Letter: Understanding of mental illness needed
I want to be truthful - I have been suffering from schizophrenia for over 20 years, and every day is a struggle. Constant voices in my head, vocalizations and a degree of involuntary movements occupy my every waking hour.
I recognize the symptoms of my illness, and I am cognizant of my limitations in the day-to-day world.
Hardships are nothing new to people living with disabilities, but our collective interpretation of the difficulties faced by mentally disabled people vary by the country and the times. In many places around the world, the mentally ill face many more challenges than I do.
I have a caring and supportive family, good medical treatment and a degree of freedom from my disability because of my education and the practicing knowledge of effective coping mechanisms. I still, occasionally, feel the stigma attached to my condition as expressed by people that misunderstand my situation or simply label me, but I tend to believe people are becoming more sympathetic to the plight of the mentally disabled.
That is in the United States.
My plea to the reader is for the support of the mentally disabled in countries less fortunate than the United States. Mental disability is a condition, not a choice, that afflicts the brain of the individual and has many manifestations, but it is not the display of minority viewpoints in politics, affiliation with a subculture or anything related to sexual preference or identity.
Mental illness has an onset and can lead to a display of erratic behaviors. It can limit the ability of an individual to engage in daily life, and it can be a bit confusing to those that have a loved one who is categorized as mentally ill.
Mental illness requires our attention as human beings and requires proactive treatments, the widespread acknowledgment that mental illness is a disease no different from coronavirus or cancer and the funding necessary to combat this insidious condition.
Please support organizations outside the United States that work to help the mentally ill.
Willis Lambertson
Barrington