I may regret posting this, but I literally cannot help writing today.
WHY are there so many struggles with mental illness today?!
It's everywhere. In every family. In every ward. On every block. It is 'the plague' of this time period. It's a plague that is as real as diabetes, but as uncertain as cancer. You 'may or may not' recover fully. We know so much more now than we did years ago, and for that I am thankful. But I am sick. Sick and tired of watching people suffer. Good people. People that have done nothing wrong. People that are as normal as you and me, but for some reason the chemicals need a little help. Sometimes a lot. From bipolar disorder, to depression, anxiety, eating disorders, ADD, OCD, schizophrenia...you name it. It can range from 'frustrating' to debilitating.
I want to find a cure. I want to fix it. I want to educate people. I want people to stop judging each other when some one acts a little 'less than perfect.' I want health insurance companies, schools, church leaders, and political leaders to stand up and admit that our country has a problem as big as social security and gas prices. I want legislation that will support people with these issues and recognize that turning a blind eye will only make things worse, as well as increase the need for welfare, jails and mental institutions. I want to know what we are doing in our society that 'causes' this. Is it stress? Diet? Genetics? A combination? Can we change our lifestyles so as to prevent more episodes? Was it here hundreds of years ago? As rampant? Is it more evident since people live longer? Is there help? And who can we turn to to?
I am sick and tired of watching people in pain. I know this is an uncomfortable topic. But I'm even sick of that. We have got to be more open about this, for those who deal with it personally, and for those who deal with it vicariously. It is real and it is not going away. I'm betting most of you know somebody close to you who struggles. I'm even willing to bet that you don't have to look very far to find some one. Maybe only a half a block down your street.
I'm tired and I'm going to do something about it. I don't know what, but we have got to start talking openly about the issues right in front of us that we pretend are not there. If not for you, but for your children, who will also experience it. That is a fact. I probably sound fanatical, no doubt. So let it be known. I am an advocate. Who will help?
(I don't actually expect any comments on this. People are too afraid to give anything away. But I really want to know. DO YOU come on contact with mental health issues? Is this a concern to anyone else?)
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11 comments:
I will comment. I think it's a big issue and I know lots of people with problems. I have the same questions as you and would love the answers. The most frustrating to me is that so many don't seek help due to the stigmas attached to mental illness.
You don't sound the least bit fanatical. It's a huge problem. And what's worse is that so many times people can't get the help they need because they don't realize it is something that isn't their fault, that there is help in some measure available. They are just labeled as weird or high-maintenance and left to deteriorate. Marriages crumble, old people are abandoned, people turn to illegal drugs to try to cope, etc. It's a major problem, I absoutely agree, very complex, far reaching.
Thanks for being brave enough to post this. I couldn't agree more. In my husband's family, 9/10 kids and 1/2 parents suffered with fairly severe depression and/or anxiety during their lives--often around the college years. For many, it lasted much longer. The effects are debilitating (may I insert a hallelujah right here that Mark just passed the bar...this is the result of prayers and miracles and patient doctors--not all--and lots of experimentation with medication...) I am happy to leave a novel-length comment, but perhaps this is not the forum. I am in your support group. I think open discussion with those who have (and especially have not) come in contact with mental illnesses (I hate that word) is the best way to start.
I definitely agree that there needs to be a lot more education on this matter. People need to not feel so inferior, inadequate, guilty, you name it the list goes on and on, when they have to deal with something like this. It's the lack of education and communication on this topic that creates the hardship. Education would teach everybody that there is a lot of help, and even cures, out there. Even early-intervention makes a HUGE difference. Did you know that a person who suffers from depression, not clinical, but goes a long period of time with on-going depression that just keeps getting worse, it can turn into clinical depression and affect the hormones and chemicals in ones body long-term and often for a lifetime? We all know that the longer you expose your body to something that's unhealthy, the more damage that is done. The same principle is true for serious depression. The longer you go without help, the worse it will be for a longer period of time (to the point of becoming chronic). One of my younger brothers was just diagnosed with bi-polar... he was still caught early enough that MUCH can be done for him. If we had caught it earlier, it would have been even better. Not to mention we would have prevented the extreme anguish, confusion, frustration and bitterness he went through because he didn't understand why things happen the way they do in his life. And yes, we're ALL afraid to admit openly that we have trials like this because most people have not been educated. When you don't understand something, you fear it (to say it very basically). So me? I suffered with extreme depression during both pregnancies. I didn't get help until I was half-way through my second pregnancy and by then, it had escalated into a slightly worse problem (lasting beyond pregnancy and such). I'm still afraid to talk about it because I know people might judge me and consider me "lesser" or incapable. Maybe they'll tip-toe around me, or won't trust me with greater responsibilities (which I'm more than capable of). I can tell you understand these issues. I'm trying to do something now to help by being open with anybody who I think is in trouble, or even heading down that way. But if I had the means to reach a larger audience, I would do it if that meant educating people further, thereby helping those who suffer from maladies such as these.
