I've wanted to write about this for some time, but some friends of mine needed help, so I have had to balance my time. It is about a post that was written by a hero of mine, Liz Spikol. I have her site in my "Brilliant Blogs", because I've read her writings ever since I can recall being here in Philly.

The reason why her blog is listed on mine is because she exposes mental health "issues" and is brave enough to write about her own struggles with a mental illness. Me? I'm mad and I'm proud. But there are many who are ashamed of who they are. And we need to help them.

In 2005, the World Health Organization wrote a health treaty for those suffering from mental illness. It stated in part: The explicit inclusion of the promotion of mental, as well as physical, health is a timely reminder of the importance of looking at health holistically. Poor mental health affects more than 130 million Europeans at a cost to every European household of more than €2,000 per annum. Despite the high personal, social and economic costs too often mental health has been marginalised within public health policy.

But it was only for Europe. Here, a Medical Power of Attorney only applies to one's physical health. So apparently, one's mind is a free, floating, and separate entity. This strange discrepancy reflects a society that does not seem to understand that mental illness is an actual, physical sickness. We who are hospitalized frequently do not enjoy the same treatment as those with other ailments.

For example, my parents waited until my third hospitalization before they made their one and only visit. Ever. If I'd been hit by a car, had cancer or some other life-threatening illness, I would bet my crappy car that they would have been right there; flowers, balloons, cards and concern. But the reality is, my Bipolar II Diagnosed mind can be a very real threat on my life. It far too often has me believing that the only way to stop the anguish that I'm in is to kill myself.

In the many psyche wards that I've stayed on, I am far from alone in having a family that stays away. In Chicago, there is a network of people at Mad Tea Party, who go to visit those who would otherwise have no one else. What does this say about our priorities? For a country that promotes "family values" an awful lot, it seems crazy that a group of strangers have to provide comfort and company to those that need it most.

Click to join madteapartyWhich brings me back to a deeply disturbing video that Liz Spikol posted on her blog. I would give you the link, but last I checked, the video was no longer playing on the news site that first aired it.

In it, a woman dies in the King's County Psychiactric Ward, N.Y. waiting-room, having been there for over twenty-four hours. Two guards and a doctor see her flat out on the floor, but they do nothing. It is not until a nurse kicks the woman's corpse so hard that it actually moves, that something is done. What? They remove her and then proceed to falsify records, stating that the victim was alive and checked throughout her whole ordeal.

The time-lapse security camera tells the truth, though. The doctor has been been fired, which doesn't mean he won't practice again. As for the others, they have been suspended while the investigation proceeds. Both the firing and the suspensions seem to me a tad on the mild side.Why haven't they been arrested? I may piss some people off here, but what the hell, I'm good at that.

My belief is that because the patient was African-American, mentally ill, female and possibly poor, she did not receive the response that, say, a critically ill White,"sane" and possibly rich man would get. Think this sounds far-fetched? I have friends who keep their Mental Diagnoses secret when they go to an E.R. Their past experiences have made this seem reasonable to them.

One woman was presumed to be homeless and looking for a bed to sleep in. A man told me that they believe he is making his symptoms up, when he says that he's mentally ill. This is terrible and also potentially dangerous. If you won't say that you're mentally ill, you also won't be 'fessing up to any psychotropics that you're taking. Which opens the door for lethal drug interactions.

It would be wonderful if the medical community would apply their oath to one and all: First do no harm. It would be a miracle if our society would abide by it too.

Mental illness. Those two words conjure up many powerful images for us, thanks to our not so distant historical treatment of the insane and the portrayal of the mentally ill in movies and television. For those of us living with a diagnoses of mental illness, it can range from a minor bother to a life-threatening struggle involving frequent or even long-term hospital stays. Me, I tend toward the latter.

My parents weren't keen on my school's recommendation that I see a psychologist when I was ten so that I could remain in enrolled. They offered me the option of a boarding school, which I stupidly thought would be fun, and chose instead. As a teenager, I realized something was seriously wrong and found myself a therapist. Due to the laws, he had to disclose our relationship to my parents, because I'd shown him some cuts on my wrists. Neither my parents or I were pleased about that development. I stopped going shortly after.

The internet has made things a lot more accessible these days. There is an amazing site called PsychCentral, which I wish had been available when I was first looking for help. It has resources, loads of information, quizzes you can take to see if you may be suffering from an illness, blogs, support groups and lots more. Go and see!

What caught my eye was a piece by John Grohol, Psy.D referring back to an earlier article he had written, "10 Common Reasons to Lie to Your Therapist".

To anyone who has not been in therapy or fails to see the point of therapy, the title probably says to them that A) people who pay to lie to therapists must be coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs and B) therapy cannot work. Either of these statements may be true; Cocoa Puffs can be quite enjoyable for some and therapy will not work if certain conditions are not met. If there is not a feeling of mutual respect, then there is little hope. Trust has to be gained for a client to be able to explore their issues.

For myself, one of my biggest problems had been worrying that I was letting my therapist or psychiatrist down in some way. I try to hide when I feel depressed, fearing that my mood is somehow going to wreak havoc on others. My therapist is a Cognitive Behaviorist, and I used to fret that she'd think I hadn't been doing my "homework". Also, she so clearly was concerned for my well-being that it upset me to come in when I was feeling lousy!

As to my psychiatrist, I know that he's great in the field of medicine, but I happen to be one of those that gets tolerant to drugs quickly. I definitely had some transference going on there. He's the warm, caring father-figure that I need so badly in my life. When I'm feeling low, it's hard to pick up the phone and tell him I need help, because in my real life my father has rejected me.

But I know that the cost of not calling will get me another two or three months on a psyche ward. I just did a rough tally of the time I've spent in hospitals over the past eight years and it's at least two years altogether. Best for me to tell the truth.