Whatever happened to mental institutions? Is mental illness kind of a myth?

[nomadic5]

I saw a book title years and years ago: "Mental Illness is a Myth"

I didn't read the whole thing, but I agreed with that, had come to that conclusion more or less b4 encountering the book... So I really believed this.. until I met some people who... well, I won't say they are strange... but thye engage in very odd behavior.

I speak mostly of a couple homeless people I've met over the years. I'd say only about 20% of homeless people are mentally ill, but that's based on my subjective opinion. I really don't have any idea, but I am almost 100% certain it is not over 50%.

In any case, I hear it was Reagan who got rid of the mental institutions, which meant a lot of people ended up on the streets. . NOT good, to say the least.

I think some states still have a couple of them. But apparently, there aren't enough. Talk about cruel and unusual punishment. How can they get mentally well when they are physically un-well in how they live?

 

[Lord Long Rod]

I mean, if we can abort unborn children, then …

 

[lg325]

Only those whose lives are protected and live in''Ivory Towers'' think mental illness is a myth.
It is a subject that needs attention in all ages and social levels. The mental help facilities are out there but need proper funding and qualified staff to be more effective. It is a national security issue and needs national attention from both private and government organizations.

 

[Grogu]

Mental illness is a broad term. It encompasses everything from Alcoholism to drug addiction; bipolar disorder to schizophrenia and depression; anxiety disorders; OCD to PTSD; ADHD, etc. Then, there are those who have two or more of the above conditions, at the same time.

I was lucky. After my diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder at the age of 19, I was able to get the help I was in need of. Many people aren’t able. They wind up in prison or on the streets - many commit suicide.

One myth is that it’s not real - that those who suffer from illnesses like schizophrenia can pull themselves out of it and just get happy. Another myth is that those individuals are crazy or possessed by a demon.

Personally, I think we’re in a crisis situation in this country, regarding mental health. We can begin by, with a little understanding, expanding peer support services - job coaching, included.

Look, everyone who qualifies with a mental disability deserves quality care. Unfortunately, in many case, emergency rooms serve as treatment centers. Personally, I favor more jail diversion options, as those places have become the new mental institutions.

I don’t know how to fix the problem. Except that it begins by acknowledging that it’s real and not a myth.

Thanks for starting this thread.

 

[nomadic5]

I mean, if we can abort unborn children, then …

I guess the rest of that goes something like this

if we can abort children, we can treat adults like dirt also...

 

[nomadic5]

Only those whose lives are protected and live in''Ivory Towers'' think mental illness is a myth.
It is a subject that needs attention in all ages and social levels. The mental help facilities are out there but need proper funding and qualified staff to be more effective. It is a national security issue and needs national attention from both private and government organizations.

I have never lived in any ivory tower.

I thought at one time that mental illness was a myth because it seemed to me (when younger) that a person could "snap out of it" if given support, love and .. whatever...

which may yet be true.. God knows.

In any case, the book was actually called The Myth of Mental Illness

 

[Grogu]

I have never lived in any ivory tower.

I thought at one time that mental illness was a myth because it seemed to me (when younger) that a person could "snap out of it" if given support, love and .. whatever...

which may yet be true.. God knows.

In any case, the book was actually called The Myth of Mental

Hi Nomadic5.

Thanks again for starting this thread. Hoping it gets the attention that it deserves. Don’t blame you for once believing it’s a myth (and folks can snap out of it, without medical attention). In fact, love and support does help considerably, in many cases. 12 step programs, for instance, are extremely helpful to many individuals. They will never be fully recovered, but with strong support from their peers (and God), they won’t need medication.

I, personally, have found that working with others in the community (my vocation involves working with the community), attending church regularly and staying active has a remarkable impact on my mental health.

It’s a combination of meds and lifestyle, for me. There are those who, for whatever reason, are able to get off their meds. I’m not quite there yet.

 

[Lord Long Rod]

I guess the rest of that goes something like this

if we can abort children, we can treat adults like dirt also...

Pussy

 

[nomadic5]

Hi Nomadic5.

Thanks again for starting this thread. Hoping it gets the attention that it deserves. Don’t blame you for once believing it’s a myth (and folks can snap out of it, without medical attention). In fact, love and support does help considerably, in many cases. 12 step programs, for instance, are extremely helpful to many individuals. They will never be fully recovered, but with strong support from their peers (and God), they won’t need medication.

I, personally, have found that working with others in the community (my vocation involves working with the community), attending church regularly and staying active has a remarkable impact on my mental health.

It’s a combination of meds and lifestyle, for me. There are those who, for whatever reason, are able to get off their meds. I’m not quite there yet.

