Poverty and harsh social environments make people physically and psychologically sick.  Among the many reasons for this is that economic privation directly triggers our stress response system which causes harm to our brains and bodies and leads to maladaptive “solutions” like alcohol and drug addiction, depression and narcissism.  Of special importance is the fact that inequality itself causes stress through producing enormous “status anxiety” in everyone but especially in those near the bottom of the hierarchy. Societies like ours that are so unequal produce higher than normal symptoms of social and emotional suffering.  Inequality itself is a toxic affront to our bodies and our spirits.

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The scenes at the southern border last year evoked grief and outrage across the political spectrum.  But why were these stories so much more provocative than the equally tragic stories of children in poverty or living in families that routinely neglect them?  The answer has to do with the universality of attachment needs. All of us harbor feelings of loss growing up and we vicariously protest against them in our reactions to border separations.  In addition, the fundamental innocence of children evokes disavowed feelings of innocence in the rest of us.

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Based on his extraordinary autobiography, Born to Run, I offer some reflections on the psychology of Bruce Springsteen.  His life long struggle with depression was a result of chronic strains and traumas in his childhood home.  He responded to this emotional wasteland with a fierce determination to separate and an unusual ability to focus on his career.  In addition to getting help via psychotherapy and medication, Springsteen was ultimately healed by the love of his wife and children.  In his musical development, he was concerned always with community—the effects on people’s personal lives of injustices in that community, and his successful attempts to create community in his infamous live performances.  Since Bruce Springsteen has been my musical idol since 1969, I hope that I’ve done him justice.

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I present my work with a woman who was constantly suicidal for a year, frequently phoning me from the equivalent of “the ledge.”  I felt overwhelmed with guilt, worry, and responsibility. I eventually was able to understand what was going on and how to help her.  She was turning “passive into active” and testing me to see if I would be as traumatized by caring for a suicidal woman as she felt with a suicidal mother.   I passed her test by confronting what was going on in a way that helped her identify with the healthier parts of myself.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:29 — 16.6MB)