One of my favorite pieces of wisdom comes from Garrett Hardin, an American ecologist who wrote “you cannot do only one thing." What he meant is that everything is connected with everything else, and that anything we do will have unintended consequences. He was writing first and foremost about the environment, but I like the line because it really a rule for understanding how we organize society in general.
I was reminded of Hardin’s rule while editing my conversation with Nena Butterfield,  an experimental psychiatrist at Pavilion, a substance abuse rehabilitation center up in the northern corner of the county. She agreed to help me explore the state of mental health in Polk County. But it wasn’t easy to stay on topic, to focus on mental health problems without talking about addiction, loneliness, suicide, politics, kids and schools, seniors, covid-19, social media, screen-time… to just name a few of the issues we just couldn’t avoid.
Ordinarily this would be frustrating, but in retrospect it made a lot of sense. Our state of mental health has far-reaching implications that make it difficult for one government department, or one group, to manage. And we’ve all been affected by mental health problems. Dr. Butterfield and I talked in her office at the Pavilion complex in Cooper’s Gap.
Further reading
The new science of hope, by Carol Graham, The Atlantic, April 25, 2023
Teen girls report record levels of sadness, C.D.C, Finds, New York Times, Feb. 13, 2023
Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2011-2021, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Pavilion Substance Abuse Disorder Treatment Center

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