“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”

— Jiddu Krishnamurti

Conventional psychological discourse deems an individual as “well adjusted” if they’ve shown effective adaptation to their environment. Jiddu Krishnamurti, a spiritual writer and speaker, challenges this, asking what if “adapting” is itself pathological, when the environment we’re in is systemically damaging?

So many of us have been diagnosed with conditions such as anxiety and depression, because we check the boxes of being “maladjusted”. But what if we are responding completely appropriately to deep and chronic systemic dysfunction?

Our current society perpetuates narratives that encourage:

• Over-identification with productivity and social status, leading us to equate self-worth with performance

• Suppression of our needs, curiousities, and creative expression

• Hyper-individualism at the expense of community & connection

• Competition, comparison & conflict that creates division

Resisting a system that wants to keep us feeling defective and isolated can look like:

• Resting even if a part of you feels guilty

• Accept your emotions instead of suppressing and invalidating them

• Acknowledge when societal pressures conflict with your values & prioritize only what aligns with those values

• Practicing self-acceptance as an antidote to chronic shame

• Engage in activities that feel like joy & play, without attaching them to productivity or an outcome

• Investing in a community where you feel mutual care, belonging & support

• Building connection with people that validate your experience

• Seeking collective forms of healing rather than isolated self-improvement

The right mental health support for you can provide:

• A safe space to discuss that societal pressures that exacerbate distress and overwhelm

• Collaborative development of practices to preserve autonomy and hope

• Exploration and validation of your unique lived experiences

• Building resilience in a way that is not compliance