Thanks for the kind words. I don't know what your condition is, but at least you seem to empathize w/ others

The 12 step program has been VERY helpful to me, even though I was never addicted to alcohol or drugs .. .just PEOPLE (who weren't good for me).

in my POV everyone is mentally ill, it's just that some have it worse than others. Some do not cope well and.. well, they make bad choices. We all make bad choices but... well, I can't help but think of how a healthy family is a very big blessing. Sick families create sick individuals. And then those sick ones who don't know even what is wrong w/ them, much less can they fix it... mess up other people's lives and it's like dominos..

Anyway, I don't know what else to say. But I guess one thing I could say is this: We'll never know whether a given person could have been healed if he or she had a loving family. Some families are toxic as hell and do NOT repent...

 

[nomadic5]

Wow, this is kind of WEIRD.

I said above that I thought 20% or so of the homeless are mentally ill but that I was not certain of that and it was just my subjective opinion

Now this article says the same thing, that it is about 20% or so of the homeless population who are "mental"

I am not familiar with this site, but thought I would refer people to it anyway... I am not done reading the info there but plan to read it in the future.. because it sounds like the truth, even though I haven't verified it yet

Here's What Happened After The Mass Shutdown Of Mental Hospitals In The 1960s

From the 1850s to the 1980s, large state-run psychiatric facilities housed most of America's citizens with mental illness. This practice began to change in the 1960s, when legislation dismantled the state-run asylum system, replacing it with a community-based care policy that ultimately failed as...

www.ranker.com

 

[martybegan]

Wow, this is kind of WEIRD.

I said above that I thought 20% or so of the homeless are mentally ill but that I was not certain of that and it was just my subjective opinion

Now this article says the same thing, that it is about 20% or so of the homeless population who are "mental"

I am not familiar with this site, but thought I would refer people to it anyway... I am not done reading the info there but plan to read it in the future.. because it sounds like the truth, even though I haven't verified it yet

Here's What Happened After The Mass Shutdown Of Mental Hospitals In The 1960s

From the 1850s to the 1980s, large state-run psychiatric facilities housed most of America's citizens with mental illness. This practice began to change in the 1960s, when legislation dismantled the state-run asylum system, replacing it with a community-based care policy that ultimately failed as...

www.ranker.com

it all stems from trying to fix everything with one broad toolkit, when the reality is many situations that are similar are not the same.

So we went from funding institutions that could at least keep the mentally ill warm, safe and watched to basically turning the system into something like parole, but with no ability to actually force the people to be treated for their own good.

The thing is we still probably spend as much or more money on it, but now all we get are bloated "homeless agencies" and advocacy groups that are never called on to show how they are actually helping.

 

[nomadic5]

The thing is we still probably spend as much or more money on it, but now all we get are bloated "homeless agencies" and advocacy groups that are never called on to show how they are actually helping.

That seems true.

I think we should just go back to having institutions that feed and clothe these people AND help them get a job.

Remember Yang who was running for president, and how he wanted universal income?

I say universal jobs.. meaning if someone wants to work, that person should be able to work. What's so hard about tht? If a person's application is never accepted, he is out of a job. But there should be a way to employ people who are not Number 1 on an employer's list but are good people anyway. I have known these kind of people.

There needs to be work helping people to help themselves.

 

[Grogu]

That seems true.

I think we should just go back to having institutions that feed and clothe these people AND help them get a job.

Remember Yang who was running for president, and how he wanted universal income?

I say universal jobs.. meaning if someone wants to work, that person should be able to work. What's so hard about tht? If a person's application is never accepted, he is out of a job. But there should be a way to employ people who are not Number 1 on an employer's list but are good people anyway. I have known these kind of people.

There needs to be work helping people to help themselves.

I like where you’re headed with this.

I’ve always wanted to work and have held a steady job for the last ten years.

It wasn’t always the case, though. Early on and while I was in my twenties, I went on SSI with the recommendation of my doctor. To sum it up, those benefits didn’t help much and I wish I’d looked harder for a job. To put it another way, I was stuck for a few years and that government money enabled me to stay stuck.

When I landed my current job, it did me a world of good, to the point where my med doses were cut in half.

Basically, I am so close to being able to get off my medication for schizoaffective disorder. I just can’t stress enough the importance of work and healthy lifestyle, for those who are able.

 

[fncceo]

I speak mostly of a couple homeless people I've met over the years. I'd say only about 20% of homeless people are mentally il

I deal with homeless on a daily basis and if you just include pathological mental illness then that number might be high.

However, if you include mental illness brought on by long term substance abuse, leaving a person unable to participate in any kind of community setting, then the number is much higher, arguably in the high 80s as a percentile.

Traditional mental health institutions also cared for substance abuse patients as well until, in a fit of compassionate insanity, we closed them all, dooming them to life on the streets.

 

[martybegan]

That seems true.

