My aim in this essay is to raise the question ‘Is there such a thing as mental illness?’ and to argue that there is not. The quote above are the first words in a thesis by Dr. Thomas Szasz titled, “The Myth of Mental Illness.” You may be surprised when I tell you that Szasz […]
Tag: mental illness
When a Loved One Doesn’t Understand Mental Illness
When a Loved One Doesn’t Understand Mental Illness The other day I posted an article suggesting ways you can tell your family and friends that you have a mental illness. What do you do, however, if they don’t understand? I’ve been in enough support groups to learn that many people, unfortunately, have loved ones who […]
Violence Towards the Mentally Ill More Likely Than From the Mentally Ill
Violence Towards the Mentally Ill It seems with each new mass shooting the NRA uses the mentally ill as scapegoats. Human shields to deflect anger away from guns, gun owners and the NRA itself. Work done by researchers at North Carolina State University; RTI International; the University of California, Davis; Simon Fraser University; and Duke […]
Life Expectancy Shorter For Mental Illness Than Cigarette Smokers
Statistically Speaking Regarding Life Expectancy We’ve heard this before, but here it is again – those who live with mental illness have a lower life expectancy than the national average. A previous report I cited back in March stated that the life expectancy of a person with bipolar disorder is 9 years less than the […]
Treatment of Mentally Ill in the U.S. And How We Got Here
How It Began Our country does not have a good track record for treating the mentally ill. North America’s first public mental health hospital opened in 1773 in Williamsburg, VA. Named the Public Hospital for Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds. The treatments given were nothing short of torture. One procedure involved submerging patients in […]
Alcoholism and Mental Illness
Restless, irritable and discontent. Sound familiar? Do you have bipolar disorder and have those feelings on a regular basis? These feelings are common among those diagnosed with bipolar, however, they are common among alcoholics, as well. In fact, “restless, irritable and discontent” are specifically expressed in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. It is in […]
Bring Change 2 Mind: End the Stigma
I’ve written before about Bring Change 2 Mind, but recently I’ve been writing each week about organizations which are mental health allies and decided it’s time to revisit them. Bring Change to Mind is an anti-stigma organization that was co-founded by Glenn Close in 2009. Her inspiration was her sister, Jessie, who has bipolar disorder […]
Living in Acceptance: Seek Balance
The Problem Having bipolar disorder means life is a balancing act. Trying not to go too far on the manic side and not fall too far on the depressive side. It’s fitting that I’m a Libra. The symbol for Libras is balance. The scales. Life, for me, is constant turmoil trying to stay in that […]
Crime And Mental Illness
Crime and Mental Illness Crime and Mental illness has been getting a bad rap for many years. With each school shooting the media immediately seeks to determine if the shooter was living with some form of mental illness. In 1989, Patrick Edward Purdy, murdered five children and wounded 32 others in Stockton, California In 1999, […]
Mentally ill in Jails Rather Than Institutions
Early Prison Reform for Mentally Ill in Jails Dorothea Dix was the first child of an impoverished family. Her father was a Methodist preacher who was an abusive alcoholic. Her mother struggled with depression. In 1841, when she was 38 years old, Dorothea was asked to lead a Bible Study class for women at the […]