“Mental Illness, the way we treat it is insane.” A popular motto from NAMI, The National Alliance on Mental Illness. This is a very true statement in my brother’s experience in trying to receive adequate mental health care. There are countless situations throughout his life since he was diagnosed when he was 17 years old, (he is now 42), where the system has failed miserably. The most upsetting thing is the pure lack of respect he has experienced at the hands of those hired to help him. Doctors and other health care professionals treating him as if he has no feelings or intellect. He is very perceptive and knows when someone is disrespecting him. He was denied the proper medication by one doctor because it was “too expensive” for the rinky dink clinic up in the hills of North Georgia where he lives. There are hardly any centers or programs for people like Terry, especially where he lives. The cities you will find more psychiatric hospitals but the care is still minimal. Once they are discharged, depending on how much the insurance is willing to pay, they are sent back into the world, many times without proper support or follow up treatment. This become a revolving door with patients returning to the hospital over and over again because they are not able to remain stable in the environments they return to when they leave the hospital. I have seen this time and time again working in a psychiatric hospital myself.

The latest example of the lack of empathy from the mental health care professionals that are paid to take care of him still infuriates me. Due to budget cuts at the only mental health clinic for several counties, there is no longer an actual nurse to see clients. Patients are seen “virtually” by a nurse through an online service. Now take into account that my brother is super paranoid, especially of cameras and thinking people are constantly surveying and spying on him. So you’re going to try and see him through a screen when he already thinks people are watching him through his own TV? Makes sense. Of course he blew up and started yelling all kinds of obscenities and ran out of the room as fast as he could. And guess what? He is required to see this “virtual nurse” in order to get his medications. Great system, very insightful to the needs of those with paranoid schizophrenia I’d say. Terry has been tossed in and out of hospitals, treated like he is dumb. The last doctor he had was very nice and actually cared which is very rare in his experience. I know doctors are overloaded with too many patients and not enough time to spend with them, and it’s the systems fault. But many doctors also seem to lack the empathy required in working with people with mental illness.
I am not sure where the mental health system is headed, it’s always been at the bottom of the list as far as funding and it’s always the first thing to be cut. But the consequences that result from this lack of attention to the mentally ill are far reaching. Jail have become like psych hospitals, because there is just no where for many mentally ill sufferers to go especially if families have abandoned them which is often. They end up doing something irrational because they are not on their meds. Unfortunately sometimes they end up hurting themselves or someone else. I am not excusing violent behavior, luckily my brother has never been violent, but I feel that the blood is on all of our hands because many of these situations could be prevented if there was adequate help available. Also they are many times not able to keep up with following up with doctors appointments due to lack of transportation or just pure disorientation. If you don’t know what day it is or even what’s real or not how are you going to remember to go to your doctors appointment? And if they miss it they are told they can no longer come back because they are being non compliant with treatment.

My brother has also been in jail a couple of times. One time it was a total mistake. He was very disoriented, had not been on his meds and opened the back door to a car that happened to be unlocked because he wanted to go to sleep. He had been roaming the streets alone and just wanted somewhere to lay down. He was obviously not trying to steal the car and plain to see he was not in his right mind but charges were still pressed and he spent 6 months in jail not getting any of his meds the whole time. Another time he was released from the hospital too soon before he was stable and came home wild and psychotic as hell. He climbed into a tree and started pulling the limbs off while screaming at the top of his lungs. The police were called and he ran into some nearby woods. The cops were chasing him and had their guns out. I was terrified they would shoot him but thankfully they allowed my mom to go get him first and he calmed down and was not resistant to the cops by some miracle. It is sad that a lot of people in law enforcement are not educated on how to deal with someone who is mentally ill. There are many instances where a violent end could be prevented if cops were properly educated on how to interact with someone who is mentally ill.

The latest episode where Terry was put into jail was about a year and a half ago. The story is still unclear what exactly happened. Terry is very cryptic when describing the incident. Basically he was at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people.

And the cycle from the streets, jail, psych hospitals and back again continues for many of those with mental illness in this country. Not sure when this revolving door will end…

There has always been a stigma around mental health; I see news reports that if the person who committed a crime had a mental illness, they automatically blame the person’s mental illness for what happened. This NOT always the case and most likely wouldn’t be if we had proper mental health care for everyone that needed it.

I was diagnosed with bipolar and depression seven years ago, and see my psychiatrist and counselor regularly. I hold a full-time job, internship, and am pursuing my master’s in communication and digital media. In no way does having bipolar and depression slow me down in life to the point that I can’t achieve my goals. Featuring people that have mental illness and are doing well in life seem to never be shown in ads or on television. I would love to change this because I am someone who takes medication regularly, and successfully lives a normal life!

I just want to put it out there that if you have a mental illness, you too can live a fulfilling life, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!

To the adult child who is sandwiched between her elderly parents who cannot work out their lives due to mental illness and her 3 children, have some patience! Your parents did raise you. Maybe you need to talk to Mom’s doctor and he/she may be able to suggest more professional help. It will be good if Dad can accept treatment but that might  not happen. Older guys are very stubborn. You didn’t say whether you have any siblings if you do they should help. Many seniors  suffer from some kind of depression. Please help your parents.

I am writing this letter to you as a spouse and sibling of mental illness.My brother was never fully diagnosed with depression or bipolar, he suffered several years. As a result of not getting proper treatment, his medication was changed very frequently and he  committed suicide. He left behind three children under the age of 13. It’s been really hard to understand the what and the why, he chose to take his life.

