Anyone else starting to feel like we’re 6+ years into a Twilight Zone episode? Like every morning we’re waking up to a Breaking News story and you ask yourself, “is that even legal?” To which, bureaucracies say, “yep! It’s in Da Rulez!” you ask where, and you’re met with silence?

Or in Yossarian’s case, he’s met with an invisible citation: Catch-22. 

I try to remain primarily apolitical when it comes to my mental health profession– because depression can hit anyone, no matter the affiliation. However, I originally majored in Educational Policy, Leadership, and Social Justice from the University of Washington as an undergrad, which means I do ultimately lean into a social justice framework in my practice. I will talk myself into a circle while asking, “how can you expect to not be anxious if you don’t know where you’re sleeping tonight?” There are undoubtedly systemic issues and concerns that bleed into the mental wellbeing of regular people.

However, it is legally outside of a counselor’s scope of practice to address these contributing factors. I remember meeting with a therapist when I was 19, crying because I was in a difficult situation and my ability to find hope was nonexistent. In my next appointment, I was met with, “we want to refer you out. Your case is too complicated for our on-campus counseling resources.” 

Then, about two years later, my housing was at risk. I tried to do therapy the right way, and what I was met with was concerning:

Therapist: What brings you in?

Me: I lost my roommate, I’m scared to find a new one because I feel like a bad person all the time, but I can’t afford to live alone.

Therapist: What do you hope to do with therapy?

Me: I’m hoping you can help me find what to do. Or what I can do.

Therapist: Well. I’m not your mother, so I can’t do that.

I’m not ignorant enough to believe the therapist was performing malpractice. In fact, the more I started training, the more I saw how quickly we’re conditioned to become removed from situations outside of our control. If a 20 year old came into my office asking for guidance on rental assistance, the best I can do is share extremely limited knowledge on systems I navigated personally.

And THAT is considered malpractice. I am not a social worker, and any feedback on navigating a system outside of my license could lead to a lawsuit. WHO’s Social Determinants of Health research and data doesn’t change Da Rulez. Where in Da Rules? Oh, just flip to the page with Catch-22.

Then there is the layer of access to information at the touch of our fingertips. Back in the day, the average consumer did not hear about Breaking News until an entire narrative arc had been formed. Newspapers said, “hey, a really bad thing happened, here’s how the higher powers are responding, and it’s looking promising.” Nowadays we’re flooded with:

News: Hey! A thing just happened!

Audience: Oh no! What do we do?

News: I don’t know but I said it first!
Audience: How is that relevant?

News: I don’t know, but did you know scientists are saying we’re running out of air?

Audience: WHAT?

News: Oh good, you clicked! A THEORY says we might run out of air in a few billion years!

Who in the world decided that this was deemed effective journalism and not an active role in the global mental health crisis? Oh that’s right, it’s probably in Da Rulez. Where in Da Rules? Probably under Catch-22.

It’s funny how a book written in 1961 is only growing more and more relevant as time goes on. What was written as a farce suddenly wouldn’t cause us in 2026 to bat an eye. We open the news, see that our leaders decided to bomb its own commissary because the payout was better? Honestly, that’s pretty tame. Someone is promoted to Major without proper training because his name is hilarious? I’m pretty sure people assume there’s a Major Major Major Major running around in the present day.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is easily one of my favorite books of all time. When I finished reading it, I was finding ways to squeeze it into conversations as often as possible. Unlike any other book I have read, when someone else in the room had read it, their eyes would light up and immediately start to deep-dive the intricacies and absurdities and tragedies they also experienced while reading it. I think it is because we live in the same feelings of being trapped and ignored as our protagonists. 

“There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions.” … “That’s some catch, that Catch-22.” … “The best there is.” (Heller, 1961).

Only a crazy person would fly a mission. So if you fly, you are crazy, and can stop. But if you ask to stop, you are sane enough to know the risk, therefore you are no longer crazy and must keep flying.

All the while, Yossarian only needs to fly 25 missions… No wait, 30… no, let’s make that 45… well, Colonel Cathcart has to look the best, so let’s grow it again… And Yossarian slowly succumbs to madness– or perhaps the only character to maintain his sanity, thus succumbing to trauma. 

I can attest: since 2020, I have felt an extension of my mission to survive just a little longer in this chaos. We just have to survive COVID, then an economic crash, then a gamified and extremely divisive election, then a war, then horrific news of the global elites, then more war,… I imagine we’ll get another extension soon, without even a pat on the back. 

It’s starting to feel like it’s time to lean into the absurdity and run around naked with Yossarian for a while, or carry crab apples in our cheeks with Orr. After all, is it protest when we’re living in nonsense as blatant as Wonderland? When more and more things are being shifted into something out of our control, we will naturally be drawn to controlling anything that’s left– even if it’s our nudity and cheek real-estate.

While I like to wrap up these posts in a positive way, I think I can only close out in solidarity. The illusion is shattered across the board, and we’re all learning how to successfully crash our own planes with a 100% success rate. A big part of my job is to remind people that they are not alone, and I stand firm once again. What we are witnessing is not normal, and we are all constantly feeling big feelings. Some people are fighting back loudly, some more quietly, some diligently, some impulsively. That can be expected.

But, for what it is worth: if Heller could write a novel that has resonated with audiences for 65 years, then we can deduce we’ve been in the chaos before, and we have made it through. Watch out for your neighbors, protect your loved ones, build your community and support system. Sometimes we can run away, and other times we have to ride the wave.

References

World Health Organization. (2023). Social Determinants of Health. https://www.who.int/health-topics/social-determinants-of-health