Not so much journalism, but a nice article. The runners here may appreciate it.
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Worth subscribing to the Examiner? Seems pricey enough per month, but I suppose if you were to buy a physical paper, youâd spend the same or more.
A bird came in me window, landed on the laptop, jumped around a couple of times and when he left, this Independent article was on my screen. Itâs not particularly stunning writing or anything but going by the forumâs opinion on Bressle (although he doesnât get a mention here), I though Iâd share in the âdecentâ column.
Our pop mental health gurus are just the Blindboy leading the blind
Larissa Nolan
May 22 2021 02:30 AM
Dare to express a citizenâs view on Covid and youâll be shut down for not having a degree in epidemiology. Only those with the wherewithal to spend six years in medical school are deemed a valid voice on the world crisis weâre all living through.
But the scientific purism doesnât seem to apply in the areas of psychology and philosophy, at least not in Ireland. You donât need any qualifications to reinvent yourself as a mental health guru â just an impressive line in psychobabble.
Share your own mental health experience and youâre a sacred cow, beyond challenge or critique. Justify it under the overarching principle of âif it helps one personâ and nobody can argue. RTĂ will crown you as one of the nationâs spiritual leaders; a member of the new clerisy that has replaced the church in preaching to us how to live and how to think.
Podcaster and author Blindboy Boatclub is exalted to Socrates. I found myself laughing while watching him deliver moral instruction from his podcast studio on Claire Byrne Live the other night. If this is one giant surreal satire, itâs a great piece of art. But it appears he takes himself seriously.
Ah, here â a fella in his late 30s, with a bag on his head, dispensing life advice, his every platitude hung on as though he were Moses coming down from Mount Sinai.
Blindboy has never said anything I havenât heard before, or thought of myself. Itâs Wikipedia stuff the majority of us who have suffered anxiety already know.
His contribution on Claire Byrne was his usual mix of regurgitated Jordan Peterson crossed with ancient Stoic philosophy â acceptance of lifeâs suffering, yielding to events beyond your control, living in the now.
Yet the fact he can bring a sentence to its conclusion seems to be enough to elevate him into having magical ability.
He is talented â when he wants to be, he can be the sharpest, funniest, most exciting creative in Ireland â but we donât see that side of him much any more since he took a position as the nationâs curate. Doubtless itâs safer in an era of cancel culture, but I miss his anarchic art.
Blindboy is not a psychotherapist, although it seems many assume he is a qualified authority.
He mentions how he studied psychotherapy for a while, but did not complete it.
He was never a professional, although he has said he might decide to pursue it in time. He should. Benefitting from counselling does not mean youâre an expert. Iâve had 10 years of cognitive behavioural therapy myself, but it doesnât make me a therapist.
Otherwise, itâs too easy to conflate opinion with fact â for example, the time on the Late Late Show when he told young men with worries about providing for a woman that such concerns were âoutdatedâ because âneoliberalism has made it that you must be equal, itâs as simple as thatâ. In reality, itâs not.
Another popular figure who has veered into guru territory is radio presenter and comedian Dermot Whelan. He did a teaching course in meditation and now heâs the Dalai Lama.
Whelan, who is also from Limerick (there must be something in the water), is now peddling meditation as a way to help stress, anxiety and depression.
His new book Mind Full promises to help you âfeel less meh, sleep better, snap at the kids lessâ. Sounds like a bestseller? It is. Thereâs a real constituency for this stuff.
Itâs a charming book and noble in its aim, but the key message I got from it is stop drinking your head off and youâll feel better. I think we already know about the breathing techniques. Thereâs a bit of parroting at play when Whelan talks in interviews about how: âIt changes the shape of your brain, it shrinks your amygdala, it shrinks your fear centre.â
Another podcaster, Caroline Foran is regarded as the âmillennial anxiety guruâ who has written three books on coping with anxiety, Owning It , The Confidence Kit and Naked , after suffering a breakdown in 2014. She has admitted: âI am not an expert, I donât have a qualification and all Iâve ever done is share my experience.â
It seems to be enough for a successful career. What does it say about how seriously we take mental illness, that we forgo qualifications in favour of amateurs? Do we deem psychology a subjective concept, instead of the medical science it is? Why do we revere those who have experienced it as the experts, instead of the actual experts? We have fallen far from the days of Professor Anthony Clare.
Maybe it comes back to the Socratic paradox: âI know that I know nothing.â
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Limerick lads get awful needy approaching mid life is the take away.
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You donât see as much of it on here thankfully 
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If you are into GAA definetely worth it.
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Not sure where to put this but, a life well lived. RIP
This is quite a piece by Antonio Rudiger
Well written review here:
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Not sure where to put this indictment of the world.
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Fine piece here on the history of spectator sports, involving a Dan OâLeary from Clonakilty.
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Excellent article, thanks for this.
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Nice article here on Hou Yifan, for any chess enthusiast.
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A smasher here on gun violence in Philly.
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Excellent piece, very balanced.
Exceptional piece here.
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