I think we should just go back to having institutions that feed and clothe these people AND help them get a job.

Remember Yang who was running for president, and how he wanted universal income?

I say universal jobs.. meaning if someone wants to work, that person should be able to work. What's so hard about tht? If a person's application is never accepted, he is out of a job. But there should be a way to employ people who are not Number 1 on an employer's list but are good people anyway. I have known these kind of people.

There needs to be work helping people to help themselves.

A lot of these people don't want to work. Either their mental issues prevent it, or with the younger homeless, they know the system will give them the barest level of living without doing anything, and they accept that.

 

[Resnic]

Mental illness is a broad term. It encompasses everything from Alcoholism to drug addiction; bipolar disorder to schizophrenia and depression; anxiety disorders; OCD to PTSD; ADHD, etc. Then, there are those who have two or more of the above conditions, at the same time.

I was lucky. After my diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder at the age of 19, I was able to get the help I was in need of. Many people aren’t able. They wind up in prison or on the streets - many commit suicide.

One myth is that it’s not real - that those who suffer from illnesses like schizophrenia can pull themselves out of it and just get happy. Another myth is that those individuals are crazy or possessed by a demon.

Personally, I think we’re in a crisis situation in this country, regarding mental health. We can begin by, with a little understanding, expanding peer support services - job coaching, included.

Look, everyone who qualifies with a mental disability deserves quality care. Unfortunately, in many case, emergency rooms serve as treatment centers. Personally, I favor more jail diversion options, as those places have become the new mental institutions.

I don’t know how to fix the problem. Except that it begins by acknowledging that it’s real and not a myth.

Thanks for starting this thread.

Yes those are very real and for the ones that are a danger, incapable of being a part of society, or ones that fail treatment/getting help should not be a part of society.

I don't take issue with "nutballs" so to speak, but the majority of society shouldn't be subjected to them if they pose a problem.

Some people need to be seperated from society for their own sake and the sake of the society.

 

[sparky]

So....what metric is available?

I don't mean to be an ahole, but if i think most of you have had your cheese slide off your cracker.......maybe it's not y'all!

~S~

 

[nomadic5]

I like where you’re headed with this.

I’ve always wanted to work and have held a steady job for the last ten years.

It wasn’t always the case, though. Early on and while I was in my twenties, I went on SSI with the recommendation of my doctor. To sum it up, those benefits didn’t help much and I wish I’d looked harder for a job. To put it another way, I was stuck for a few years and that government money enabled me to stay stuck.

When I landed my current job, it did me a world of good, to the point where my med doses were cut in half.

Basically, I am so close to being able to get off my medication for schizoaffective disorder. I just can’t stress enough the importance of work and healthy lifestyle, for those who are able.

I'm happy for you.

However, a lot of people have a hard time getting a job. And when you're homeless, you don't have a place to get spiffed up for an interview or even to just apply for a job. Then there's the problem of no physical address...

I think if the govt is going to get involved in our lives, and we know it always does.. it should virtually guarantee a job for all who want one and I say most do

 

[sparky]

I think if the govt is going to get involved in our lives, and we know it always does.

'eff them & the anti-constitutional horse they rode in on....how's we tell THEM how to run their lives....~S~

 

[Grogu]

Yes those are very real and for the ones that are a danger, incapable of being a part of society, or ones that fail treatment/getting help should not be a part of society.

I don't take issue with "nutballs" so to speak, but the majority of society shouldn't be subjected to them if they pose a problem.

Some people need to be seperated from society for their own sake and the sake of the society.

Hi Resnic.

I actually agree with your statement about separating the dangerous ones from society - at least to some extent. There is where the problem begins, however.

Tough, it is, to explain to someone who has never been in a state hospital. I have been there and I think I’d rather go to Hell, than back to one of those places. But, I will return to this later.

Look - the mentally ill, through not fault of their own, are being swept under the rug in this country. All the politicians do is talk about this, but no one seems to have an actual clue or plan.

What I do know is this. The mentally ill are far more likely to be victims of violence (particularly gun violence), than commit violent crimes. But, how does society view “nutballs?” How are those “crazies“ treated by law enforcement? How easy is it for them to get a job? What about the stigma and discrimination they face, from everyone around them?

In America, one out of every five people will become seriously mentally ill, at some point in their lifetime. But, no one seems to care or want to talk about this.

Perhaps many are indeed better off separated from society - dead, in prison or in a mental hospital. Because I’m here to tell you that nowadays, for many people, living within society can sometimes be the worst possible scenario.

That needs to change and it starts by fixing the homeless problem. Mind you, I personally will be okay, either way. Like I said, I’ve mostly recovered. Has been hard and very stressful at time, but I’m one of the very few lucky ones who’ve made it.

Everyone who wants to, should be given the same opportunity. That’s all I’m saying.