How America can lead itself out of its mental health crisis

America is in the midst of a mental health crisis, but not necessarily because more people are sick. The bigger issue is a culture – amplified by the media and fueled in part by my own profession. They conflate genuine mental illness with everyday emotional discomfort and weakness. 

After more than two decades as a psychotherapist, I’ve seen patients stuck in this mindset that rewards fragility, elevates victimhood and leaves people feeling powerless rather than giving them the resilience they need to face life’s challenges.

According to a 2023 Gallup Poll, 29% of U.S. adults have been diagnosed with depression, up nearly 10% since 2015. That year marked a turning point in American culture. Following high-profile incidents like the shooting of Michael Brown, a young Black man in Ferguson, Missouri, by a White police officer, national conversations around race, power and identity intensified. 

According to a 2023 Gallup Poll, 29% of U.S. adults have been diagnosed with depression, up nearly 10% since 2015. (iStock)

In the years that followed, DEI ideology swept through nearly every major institution, including the mental health field. Therapy shifted from fostering resilience to unpacking systemic injustice. Patients were increasingly cast as either oppressors or oppressed, reinforcing helplessness. 

WHY 'TOXIC MASCULINITY' IS A DANGEROUS AND TERRIBLE FRAUD

Yes, real societal problems exist, but therapy isn’t for validating grievances. It’s for building people up. When it becomes a space to wallow, it stalls growth and reinforces a sense of victimhood.

This mindset isn’t just weakening individuals. It’s tearing the country apart. Look at the crowds celebrating the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and elevating his alleged killer, Luigi Mangione, to folk hero status. Look at the burned and battered Teslas across America, and at families fractured over political differences.

Modern grievance-based therapy convinces people that their problems are insurmountable, leaving them ill-equipped to face life’s challenges. It fosters a mindset where discomfort is treated as trauma – and builds a generation unprepared for the real world. We’ve become a nation of emotional lightweights: fragile, divided and unable to cope.

I see this firsthand as a psychotherapist in New York City and Washington, D.C. Patients come to me after years in therapy, convinced their struggles stem from injustice. They’ve been pathologized and politicized; validated in their victimhood but never pushed to grow. What they need isn’t another hour of venting. They need direction and accountability.

AMERICA’S WOKE EDUCATION IS FUELING THE MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS

One patient, for example, had spent years experiencing anxiety without learning how to confront it. Her therapists told her the problem stemmed from social inequality – something beyond her control. The more she believed this, the more anxious and helpless she felt. But once we shifted the focus to action, her anxiety began to lift.

Therapy fixated on social justice at the expense of growth doesn’t heal – it traps people in rumination. It infiltrates schools, workplaces and media. Young people are taught that every challenge is trauma and that discomfort should be avoided.

It wasn’t always this way. Americans faced hardship and grew stronger. That mindset built this country. It’s time to bring it back. This isn’t about politics – it’s about whether we still believe in the spirit of self-reliance and resilience, or if we’ve traded it for victimhood. 

Success, family and personal agency aren’t left or right – they’re the foundation of who we are. They remain the key to renewal. If we want to revive our cultural and mental backbone, we must reject fragility and reclaim the strength that once defined us.

FAITH AND RELIGION PROMOTE STRONG MENTAL HEALTH SO WHY, PRAY TELL, DO ATHEISTS RUN THE INDUSTRY?

Here’s how:

1. Confront the helplessness mindsetAt the heart of the crisis is a worldview that tells Americans they’re powerless. This breeds passivity and creates a cycle of defeat. Americans need to remember that they can’t control everything, but they can control how they respond. Growth comes from facing obstacles, not avoiding them.
2. Call out harmful ideologies Therapy that traps people in blame and helplessness fuels a culture of vulnerability. We must challenge the mental health industry and demand therapy that encourages accountability, action, and personal agency.
3. Promote emotional self-relianceTherapy apps and AI-based platforms, like BetterHelp and Talkspace, have turned self-help into a business that cultivates dependency. Instead, we should focus on teaching coping skills, discipline and how discomfort drives growth. Real progress doesn’t come from "safe spaces," but rather, from engaging with the real world.
4. Strengthen families and communitiesTherapy has its place, but strong families and real communities are the foundation of mental well-being. Rebuilding those bonds restores the social fabric that anchors people and helps them thrive.

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This is bigger than mental health. It’s about who we are as a nation. If we continue down the path of victimhood and blame, we risk becoming fragile and dependent. But if we reclaim the mindset that built this country – grit, responsibility and determination – we can create something stronger and more enduring than any policy: a culture of resilience and strength.

Promoting the classic American values of resilience and responsibility can lead the way. It’s time to rebuild America’s backbone – not just for ourselves, but for future generations.

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