I have two sons. One served ten years as an Air Force pilot and currently works as a contractor helping the air force train pilots. His future is bright. The other son was completely normal - until he wasn't. When he was in his early twenties he became very ill and was diagnosed with a serious (and rare) brain disorder - Schizoaffective disorder. In seemed to happen overnight. His future is not so bright.
I'm embarrassed to admit that, until mental illness hit our family smack in the face, I was probably one who would have jumped right on the "make fun of the mentally ill" band wagon. Now I know first hand there is nothing funny about it. Society jokes and puts down people who suffer from mental illness, yet these people have biological brain disorders through no fault of their own and deserve the same compassion as people with any other illness - but they rarely get it.
When a family announces they have a child with diabetes or cancer, they find their circle of support grows closer. They are surrounded by compassionate friends and community. Not so with mental illness. Families dealing with mental illness very often see friends draft away and a community that seems indifferent at best to their suffering.
People laugh and make light of mental illness, not because they are bad people, but because there is so much misinformation out there about these devastating illnesses. The problem is, while a very small percentage of people with mental illness become dangerous, those are the only mentally ill people that the media pays any attention to. It is mind-numbingly unfair. The vast majority of people suffering with mental illness are someone's mother or father or brother or sister and they are simply suffering silently with few good options for real help.
I apologize if I sound preachy. Honestly I do not mean to be. I'm just hoping people will think a bit about what mental illness really is and understand that those affected need our compassion and prayers (by the way, for any fellow Catholics, we have a patron Saint of Mental Illness, Saint Dymphna. ).
Because of our son's diagnosis, we got involved with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) several years ago. Since 2006, I have been a teacher and I am my state's program director for a 12-week family education program for families with loved ones diagnosed with mental illness. The 12-week course is free to family members who want to learn about their loved one's illness and learn problem solving skills and communications skills to better help their ill relative. The program is called Family-to-Family I am currently half way through teaching my 15th F2F course. If you know of anyone with a family member suffering from mental illness, please tell them to contact their local NAMI affiliate to see if this program is available in their area. It was a life saver for our family.
Lastly, as long as I am talking about NAMI, I hope I can make a blatant plug for our annual fundraiser called NAMIWalks for the Mind of America. This is a walk that takes place in cities all across the country as a way to raise money to do things like provide the family to family course, peer support classes and family support groups. You can find more info here: NAMIWalks Just click on your state to find the NamiWalk activities in your area and to find a team to join and/or donate to.
Thank for listening.