“[…] Consider slavery. The transatlantic slave trade was not opposed by scripture—it was justified by it. Genesis 9:25–27 legitimised enslavement of Africans. Ephesians 6:5 instructed slaves to obey masters. Leviticus 25:44–46 explicitly permits buying slaves and passing them as inheritance. “[…] The sexual abuse crisis represents the starkest contemporary failure. …
Read More »Dr Lutchman: “What they call will is but an echo in an empty hall”—addressing addiction
“[…] The midbrain doesn’t know the difference between a hit of cocaine and the ‘win’ of a social spotlight or a piece of band merch. It simply flags the object as a vital resource. “When that happens, the brain’s priority-sorting software gets a bug. It starts assigning a ‘survival score’ …
Read More »Dr Lutchman: Suicide and the economy—how T&T pays high cost for mental health issues
“[…] Economists call it ‘presenteeism’. This means being physically at work but mentally checked out due to untreated mental health problems. In a small island economy, this is a productivity killer—difficult to quantify with hard data. “[…] Mental health budgets cannot be viewed as charity. That would be the wrong …
Read More »Dr Lutchman: Enforcing rules is not ‘uncaring’—T&T must undo ‘lawless’ mindset
“[Critics] suggest that a caring state relies on education, while a punitive state relies on force. This binary view, however, obscures the reality of how safety and civil order are actually maintained. “[…] The assertion of law is not an abdication of care. On the contrary, it is often the …
Read More »Dr Lutchman: T&T’s high murder rate puts country at risk of mental health emergency
“[…] We are staring at a deeply wounded nation. Many are concerned mainly about the impact on business and the nation’s economy from direct effects of serious crime. But there is a more massive problem lurking. “The mental health implications of the rising homicide rate in Trinidad and Tobago extend …
Read More »Talking hybristophilia: why some women are attracted to bad boys
“Hybristophilia is a phenomenon, where individuals, often women, develop strong affectionate or romantic feelings towards individuals incarcerated for serious crimes [or notorious for] criminal behaviour. “[…] Initially defined within a sexual context, recent explorations reveal that the attraction often transcends sexual desire. Experts highlight the role of psychological factors like …
Read More »Dear Editor: Why hangman, Gods, and arming citizens won’t address T&T’s “escalating crime rates”
“[…] Trinbagonians have consistently failed to address the root causes of their [crime] problems, remaining trapped in unproductive cycles. It may be startling for them to learn that they themselves contribute to their own situation. “But a divided nation is a nation to be ruled by the monumentally corrupt. That …
Read More »Dear Editor: What would be cost in blood of Dr Deyalsingh’s plea to arm “the citizenry”?
“Dr Varma Deyalsingh has suggested ‘arming the citizenry’ with guns when he addressed the 3rd Sitting of the Senate […] on 13 October 2022… He was cursorily cautious to include with ‘proper checks and balances’. Knowing what those proper checks and balances would be and how to keep them ‘proper’ …
Read More »Great opportunity, but many minefields—tips for T&T nurses migrating to UK
“[…] For the winters, your accommodation costs should budget to cover heating and electricity. The best-case scenario is finding accommodation at a fixed cost provided by your employer. “[…] Never raise your voice loudly to appear to be shouting at anyone in the workplace. Do not wave your hands/arms around …
Read More »Dear Editor: The media must beware of unhelpful ‘post-truths’ about mental health
“[…] I had a problem when she said, ‘No matter how privileged or happy your circumstances are, most humans suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.’ “No degree of latitude from journalistic licence should be allowed about that statement. It is incorrect—not just because I am a psychiatrist saying so…” The following …
Read More »Dear Editor: Young not ashamed of treatment of Venezuela children? He has skin like ‘crapaud leather’?
“[…] The children were treated in a cruel, inhumane and unusual way. It is utterly ridiculous for Stuart Young to pull some verbal sleight of hand, arguing that they were ‘escorted’ and not ‘deported’…” The following Letter to the Editor on the deportation of 16 Venezuelan children was submitted to …
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