Reply To: Mental Illness..Hang The Stigma!

nah…trust me its not worth teh agmas nefesh on my part to be on speaking terms with her. sometimes you just have to sever ties. im sick of teh roller coaster ride, id rather be a casual onlooker.

i can tell myself that its the “shaid” and move on…but it doesnt quite work like that. there are things that should never be said and never be done. basic things that should be hard wired into the consciousness of every human being regardless of teh state of that human being’s mind. i refuse to believe that what she said was involuntary, and if there was even a shred of coherence behind those statements and actions then i feel justified in writing her off permanently.

alzheimers is a different story because that is put off as the decline of old age. its never been stigmatized. up until teh 1970’s mental patients and those with downs syndrome were STILL being locked up in attics and institutions. some people still do that. i forget which magazine recently had a feature on teh Willowbrook State School, bu tthe conditions described there were common practice for such institutions. once willowbrook was exposed, peopel were shamed into taking charge, but the attitude has changed little.

i have so much more to write about the subject…about my experiences with teh mental health system in general…about the process involved in dealing with a patient…how to cope…i could write a book on teh subject. ideally i would write a series in one of teh prominent jewish magazines like Mishpacha, Ami, or Zman. in fact, i submitted this article to Mishpacha yesterday. i really hope they accept it. there is so much wrong with the entire system it boggles the mind.