My heart is broken today as another tragedy hits our world.\u00a0 Arising at my usual 6am, I turn on the news to hear about the horrific scene that took place in Thousand Oaks, California.\u00a0 The horrendous loss of life, the pain on the faces of the kids who were enjoying a night out on the town, and the tears of the parents were devastating.\u00a0 All of this points to a very confused society of people.<\/p>\n
Thousand Oaks is a city that will most likely face a social transformation from a \u2018war-like\u2019 environment, which has created tremendous loss and will affect people\u2019s interactions and lifestyle in the future.\u00a0 Social transformation refers to the process of altering the status (in this case, it reflects upon safety) of one\u2019s parents to resemble their current status.[1]<\/a> \u00a0The fear of this disaster will not be forgotten and will most likely will be carried into future generations.\u00a0 The safety that this town once felt (and no longer holds) will carry on in people\u2019s thoughts, hearts and minds, thus affecting the social status of safety in this city with regards to the present and on into the future.\u00a0 The innocence of a safe society is no longer present for this town \u2013 and may not be felt for many generations to come.<\/p>\n According to Wikipedia, social theories are paradigms used to study and interpret social phenomena.\u00a0 I love the words that make up this definition, but what does it really all mean?\u00a0 Elliot explains that certain core themes take precedence over others, such as the nature of social life, the relationship between self and society, and the role of social transformation.[2]<\/a>\u00a0 Social transformation can encompass many values, including economic or psychosocial factors.<\/p>\n Having worked in the counseling world for so long, I see generational psychosocial barriers that people face.\u00a0 These can be from generational poverty, long term mental abuse, and\/or fear that is created through traumatic environments.\u00a0 Although often these factors play over long periods of times, sometimes crisis situations can harbor within society and create ongoing transformation, such as a fear from safety that a society may hold – and future generations often carry this societal fear within them through their experiences.<\/p>\n Elliot further explores the theory between self and society in his book, Social Theory and Psychoanalysis in Transition.\u00a0 <\/em>Elliot contends that \u201cthe unconscious is a constitutive and creative force of human subjectivity capable of not only individual but social transformation.\u201d[3]<\/a> The relationship between self and society becomes compromised when a tragedy occurs that removes the protective barrier that people often feel is available through their social circle.\u00a0 When this occurs, trust is broken, and people lose faith in the protective nature that society can often hold.<\/p>\n Looking at this situation and so many others similar to this, I truly believe that mental health needs to be a focus for our society to make changes in the pattern of society.\u00a0 Yes, gun control is also important, but we must help our young people make better choices during their pain than to pull out a gun and start shooting fellow youth.\u00a0 First, we must change the way society looks at mental health and make it an acceptable means towards healing; just as medical doctors are accepted to treat physical ailments.\u00a0 Secondly, we must make mental health more prevalent and available to people, especially youth.\u00a0 We must strengthen our response to these situations by accepting mental health professionals and empowering their value in society.<\/p>\n Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his\/her abilities, can cope with the stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to make a contribution to society.[4]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 Let\u2019s provide help to hurting individuals so that their contribution to society is not a mass shooting.\u00a0 And let Christ\u2019s light continue to shine on those who have been affected by this horrendous tragedy.<\/p>\n There are answers.\u00a0 We have a Good Book that is our Manual for Healing.\u00a0 John 8:12 is one of my faves: \u201cJesus said, I am the light of the world.\u00a0 Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.\u201d\u00a0 Let the light of Christ always shine from within you and out into society to reflect love and acceptance to others in our truly hurting world!<\/p>\n Blessings to you, my friends\u2026.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Anthony Elliott, Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction, <\/em>2nd<\/sup> ed. (Oxford:\u00a0 Routledge: Kindle edition, 2014).<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Elliot, Contemporary Social Theory.<\/em><\/p>\n