Dr. Ashley Humphrey

It occurred to him that his scarcely perceptible attempts to struggle against what was considered good by the most highly placed people, those scarcely noticeable impulses which he had immediately suppressed, might have been the real thing, and all the rest false.”    Leo Tolstoy

Depression, anxiety, apathy.

These are just a few of the rising conditions that led the World Health Organization’s 2017 Global Health Estimates report to label mental health as the biggest burden of disease faced by the Western world.

One of the most striking research findings is that depression and other forms of mental ill health have been increasing at a greater rate in developed Western cultures versus developing countries. Yet despite this trend, our predominant conversations and medical responses to depression and other mental health issues focus on their individual nature, with the broader influence of cultural factors largely ignored.

Dominant Cultural Values?

Instead of focusing on mental health at the individual level, Cultural Deceptions examines the dominant Western values and ideals having an adverse effect on society’s psychological wellbeing. However, more than just a critique, this book also explores alternative forms of living that counter the highly competitive, materialistic and self-centered messages emanating from much of Western culture. More specifically, it lays out a series of tools derived from recent psychological research that can help people reconnect to forms of community and meaning beyond obsessive concerns with material well-being and ambitions of the self.

Part practical guide, part cultural criticism, this book offers a unique take on modern society, providing for a compelling and thought-provoking narrative throughout.