I took the next NAMI Family-to-Family program at our local VA hospital, in 2010 it was the first time I had been educated on any form of mental illness. After taking the class I wanted to let everyone that I know about all the information I learned. I took the teacher program and became an advocate for NAMI and I can honestly say that it helped me to heal from my brothers death. I still would like to know why but that’s something I will never know. 

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I was diagnosed with Manic Depression and Anxiety in 2011. An ambulance came to me and took me to the Emergency room when I was having suicidal behavior. From there I was admitted to the Psychiatric Hospital. I went through treatment at the hospital for a week and they diagnosed me with a mental illness. I was also prescribed medication and when I was released to go back home I went to therapy every week. I decided to be Homebound for the rest of my High School years up until I graduated in 2012 and walked across that stage to receive my Diploma. Almost 2 years ago I came off of my medication and stopped going to therapy for personal reasons and because I thought I could deal with it on my own and wanted to feel like myself again. (I also didn’t like the side effects of this medication.) Going through the ups and downs that I have over the years has definitely made me stronger, understand others and myself a little more, life, and I am able to cope better at this point. But, I still don’t believe my diagnoses was 100% accurate. At this point in my life I realize I have came along way but I still struggle every day with my confused thoughts and dark times. I know that I cannot continue to do life alone and try to deal with this myself. You have to work at it everyday and there is always room for improvement. I am taking action to plan to get involved in programs to balance life and help others and myself. I want to reach out to the community and help others who deal with mental illnesses to understand who they are and how to pave a path to bring out the best in them and in each other. I also want to educate people who do not understand mental illnesses and have not been diagnosed.

Keep the faith and keep on keeping on!

I encourage everyone to stay strong & don’t lose hope no matter what :)

I also have a powerful weapon to help me through each day… My relationship with God!

I wanted to take a moment to share my story and individual struggle with mental illness, the system we all live in and why it is important now more than ever to advocate on behalf of those living with various mental illnesses. My name is Dan Olson and I have been involved in mental health and treatment in one form or another for the past 25 years. I was removed from the home as a child due to severe physical and mental abuse. I placed in various foster and group homes because I was born into a cycle of poverty and alcohol abuse and when removed from my mother’s care, there was no support system there for me. This was the early 90s and I was acting out at the time due to severe mental trauma and was diagnosed as ADHD and placed on medications. None of the juvenile treatment programs was able to break through to me but they did plant some positive seeds that were able to bear some fruit in the future. My rebellion and lack of structure led me to harder juvenile corrections more focused on punitive philosophy and eventually my actions led me to the State Correctional Facility. From that point on for many years I was lost in the system, lost in my own mind and anger. But I had hope. I had a child and he stuck with me always in the back of my mind. I was determined to not allow him to succumb to the same problems I had, I was committed to being a father and self-improvement.  It was a struggle and many mistakes have been made on the way but I earned a Clinical Psychology Degree, and through the intellectual understanding of my mental blocks I was able to overcome them.  I wish I could say that education is the complete answer but I don’t believe anything is so simple. My education introduced me to ideas and concepts that continue to place me in direct opposition of authority. I belief in the mental health field today there is entirely too much focus on profits and pharmaceuticals.  This knowledge and struggle against what inevitably can only be described as the double bind of society and attempt to solve an unsolvable problem led me to have a psychotic breakdown. To those familiar I relate this breakdown to Carl Jungs own psychological experiment into neurosis. I had more run in’s with the police and at one point was actually beaten and tazed.  Today I am diagnosed as some latent form of schizophrenia. I can if I am not aware spiral into psychotic episodes that seem to be based in ideas of dissociation. With the support of my psychiatrist we are on a test run of allowing me to be in charge of my own treatment using principles of mindfulness. It is my hope that possibly I can discover new ideas and treatments for mental disease while continuing to work on my own self-improvement and recovery.  I hope to be returning to education soon and to the MASC (Masters of Communications Studies) studies program at Edinboro. I have found that intellectual stimulation, goals, and sobriety great benefits to my attitude and mental health. I hope that I can be a beacon to others struggling through the same dark rooms I once did and can combine my street knowledge and prison experience with my Clinical Psychology and Communication Studies to become the kind of leader and advocate people suffering with mental illness deserve.

This sounds blatantly obvious, but , in order to recover from a physical illness you have to: 1. Have the desire to get better. 2. Find a doctor who specializes in your type of illness. 3. Work with the doctor and follow his instructions for speediest recovery. 4. Tell the doctor how you’re feeling and ask questions about treatment and medication. It’s the same for mental illness except in cases of suicidal people who need professional help with the desire to get better. I know some people who deliberately hold things back from their therapist or psychiatrist and are proud of doing so. That’s like going for surgery and not telling the doctor you had an alcoholic binge the night before. Your psychiatrist does not judge you, you can tell him or her whatever is on your mind and you have a better chance of recovery. Pauline

And I knew I wasn’t right 

So I planned on going that Friday night 

And I knew I wasn’t okay

Making it the perfect place for me to stay 

See, for most, a mental hospital isn’t a choice 

It’s one of those things where you are left without a voice 

Brought there suddenly against your will

Then before you know it, you are given a bunch of random pills 

But for me, it was where I was supposed to be

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