Let's pretend for a moment that a genetic heart condition or heart disease is treated in the same way mental illness is treated. What would that look like?
No one would talk about heart disease or any kind of history of heart disease in families. It would be shameful to have heart disease or to inherit it.
You would only receive treatment for heart disease, if and when, you actually had a heart attack. You would have to be 'in crisis'. There would be no preventative medicine, and no pre-screening.
No one would come to visit you in the hospital when you have a heart attack. Some of your friends would not understand. You may lose friends, and some of your family may no longer talk to you.
Your parents and family might argue about 'which side of the family is at fault' for carrying the heart disease gene.
Many people might know or suspect that they have heart disease. But they won't go in for services. That would mean they were 'weak', or they just couldn't bear to live with the shame associated with having heart disease.
You might receive medication for your heart disease, but it is very expensive. You will also have to go to talk to a therapist about why you have heart disease. If you happen to be poor, you will have to see a therapist and possibly attend group sessions in order to get your heart mediations. Whether you want therapy or not.
There would be an assumption that 'you lack certain life skills' because of your heart disease. After all, studies have shown that people who have heart disease do not handle stress as well as people who do not. As a result of this information, you will attend heart disease skill groups. You will attend them no matter what. It does not matter how educated or informed you are. You will have to go to cooking and grooming groups with EVERY OTHER PERSON who has heart disease. No flex is given in the material that is presented. The materials are all written at a third grade level to meet all heart disease patients' cognitive level.
You will need to change all of your habits and ways of living. If you knew what you were doing, you wouldn't be in this situation. You will need to change how you live.
It is obvious that you need some instruction on how to eat properly. Please take your group time to do the 'search a word' jumble on the 4 food groups. After all, only unhealthy people have heart attacks. After your 'search a word' activity, please make a macaroni art picture of your heart and discuss how you feel about your disease. Somehow, this activity will help you not to have a heart attack. Don't you like it? Why not?
Sometimes, people who have heart attacks kill people while driving. You are a menace to society. There is talk on the news about not allowing known heart disease patients to drive or even be near cars. There are also a lot of television shows and movies about 'the heart diseasers' and how they like to run over innocent people with their cars.
Some people are afraid of you. You are afraid to tell people about your heart disease. You begin to lose hope and think that you do not really have a 'life' anymore. You are shy about meeting new people, or trying to date. You only talk about your heart disease in whispers.
You are known as your disease to the community and to health care providers. If you go in to see a doctor about another condition, he sees the heart disease on your chart, or guesses at it from the medicine you are taking. He won't listen to you when you tell him that your knees hurt. He tells you "you know if you would just change everything about your life your knees would not hurt. We all know how you are, and how you can't handle any kind of stress." He would then tell you "you seem like a really emotional person, who likes to exaggerate about things."
You are encouraged to attend 'community integration' groups with other heart diseasers. You will be in the community, but you will only be there with other people who are just like you. Who have your same disease. The normal people who have healthy hearts will not accept you. You must only go bowling with other heart patients. But hey, at least you are in the community. Why are you complaining?
You wonder to yourself, why am I at fault for having heart disease? Didn't I inherit this? Why is everything I want to do wrong? Why do I feel ashamed that I was born this way? Why can't I be like other people?
Everyone wants to talk about how heart disease is the cause of violence. How people who have it should be locked up or discarded. Bu,t all of the funding to help you, gets cut. Over and over. No money for services. Yet somehow, it is still your fault if you end up having a heart attack.
Seems pretty crazy to think about heart disease this way right? That's because it is crazy!
The way mental illness is treated in the United States is insane. There is no shame in having a mental illness. There is plenty of shame in the way mental illness is currently being 'handled'.
I had the opportunity to hear Patrick Kennedy speak about mental illness, the lack of treatment and funding and about stigma at a national mental health conference a few months ago. He is a consumer and a powerful advocate for mental health reform. Here is a clip of him on 'Katie':
And finally, here is a message from our life coach cats:
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