Hi Dano, I'm sorry to see that you haven't received any responses to this post. I can almost bet my whole bank account on the fact that the reason stems from the perpetual need of society to be "happy" and ignore or underestimate (i.e., downplay) the reality of mental health instability and need in our society.
I was able to read your post on psychcentral.com (one of the sites I frequent most for the latest news), and also read your post on your site. I am a counseling/clinical psychology student and most of my days and life are filled with the heavy and discouraging job of making mental illness visible to main society. I have had the opportunity to present at conferences on the psychology behind people who ignore mental illness, "criminals," or those we tend to label "criminal." One thing I strongly believe is that we have falsely accused the "sick" of being criminal just because their illness provokes them to rage or anger or sometimes end up in jail. The most heart-breaking aspect of this is that the highest population in society who are overlooked are either minorities, low income families, or children. As you can probably agree, mental illness should not have an economic face which seeks those who are wealthy. There are so many wrongs and very few rights that I could talk about. But my main point for writing is to encourage you and say that I am one who is fighting for the rights of people who need them and deserve them.
I have worked with children and personally know children by way of close friends, that society is doing us no favors by pushing mental illness away and not providing reliable services to them.

All of this is going to come back around like a boomerang and hit everyone standing on the foundation of denial.

I wish you many blessings.

T.A.

Thanks, Anon, for taking the time to read and then comment on the post! I think that you're spot on in your analysis.

One of the things that I do is hold a 12-Step meeting in prison. Every Monday night, I go to the Cannery, which is a women's jail. They are the overwhelmingly for drug and alcohol charges, or parole violations.

Some will be incarcerated for up to twenty years, this time around. I know from experience, that substance abuse can start as a way of "street medicating" and develop into addiction. Been there, done that.

Many of the women receive medication, for a mental health diagnoses, once they're incarcerated. The problem is upon release, it may take up to a week to meet with their parole officer, who is the one that makes the decisions about recovery houses, social workers and so forth.

This just happened to a new sponcee of mine. She was released directly from court on a Friday and called me in a panic. She wasn't scheduled to see her P.O. until Monday. When we went there on Monday, which was her first time EVER reporting to a P.O. after being released, he wasn't even there. She just had to sign in and then leave.

I worked hard to get her into a couple of recovery houses, and when she called her P.O. to let him know, he blew up and said that she couldn't go anywhere until she talked to him on Friday! So, right now, she's homeless.

This is patently rediculous. She has no net-work, no money, no job and if I weren't gunning for her, because she has the real desire and, I think, chance to stay sober she'd be back out on the streets.

I have written before about the Death Penalty. Beyond the fact that I don't agree with it, it's a fact that the vast majority of those on Death Row and being executed, are poor, black, Southern men, who many times are mentally challenged. Happily for those that have been exonerated through The Innocence Project, there are more people like you out there, making a difference!

Cheers, Dano.

Thank you for your kind comments!

If we continue to believe that if we have that pocket of hope, or Biblically speaking..."faith as small as a mustard seed we can move that mountain(Matthew 21:21). Currently our mountain is the blinders that prevent society from seeing the truth behind the curtain, which is, that mental health issues need acceptance and support.
If you have a Bible Dano, please take the time to look at Luke Scripture 4 and verse 18 (4:18) because this is exactly what you are doing, what I am doing, and others are doing for those who need us most.

Take care!
T.A.

p.s. If you don't have a Bible...you can look it up on the internet as well.

Hi Dano, Thank you for bringing some of the problems with the mental health 'system' to light. I have been hospitalized five times in my life. The first time was in the early eighties as a teenager. At that time in Massachusetts, we had a dedicated 'work force'of mental health workers. The counselors, med nurses, and doctors we're really committed to helping US get better. I really felt like the people around me wanted me to get better. It wasn't for another fifteen years or so that I was hospitalized for the second time. I could not believe the difference. I have depression and addiction (herion and other opiates) and this second hospitalization was the first of a series of dual-diagnosis wards over a six month period. The staff we're a nightmare, I can't think of another word to describe them. These places we're not state institutions either, they we're places that private health insurance probably paid good money for. I can only imagine what a state facility in Massachustees is like now. I don't know exactly why mental health is not treated like other medical conditions, but it isn't. Thank you again for your blog. Beth Hughes, Canton, Mass.

Dear Beth Hughes,

To be dual-diagnosed is a double whammy, which I know only too well! I've been clean and sober for four years, which is a miracle. I believe that getting the right medications when I was locked down for three months was just as important as the 12-Step program that I work.

It is hard enough to conquer any addiction, whatever it is, without a mental health diagnoses. We start using to mask the pain, and end up slaves to the drugs/alcohol that has turned on us.

Making sure that your mental health is taken care of, to make sure that you have that on your side, is soooo important, I believe. Other "sane" addicts may be pissed at this statement, but I stand by it. How could I possibly stay sober, if I'm hallucinating/psychotic/depressed/manic? These are states in which my brain works against me even harder, giving me faulty information which hinders me.

That said, thank you for your brave "outing" of yourself and the awful stories of your hospital experiences. The last hospital I was in didn't have enough sheets and pillows, and you had to work hard to get a single piece of fruit a day!

It may be a good idea for you to share your stories further, such as at the NAMI web site, or others, which you can find in my side column, "The Pros".

I feel that the more we speak up, the less they will be able to shove in the dark corners. My best wishes for you in your fight to regain yourself and your life,

Dano

ATTENTION!

NAMI is currently surveying the experience of public mental health services. It's open until the end of September, '08, you can remain anonymous, so get on it!

There site is:

http://www.nami.org/

Tell ten friends!

Dano.

Hi Dano,

Yes, you found me!
I received the info you posted on my blog about the NAMI survey; I will take the time to take the survey asap.
Thank you for your advise. I'm trying to write my story for younger woman to read and maybe learn a little about what not to do! I'm using the blogosphere to gather feedback, i.e., see if I can help anyone!
Thanks Again,
Beth Hughes