I think you are certainly right, only I bet most people wouldn't have to go as far as half a block. I think this is probably even more widespread than we realize (because how could you ever measure?) These kind of problems are in many ways much worse than other health problems because when you have a mental problem, that affects not just the way you move, but the way you THINK, which directly affects who you are. That terrifies me.
I have never understood why our society attachs such a stigma to mental illness. We don't look down on people for admitting that they have scoliosis or strep throat, and we are happy when they get help. So why is it that when someone is brave enough to admit they need help mentally, they get labelled and sometimes even ostracized for it. I don't get it. It's definitely not the way God would want it. I guess at least we are lucky to have the knowledge tha we can take comfort in the atonement. What a blessing to know that we and those that we love don't have to struggle with these things alone.
I agree. I think a lot of it stems from how disconnected our society has become. People don't have nearly the sense of community that they used to. Too many of us rush around accomplishing things without taking the time to get to know our neighbors and connect with our extended families.
I do think that people today are far more aware of mental illness than they used to be. Also, I think Dr.s are better at diagnosing problems than they used to be. The whole field of psychology is really a brand new in the long term perspective. People used to think that folks with mental illness were possessed by devils. Really, from a historical perspective, we have already made great headway, and I hope that it continues.
This is something that my family has dealt (and tried not to deal with) depression a lot. I agree with the need for more talk and education about it all, but what frustrates me at this point is having someone (and sometimes even myself) trying to diagnose me. Sometimes I feel like it's only a matter of time until something sets off the time bomb in me to trigger it. Can't I avoid it? When are blues too deep a shade? etc.
I agree this is such a HUGE problem! It affects us all in some degree. As I was reading this a special that I saw on TV a few months ago about a teenage girl struggling with depression popped into my mine-quite disturbing. This girl had been top of her high school class,was popular and had everything going for her. Also seemed to have a great relationship with her parents at least so they thought.The parents had never detected any sign of deppression from her. This girl went away to college and started going online and found suicide support groups that would teach her in detail the many ways you could kill yourself and gave her the support to help her go through with it. This was alarming to me! In our own family there are and have been struggles with depression and with that comes and has brought great trials. I look to the future and get scared. Will our own children have to face this problem? How will we educate and help them?
A good friend of mine was just diagnosed with a mental disorder and it has been very difficult for her and yet liberating to know that there is a reason that she struggles the way she does with perfectionism and anger. I watch her struggles and I feel for her. I applaud people who share openly their struggles so that we can all learn from them. It does not benefit any of us for us to act as if all is well when it is not. I was watching a homeless man walking the streets of our town just this weekend and was wondering what happened to him in his life to land him there. At one point he was a beautiful baby with bright eyes. I am willing to bet that he too struggles with some kind of mental illness. Anyway, I know this was a random comment, but oh well.
Thank you for your post, Bethany, and all those that commented. I agree with you all, that this is such a huge and complex problem. My family has a long history of depression, etc. and it scares me to think about what I could inherit, but nobody really talks about it, and that really bothers me. I want to figure these things out before something really bad happens and so I can help my children if they inherit any of these mental illnesses.
I too think that if we are open about these kinds of difficulties, the more we can help each other. Maybe by just starting a support group of sorts or getting the word out about all that's being done nowadays in the field of medicine. Weighty matters these are... Please keep us all posted for anything you learn!
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