Skills Over Pills

The Art of Manliness

Society & Culture, Education, Philosophy

4.7 • 14.5K Ratings

🗓️ 15 April 2024

⏱️ 67 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Over the last decade, there's been an increase in the number of people, particularly young adults, who struggle with low moods, distractibility, and anxiety and consequent difficulties with getting their life on track and making progress in work, friendship, and romance. In addressing these difficulties, people are often given or adopt a mental health diagnosis, and look for a solution in therapy and/or medication. My guest isn't opposed to these remedies. She is herself a clinical psychologist who's maintained a practice for a quarter century that specializes in treating clients in their twenties. But Dr. Meg Jay, who's also the author of The Twentysomething Treatment, believes that a lot of what young adults, and in fact adults of all ages, struggle with, aren't disorders that need to be treated, but problems that can be solved. In the first half of our conversation, Meg explains what's behind the decline in mental health for young adults and how it's bigger than just smartphones. We discuss the dangers of self-diagnosis, the potential downsides of using medications to treat mental health issues, and why she advocates for "skills over pills." In the second half of our conversation, we talk about how mental health gets better when we get better at life, and what skills twentysomethings, and many older adults, need to develop, including the skills of thinking, feeling, working, socializing, and even cooking. We also discuss how porn is affecting the young men in her practice and an alternative to being a self-assurance junkie.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Brett McKay here and welcome to another edition of the Art of Manliness
0:10.3	podcast over the last decade there's been an increase in the number of people, particularly young adults,
0:16.2	who struggle with low moods, distractibility, and anxiety, and consequent difficulties with getting
0:21.3	their life on track and making progress in work, friendship, and romance.
0:25.0	In addressing these difficulties, people are often given or adopt a mental health diagnosis
0:30.0	and look for a solution in therapy and or medication.
0:33.0	My guest isn't opposed to these remedies.
0:35.0	She is herself a clinical psychologist who's maintained a practice for a quarter century
0:39.0	that specializes in treating clients in their 20s.
0:42.0	But Dr. Meg Jay, who's also the author of the 20-something treatment,
0:45.2	believes that a lot of what young adults, and in fact adults of all ages struggle with, aren't
0:50.0	disorders that need to be treated, but problems that can be solved. In the first half
0:54.1	of our conversation Meg explains what's behind the decline in mental health for young
0:57.7	adults and how it's bigger than just smartphones. We discuss the dangers of
1:01.4	self-diagnosis, the potential downsides of using medications to treat mental health issues, and why she advocates for skills over pills.
1:09.0	In the second half of our conversation, we talk about how mental health gets better when we get better at life and what skills 20-somethings and many older adults need to develop
1:17.0	including the skills of thinking, feeling, working, socializing, and even cooking.
1:22.0	We also discuss how porn is affecting the young men in life. working, socializing, and even cooking.
1:22.7	We also discuss how porn is affecting the young men in her practice,
1:25.7	an alternative to being a self-assurance junkie.
1:28.6	Out of the show is over, check out our shownuts at AWIM.
1:30.8	IS slash Meg J. All right, Meg Jay, welcome back to the show.
	...

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