You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more
As bad as mental illness is (there is nothing worse than feeling like your mind - which is YOU - is attacking you from the inside out and ripping you apart) - cognitive decline happens with age to the healthy. The impact is amplified among those with mental health conditions.
I saw mental illness on a microlevel - the bills, the institutions, the struggles, the living a life that isn't normal. And on a macro level, no one is talking about this. Aging populations already have cognitive decline. Add in pre-existing mental heal issues, and then what?
And there's a huge stigma attached with mental illness, and I'll tell you why. No one is really supposed to talk authentically about it, because someone will get hurt. Here's what I mean...
I was never the same after visiting my mom at the mental institution. I felt...alone. As if I could never rely on another adult. That's not something a parent would want to hear. And yet it's my experience and my reality. Any truth on these issues will be hurtful.
Every mental health issue is a catch-22. Does a parent want to know their child may look at them differently if the parent is in an institution? How much must that hurt. I can't comprehend it. And yet I did feel different. I felt alone and on my own after that visit.
And there’s a huge fear of people to reach out when they are having a mental health episode. Everyone really cares about mental health when a celebrity commits suicide, but day to day? You’re supposed to keep this stuff to yourself.
If you let people know about a mental illness, they will use it against you. People have tried used my mom’s bipolar against me. The only people sicker than those with real conditions are everyone else.
Whenever I write about my mom’s bipolar and childhood experiences with it... So many people have similar stories. Mental health is a major issue that we’re not supposed to talk about. Until someone commits suicide or OD’s. As a society we need to grow up a bit. Or a lot.
Mental health issues don’t get written or spoken about because those most qualified to speak about them and who lived them are also least prepared for the hate. The attacks will come. And so people hide under the covers with the curtains drawn hoping the gloom goes away.
It’s hard to not say my childhood influenced my politics. What do you do about the mentally ill? What I hear from so many, “They should have saved up for the medical bills!” The glibness with which serious issues are treated has always troubled me.
Socialism isn’t going to solve the problem, nor snide remarks about “They should have saved up more!” However, the drugs my mom needed cost 1/10th of the price charged in America. $1,200 in the U.S. Every month. $120 if you ordered them from Canada. Which is illegal.
Don't forget weakness. Nobody WANTS to talk about it if they have that problem because it makes them seem weak or lesser than to themselves. Considering depression already puts you in a dark hole, the last thing you want is to feel weak inside.
I have seen it from the other side. I will never forget having to carry my child, who was bigger than I was, to the ER and tell them I wasn't leaving until she got the help she needed. No one should ever have to do that.
I was a child of a mentally ill parent. There were ongoing issues of rage and abuse at home; I was the favored target. Hospitalization was the last resort not because of money or lack of belief in the care, but because of the "shame" it would bring out family in our small town. 1
The rage and abuse went on for far too long until my parent was a sobbing mess on the floor and treatment was the only option left. We visited; no child should see a parent right after shock therapy. We were never allowed to talk about this at anytime. It changes kids who have 2
to go through this. I have sympathy for what my parent went through but I had an 8 y/o perspective of it. Today I realize other adults should have intervened for us but I guess that was the price for silence. My relationship with that parent was fearful the rest of their life.
Not to mention all the physical decline and chronic pain ...
Thank you for sharing this.
We are seeing this already. I have spent 35+ years working in critical care units in inner city and suburban areas. We commonly get mentally ill people either due to their illness or due to other medical issues. It is sad how inferior the resources are for treating them is.
I agree that it will most likely only get worse. Much of our drug problem is a reflection of this- people self medicating. Closing long-term institutions back in the early 70s has been a disaster. We see this in homelessness, decay of urban areas and society in general.
Certainly horrible for the poor souls who suffer from mental illness. Many end up in and out of jail, living in the outdoors, being taken advantage of or just miserable lives. Very sad situation currently.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.
