarding their experience are dismissed and replaced with new ones by the person in authority. These new conclusions ignore and deliberately fail to take account of some or all of the victim’s intellectual ability, education, life experience and social skill training.
The occurrence of points I, II, and III over time (short or long) lays the groundwork to make a person vulnerable to ‘mind rape’ occurring and a person’s psyche being substantially damaged. My experience is that the breaking of a person’s psyche can happen over a matter of seconds, the time it takes to say the right words to achieve maximum effect on the potential mind-rape victim.
In summary ‘mind rape’ can be defined as an action that seeks out a person’s mental/emotional vulnerability and attacks their psyche and sense of self worth with the purpose of undermining them. A person has been ‘mind raped’ if they have lost some or all of their sense of self worth. I postulate that a person who has lost their sense of self worth is very prone to committing suicide. I know people who have been close to committing suicide because of this.
Why the term ‘Mind Rape’ is needed
I have had many discussions with people concerning the use of the word ‘rape’ in the phrase ‘mind rape’. In some of my discussions some people find the word rape very distasteful. A number of other people have expressed concerns that the word ‘rape’ in the phrase ‘mind rape’ would be considered a turn off and would discourage the reading of the document. A number of people I have spoken to have suggested the phrase ‘mental abuse’ would be less distasteful. One of these discussions was with the solicitor for National MIND, a mental health charity, circa 2002. He took my early description of the phrase to the MIND board members at the time. The MIND solicitor told me that the word ‘rape’ would result in complaints from women members of MIND.
Mental abuse is a form of emotional attack that makes a person being subjected to that attack very uncomfortable. Many people who suffer various forms of mental abuse do not find that they lack self worth afterwards. They know that the person subjecting them to the mental abuse is bullying someone weaker than the perpetrator. ‘Mind rape’ is a term that describes a particular form of mental abuse and needs to be defined as such.
The potential long-lasting devastation of someone’s psyche following physical rape is well known. The devastation of the effects of the loss of self worth following ‘mind rape’ is not so well known, because it is not as widely portrayed in the social media of films and documentaries.
A possible reason for this is that the issue of loss of self worth is very difficult to discuss let alone comprehend by the person suffering it.
A person can temporarily lose their sense of self worth as a consequence of life events. For example, losing their employment and the means to support their family, or losing their social position in the community. The above sense of loss of self worth is often temporary because one can rebuild their psyche after such events. The loss of a person’s sense of self worth through chronic illness/disability is a serious problem that is often not looked at. Chronic illness/disability prevents a person contributing to the community and thus a person’s self worth can be diminished. I have found it a particular problem that as a sufferer of chronic pain I have to make use of other people’s services and help and I am unable to repay the help given.
It needs to be stated that a person may never recover from the destruction of self worth though ‘mind rape’.
I hope I have been able to make clear why ‘mind rape’ is a form of mental abuse and needs to be defined as such.
