tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023640958277221986.post6638742099486445640..comments2023-09-26T05:05:30.381-04:00Comments on soulbrother v.2: If we are not going offer treatment, why don't we just shoot all the crazy people & save ourselves a lot of trouble & anguish?Max Reddickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09360630810931410487noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023640958277221986.post-79927526854564108642009-12-05T17:22:11.583-05:002009-12-05T17:22:11.583-05:00You are certainly right that this is a conversatio...<i>You are certainly right that this is a conversation that needs to be had, but we don't discuss it. Why?</i><br /><br />Max, in general terms I think it's natural to keep our family shields up and not air what (sadly) amounts to dirty laundry. Also we don't want <i>other people</i> to believe a relative's condition might apply to us. Extend this society-wide, and there's a lot of shame & denial at both family and community level. After all, most of us get through the day most of the time.ProfGeohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01046750645086625075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023640958277221986.post-21828535496648118912009-12-05T08:15:47.968-05:002009-12-05T08:15:47.968-05:00@Freeman
I am dismayed that our mental health sys...@Freeman<br /><br />I am dismayed that our mental health system has not advanced at the rate it should. We still do not have in place a system to adequately deal with the mental health issues present in our society. I read a statistic the other day that indicated that about forty percent of the population has varying degrees of some condition that could be labeled a mental health condition.<br /><br />@Martin Lindsey<br /><br />And you are exactly right. Funding for mental health issues is way down the list when it comes to funding priorities, so we can expect to see more mentally ill people turned out into the streets. But what can we do about it?<br /><br />@LynMarie and @msladydeborah<br /><br />You bring up two important issues: people misunderstand mental health issues and people leave it up to people who are not in their right minds to seek help for themselves.<br /><br />Specifically, in the case of drug abuse, people think that simple will-power is enough. But often drug abuse is a symptom of some other dis-order. But this leads to the second issue. How do you get someone to seek help who really needs help when that person is not in their right mind in the first place. I spoke to someone who has a sister going thru a mental health crisis. The problem is that they cannot get this sister to seek help because she thinks their is nothing wrong with her and that the problem is everyone else. So what can be done to convince these people that they need to get professional help?<br /><br />@ProfGeo<br /><br />You are certainly right that this is a conversation that needs to be had, but we don't discuss it. Why?<br /><br />@River Glorious <br /><br />That is an interesting question. Do we have enough mental health providers and personnel to deal with this? Do not know. Will research the numbers though.<br /><br />And we were stuck in a similar dilemma with my grandmother. At some point, it became obvious that she should not be driving. But she insisted on doing so. We tried talking to her. We tried to get others to intervene. But all to no avail. Finally, when she was slowed down by a stroke and couldn't drive. But just the other day I witnessed an incident caused by an older driver that should not be on the road. This is another issue we need to take a hard look at.Max Reddickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09360630810931410487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023640958277221986.post-33602446716834939512009-12-04T21:21:03.118-05:002009-12-04T21:21:03.118-05:00(: Played Pin the Cursor on the Comment Box and w...(: Played Pin the Cursor on the Comment Box and won on my second try :)<br /><br />:D<br /><br />Max, you and your friends have said practically everything that can/should be said. I have two thoughts. First, I wonder if we have enough professional therapists to deal with this problem, including clerymen and counselors. <br /><br />Second, this reminds me of a neighbour I have. I have a problem with him driving and there is nothing I can do about it, because he hasn't killed or maimed someone. He is close to eighty years old and drives erratically, goes too fast when he shouldn't, etc. But the family refuses to do something about it, for fear of his wrath, and the police won't because he has not committed a crime.<br /><br />I wish all states and territories (in our case) had a general law stating that after a certain age, seniors have to take a driver's test, not like the one to get the license, but like they administer (term in English?) on some military bases, where they take you around and ask you to do routine things in your area. Better than how it's done here, practically on an almost closed course.<br /><br />Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with us, and I hope you all have a pleasant (and peaceful) weekend.<br /><br />RiverRiver Glorioushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09380075097011912612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023640958277221986.post-66050592844713423892009-12-04T10:55:58.989-05:002009-12-04T10:55:58.989-05:00@Lyn Marie, @msladydeborah: I concur with the use ...@Lyn Marie, @msladydeborah: I concur with the use of quotes around "sane and sensible." If we <i>really were</i> sane and sensible we would not continue with a society that doesn't treat the mentally ill, and is shocked, shocked every time at the next tragedy. Followed by the discussion of blame and then the hand-wringing.<br /><br />Having had a mentally ill family member briefly in the system, I can tell you why it was <i>briefly</i> and not <i>still</i>. It's because our family stayed on top of it from the time of arrest, finally got someone in authority (i.e. the shrink) on the inside to officially evaluate him, and then make sure everybody inside knew we knew he'd been evaluated. The other side of it was pressure on the family member to remember the alternatives (being in vs. being out & on meds). That is a continuing conversation as necessary.ProfGeohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01046750645086625075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023640958277221986.post-2020082018256071902009-12-04T04:17:25.195-05:002009-12-04T04:17:25.195-05:00Once again we are back to the root of the problem....Once again we are back to the root of the problem. The "sane and sensible" people recognize that someone in their midst had mental health issues. But no treatment was sought for the person. The end result is five people are dead because of lack of proper follow up. <br /><br />When will our folks realize that we are prone to mental illness? Instead of believing that it will be alright in due time. It really bothers me that we always learn about the person's state of mind after a tragedy. <br /><br />There is no shame in the fact that a person needs mental health help. The shame comes when the need is recognized and left untouched.msladyDeborahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17593695415626632490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023640958277221986.post-58276129451749233292009-12-03T22:29:17.309-05:002009-12-03T22:29:17.309-05:00Here's the problem with mental illness. Many p...Here's the problem with mental illness. Many people are under the misunderstanding that mental illness can somehow be controlled if people just try hard enough. Mental illness and drug addiction (both related to behavior & disease) is not taken seriously. Both are life long problems. Our society wants a quick fix.<br /><br />Our laws state clearly you can not keep someone in a hospital with out their permission. Someone that is mentally ill is not going to give up their freedom to be placed in hospitalization for the rest of their lives. <br /><br />So if we want to force them against their will to get treatment then we will have to take care of them for the rest of their lives. Society must be responsible or bare the consequences.Lyn Marienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023640958277221986.post-40919746818740525432009-12-03T18:53:20.691-05:002009-12-03T18:53:20.691-05:00I fear we'll see more of that. A lot of people...I fear we'll see more of that. A lot of people who are institutionalized and getting treatment will start being released when tax revenue begins to become more of an issue and budgets start getting cut.<br /><br />Patients could begin to be turned out into the streets and back to their families in droves. Could happen right here in Chicago potentially.<br /><br />It's a serious issue I fear will get worse.Martin Lindseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09081634926254191862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023640958277221986.post-59418694696607805882009-12-03T16:37:31.732-05:002009-12-03T16:37:31.732-05:00Well don't walk around Skid Row in LA because ...Well don't walk around Skid Row in LA because there are some definite mentally ill people down there. The problem is putting them in jail and locking them up is less intensive than treating them.<br /><br />SO then they get put back on the street and their families are burdened with them. In this case that's a big brother so I don't think his family could stop him from doing anything.<br /><br />We all know something should be done but we all know nothing will. So get your guns and deal with it.FreeManhttp://www.riseandgrind.comnoreply@blogger.com