God Knows Where I Am By Rachel Adler

Society’s stigmatization of mental illness prevents people from advocating for themselves and getting the help they need. It is paradoxical that a society that prizes freedom of speech is also one that silences people when it comes to mental illness.

People with mental health issues have been viewed and treated in a variety of ways within western society throughout time. Historically if an individual displayed behaviours which disrupted their function in society and defied social norms they were viewed as lunatics, insane or even cursed (Cowan, 2008; Elder & Evans & Nizette, 2009). It is from these past issues that many people still have unreasonable thoughts about mental illness; their misconceptions have created unreasonable fears and negative attitudes toward those who experience it. This negativity brings for many the barriers of not only

One of the biggest contributors for poor healthcare is the stigma against mental health. This stigma allows healthcare providers to view those with a mental illness as having low relevance, thus creating disinclination towards providing adequate resources and/or care. This negative stance, based on misinformation and prejudice creates those that have a mental illness to lose their self confidence. Because of this loss, people with mental illness decide not to contribute to their health or livelihood. In the past fifty years, many advances have been made in mental healthcare. However, with the attached stigma, many people choose to not seek out treatment.

The short documentary Crooked Beauty, directed by Ken Paul Rosenthal, narrates Jacks Ashley McNamara’s experience in a psychiatric ward and how her time in the facility shapes her new appreciation for her mental illness. One controversial issue has been trying to identify the true cause of mental illness. On the one hand, most people may think mental illness is simply a biological disorder that can be cured with a combination of medication and doctors demanding appropriate behavior until it sticks in the patient’s mind. On the other, McNamara contends that mental illness is a misconception with a patient’s oversensitivity, where it is harder for the patient to ignore certain events than “normal” people, and their doctor’s textbook knowledge. In McNamara’s mental institution, the psychiatrists simply trap her in a padded room and prescribe many different pills to suppress her mental illness instead of embracing her differences or showing her how to use those differences to her advantage. In attempt to prevent those who are mentally ill from feeling the same anger and frustration she felt, she demands a change in the line psychiatric treatment when she says:

Crazy by Pete Earley and a series of class videos highlight the tension between access to care and the right of refusal for mental illness patients. Core themes and patterns in the material show the difficulties between state governments and local resources. Each film and book explores the availability of voluntary community-based treatments; personal and professional ethics regarding the individual choice to refuse treatment; and community demands for consumer safety and others.

The most interesting book I have read in the past year was “Still Alice,” written by Lisa Genova. This book narrated the life of Alice Howland, a successful Harvard psychology professor who loses herself to Alzheimer’s disease. Alice is an intelligent, ambitious woman with a loving husband, John, and their three children. Initially, Alice starts off forgetting minor details, such as words during her presentations or where she might place some of her belongings. Dismissing it, Alice goes for a run in her town square where she’s run for several years. She suddenly finds herself lost and panics because she could not figure out how to get home. Eventually, she finds out she’s diagnosed with early on-set Alzheimer’s and she is left to deal with her family and work life as well as do as much as she can each day before she loses herself completely.

When a friend says that they are ill, say they have a cold of the flu, we immediately recognise this as a physical illness and therefore we assist them in their recovery, empathise with them and give them time to get better. However, if they were to have said that the felt run down or depressed, they wouldn’t have been given the same treatment. In most cases, people suffering from these diseases are told that their illness isn’t real, to toughen up and get over it. This blatant disregard for the health of these people leads to their death. 8 million people die from a mental illness each year, with many of these being caused by suicide. And to think that many of these people could have been saved if someone had helped them. Helped them to see that what they are feeling is real and that they can receive help for what they are going through. But how will anyone ever truly receive help if we fail to recognise what they are going

Although about 450 million people in the world currently are suffering from a mental illness, many untreated, the topic still remains taboo in modern society (Mental Health). For years, people with mental illnesses have been shut away or institutionalized, and despite cultural progression in many areas, mental illnesses are still shamed and rarely brought to light outside of the psychiatric community. The many different forms in which mental illness can occur are incredibly prevalent in the world today, and there is a substantial debate about the way that they should be handled. Some people are of the opinion that mental illness is merely a variance in perception and that it either can be fixed through therapy or should not be treated at

Lisa Genova, the author of Still Alice, a heartbreaking book about a 50-year-old woman's sudden diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, graduated valedictorian from Bates College with a degree in Biopsychology and holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard University. She is a member of the Dementia Advocacy, Support Network International and Dementia USA and is an online columnist for the National Alzheimer's Association. Genova's work with Alzheimer's patients has given her an understanding of the disorder and its affect not only on the patient, but on their friends and family as well (Simon and Schuster, n.d.).

Throughout a person’s lifetime, he or she is likely to encounter a death that will have a profound effect on the way they look at themselves and the world around them. This is true for Janie Crawford, the main character of the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. The book takes place in the early 1900s and follows the life of a young black woman named Janie; her story is told in the form of a flashback as she describes her life to her friend Pheoby. Her tale begins when she is a teenager, illustrating her life with her grandmother and three different men up until her return to Eatonville. It follows her quest to find true love, and shows her grow stronger despite the judgment she faces. During Janie’s life, she loses

In “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, Zora Neale Hurston writes about a young girl named Janie who is stuck between the reality of love and the quixotic ideas of what love could be. In the book, Janie is forced to marry an older man due to her nanny's standards set on her security and safety. Janie's first marriage quickly ended after a charming man with the name of Joe Starks swept her off of her feet and made her realize what she's really worth. Despite of her initial attraction to Joe, both marriages end up making Janie unhappy and Unsatisfied.

The current method to heal mentally ill patients in the United States is mostly done through forced medication. Elyn Saks believes there may be a better way to help the men and women suffering with a mental illness than forced medication. “The Consent Dilemma” shows how the current method of forced medication is outdated and how there is a more effective method to help people that have a mental illness. All the rhetoric devices are used in “The Consent Dilemma” by Elyn Saks in the magazine Politico. The rhetoric devices are used to show that the current system used to help the mentally ill is in need of an update.

“Come find me when you decide to not have a broken arm.” “You don’t look like you have a terminal disease. You’re just saying that to get attention.” “Can’t you just try to not get sick?” Nobody would actually say these horrible things to someone with a physical disease, and yet we find it okay to say it to someone with a mental disease. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) every year, about 42.5 million American adults which is about 18.2% of the total adult population in the United States suffer from mental illness. 56% of these people never did not receive treatment for their mental illness, and suffered

Doug Murren really gets on his “soapbox” in this section. He believes there is a theology that teaches, “…if they “confess” properly, avoid doctors, ignore their symptoms, and act like they are healed, they will be healed.” (p. 182) He called this a fantasy belief. In his experience, he has met some that believe in this type of faith. He argues that staying away from doctors, counselors, and other professionals does not show faith, but stupidity (p. 182). I think Murren’s strong language is due to the experience with his bipolar disorder and the medication to control it. There is another side to the equation, which he does not talk about, but that is for another time. He cites examples of using the acknowledgement and his handling of his bipolar disorder to help others who found out they have the same issues. There is another fantasy called secularism, which declares that there is nothing beyond the visible, physical world. It is a “closed system.” The physical world is the only reality and God does not intervene. As Christians, we know there is a

As we are moving in to a society of more and more people being diagnosed with some form of mental disability, the ethical boundaries that are set as a guide line for professionals are just that. A guide line. The article “The Conversation Continues… Historic Shifts in the Debate on Ethical Boundaries.” Ofer Zur uses real life scenarios about roads we as professionals might travel while dealing with clients in the Human Service industry.