There is an idea that seems to endure despite research: people with mental health concerns deserve to be judged. It is believed they either lack self-control, are weak, or are simply undesirable burdens in society. I have even heard people state that the real issue is the consequence of sin. These beliefs harm people in multiple ways such as ostracizing already distressed souls or nationwide policies like the 1963 Community Mental Health Services Act that put unsafe and incapacitated individuals out on the streets. In my own practice, there are common feelings of guilt, shame and despair and subsequently noticeable relief when someone finds acceptance through our work together.
In all honesty, I cannot understand why there is so much venom around those with mental issues. I will never forget a statement made by someone after we watched a movie about the English writer, Virginia Woolf. This person believed that her depression and suicide showed how selfish people become when in this state. This woman had been plagued with breakdowns since the age of thirteen, dealt with sexual abuse by two brothers, and endured early losses of key family members. She also was afflicted with mental illness that clouded her mind and made every lovely element of life inadequate in overcoming her darkness. In her suicide note, Virginia wrote to her husband, “Dearest, I feel certain that I am going mad again. I feel we can’t go through another of those terrible times. And I shan’t recover this time. I begin to hear voices, and I can’t concentrate.” Virginia Woolf’s story was not about her taking advantage of others or somehow benefiting from her struggles. This was a tortured soul. She may have seemed “simply down” on the outside, but inside she was in a battle with her mind and it eventually destroyed her.
Perhaps Kay Redfield Jamison was accurate when she said, “The horror of profound depression, and the hopelessness that usually accompanies it, are hard to imagine for those who have not experienced it. Because the despair is private, it is resistant to clear and compelling description.” (p. 105, 1999) I certainly understand that it is hard to fathom such despair of depression, the uncontrolled franticness that comes with mania, or the inability to tell delusion from reality like schizophrenia. I also realize that it is upsetting and painful to see another person tormented. Yet neither seems to explain the compassion void often seen in our society.
Another problem is the belief that people with mental issues have omnipotent control over their suffering. “Just think positive.” Sure, there is benefit to learning how to address negativity; however, there are limits to this solution. With such a belief, people are being asked to get better through wishing it so. However, they are asking for the thing that’s been compromised (the brain), to be the functional enough to cure itself!
A client just today said, “I know my panic is irrational, but it rages on anyway.” Many of the deep seated beliefs causing pain are resilient to logic. Logic works when the problem is logical; but emotional distress requires emotional solutions. Aside from sharing with others, most people do not know how to help their emotional struggles.
The truth is that temperament, genetics, brain structures, and environment sometimes combine in such a way as to have devastating, effects. There are painful costs to mental struggles including decreased quality of life for clients and their families, substantial economic loss, and the potential for mortality. Every thirteen minutes, someone commits suicide. Of those deaths, ninety percent have treatable mental disorders. Whether suffering from a mental illness or struggling to cope with a major transition or multiple stressors, many of the factors mentioned above are not within a person’s control.
Sometimes, just facing the day is all that can be managed.
We need to stop seeing mental affliction as a choice. We need to stop believing that anyone with sense would ever elect to suffer. We do not say someone is weak if they are dealing with cancer, even though it is heavy on all the people involved. Let’s give those with mental struggles the same benefit of the doubt. The mentally afflicted are more than just their struggle; they are people. They need our help to work against pervasive stigmatizing labels and appreciate those things that seem easy to some, seem insurmountable to others. Provide them with patience, support, and most importantly, compassion.
***Please note: there are treatments that have proven to provide significant relief for those with mood disorders or other mental health issues. Nutrition, exercise, supports, therapy, and medication are just a few of the ways help can be provided. If you or someone you know needs help taking that first step, don’t hesitate to call me at 303.915-5597.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_Mental_Health_Act
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Woolf
Jamison, K. R., (2000) Night falls fast: understanding suicide. New York, NY: Random House, Inc.
1Berto, P, D’Ilario, D., Pierfrancesco, R, Di Virgilio, R., and Rizzo, F. (2000). Depression: Cost of illness studies in the international literature, a review. The Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics J. Mental Health Policy Econ. 3, p. 3–8.
http://www.cdc.gov/features/dsdepression/index.html (January 9, 2013).
http://www.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewPage&page_id=05147440-E24E-E376-BDF4BF8BA6444E76 (January 9, 2013)