Cruel, disgraceful, irresponsible – they all fit. Our guest writer, who has been through it, prefers the word “astonishing” when it comes how we treat those with mental illness.
Many psychiatric doctors that I have encountered treat you as if you were a number. Patient #567 has severe bipolar disorder…
I received an email about a week ago from Ashley. She said she was working on a blog about mental health and asked if I would accept a guest posting.
She sent me three. I picked one. And here we are. She uses “ourmentally sick” which I find very clever.
Let’s move on. Ashley, you have the floor.
Treatment for our Mentally Ill
The mental torture I’ve personally experienced is nothing in comparison to the stories I’ve read about others. It’s amazing that our world can be so cold and dark – misguided and tormented.
I understand that it’s hard to comprehend the thoughts of someone with a diagnosed mental illness. Why do we say the things we say? Why do we act the way we behave? Why are all cases so unique and different?
Many of us who have mental illnesses may well have asked ourselves these questions. We don’t really know.
We only know that we want to feel better and find some normalcy to a life that is scattered in the wind.
Mentally ill people are mistreated, and misguided
The mentally ill in America are mistreated, and misguided.
Timothy Williams, of the New York Times, provides an example.
Guards in jails and prisons in the United States routinely abuse mentally ill inmates, such as by spraying them with chemicals, shocking them with stun guns, and strapping them to beds or chairs for long periods of time.
What is acceptable behavior? When they don’t have the skills to deal with the situation, they resort to abuse and neglect.
My own experience
I recall the many doctors who were all around me. They all had their attention on me. Yet, my voice went unheard.
They would whisper amongst each other about what they thought was “wrong”, and what medications or therapies they planned to try next.
I felt like I had been at a zoo, vulnerable and unwanted for everyone to see.