UCF Forum columnist
Abraham Lincoln, Ernest Hemingway,
Robin Williams and Michelangelo are a few examples of brilliantly
inspiring individuals who shaped our culture, artistry and society.
Looking at this list of names, it is hard to see a connection between
these unique individuals.
The sad truth is that each one suffered from mental illness, a debilitating disease that disrupts one's thinking, feelings and interactions with others.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness,
approximately 57.7 million Americans endure a mental illness in a given year.
This includes depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress
disorder, anxiety and panic disorder, and schizophrenia, to name a few.
This illness is nondiscriminatory without regard to race, age, social
status or gender.
About 25 percent of college students have been treated or diagnosed with a mental illness.
In
2013, my father was sadly added to the growing list of individuals
diagnosed with mental illness. My family quickly entered into the world
of mental illness treatments, including medicines and the poorly
perceived method of electro-convulsion therapy. We found that the
resources for individuals and families dealing with this medical
condition were scarce, with few available outpatient programs.
His
recovery exclusively fell on my mother who advocated for well-being.
The long-term, home care options were non-existent and the only way we
survived the storm was through the support of our family and friends and
the few exceptional medical personnel who were drawn to supporting his
case.
How can our nation, one that has flown to the moon,
developed Western medicine to treat other devastating illnesses, and
produced some of the most inspiring artist known, not be able to provide
the resources needed to nearly 60 million people suffering daily?
Our
failure to create a system that provides necessities to individuals
adversely affected by this disease has resulted in terrible shootings,
overpopulation in jails, and huge medical care cost for crisis
intervention. By 1992, it was estimated that around 7 percent of
inmates were seriously mentally ill, and of that,
a quarter were being held awaiting a bed in a psychiatric hospital.
The
history of mental illness treatment has been just as sad as the illness
itself. Dating back centuries, people with this disorder where locked
in isolated areas, subjected to painful and horrendous experiments, and
cast from society. In the 1840s, Dorothea Dix, an American activist and
superintendent of Army nurses during the Civil War, observed this trend
and petitioned to establish 32 state hospitals for the mentally ill.
By the late 1800s, the hospitals had become overcrowded, creating inhumane living conditions.
In
the 1930s, electro-convulsion therapy medically induced comas and
lobotomies, or the removal of parts of the brain, were the few
strategies used to treat the ill. In the mid-1960s, many sick
individuals were released from the hospitals, leaving them homeless and
without treatment, and the state hospitals began closing, assuming
people who needed help would find local institutions. This is still the
strategy used today, which has created a culture of helplessness for
families and those experiencing mental illness.
Our country was
founded on the principles of liberty and justice for all, but our
failure to understand mental illness and provide assistance facilities
for families and the ill has ripped away the liberty and justice
deserved for nearly 60 million Americans.
We have the opportunity
to change this culture by becoming active in organizations, such as
NAMI, and vigorously lobbing for better health care, insurance coverage,
and understanding of this disease. We need to stand united to provide
stabilization and recovery to those in need, and create a culture of
community and understanding.
I encourage you to think about
someone in your life that is impacted by this illness, and reach out to
them, offering support. This one step could start to create a trend in
which those who suffer are not judged, but sustained in seeking
treatment, and provide hope to the hopeless.
Alaina Bernard is UCF's assistant director of Landscape & Natural Resources. She can be reached at alaina.bernard@ucf.edu.
---
Have a story about depression or mental illness that you'd like to share? Email strongertogether@huffingtonpost.com,
or give us a call at (860) 348-3376, and you can record your story in
your own words. Please be sure to include your name and phone number.
#shareyourstory
