tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-308960137374747760.post7053639961332053855..comments2023-10-30T06:14:16.173-07:00Comments on Gaining Insight: O B S E S S I V I S I O Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343653860296384235noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-308960137374747760.post-84543284732657204912009-03-17T10:03:00.000-07:002009-03-17T10:03:00.000-07:00SuicideWe talked about suicide last month, but has...Suicide<BR/><BR/>We talked about suicide last month, but has anyone seen what a senator said about AIG executives today? I am just as concerned as anyone about the misuse of funds given to AIG, but to suggest this even as rhetoric to me is incomprenhensible.Dava Castillohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11344989741393566249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-308960137374747760.post-49313425917478101662009-03-17T09:39:00.000-07:002009-03-17T09:39:00.000-07:00beautiful mind,complex lifeThank you so much for s...beautiful mind,complex life<BR/><BR/>Thank you so much for sharing the information about working with NAMI to supply education for the police. It's never right to blame someone for having the tools to do their job. And I firmly believe that this is the case most of the time when it comes interactions with our ill family members and the police. We still get upset and angry, but we have to look at all sides of a situation first to understand it and then to work toward solutions.Dava Castillohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11344989741393566249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-308960137374747760.post-8743958034840394722009-03-17T06:26:00.000-07:002009-03-17T06:26:00.000-07:00beautiful mind, complex life,Thank you very much f...beautiful mind, complex life,<BR/><BR/>Thank you very much for finding purpose in my blog. I have so much more to talk about:) I think it is so great that you will be training police officers. I am sure it is very fulfilling to help out in some way. When my brother was in Italy and clearly psychotic, he ended up in a southern Italy jail and recalls being beaten by officers. It makes me sick to think about how scared he must have been. The more education we give the more understanding there will be.O B S E S S I V I S I O Nhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18343653860296384235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-308960137374747760.post-643110904858948162009-03-16T12:38:00.000-07:002009-03-16T12:38:00.000-07:00Thank you for this well-informed post. You are giv...Thank you for this well-informed post. You are giving important information here, and you are doing a great job. Also, I sent the link to your blog to my dad, who doesn't know much about my illness, and he told me he understands it better now. I wanted to thank you for that. I have put the link to your blog on mine, and hopefully some more readers will come across it. <BR/><BR/>I am going to be helping NAMI train police officers on how to deal with people who have mental illnesses in the future. I think this is vitally important - to educate the public and particularly the people who may have to deal directly with someone who has a mental illness and is in a state of crisis. It is important for all of us to educate everyone we can. That is the only way we will destroy this stigma that so permeates society today.Feminist Voice with Disabilitieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04971702402040080054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-308960137374747760.post-1834720125461272242009-03-13T18:52:00.000-07:002009-03-13T18:52:00.000-07:00I agree that fear is at the root, and fear is base...I agree that fear is at the root, and fear is based in ignorance. To fight fear you have to educate. You have probably heard the expression "face your fears." Really what that means is learn about what it is you "think" you fear. Read about it; hold it in your hands; take it with you for a few days; put yourself there. It's like desensitizing yourself to something. If someone is afraid of animals, they are introduced slowly and caustiously progressing within an acceptable time frame for them to gain confidence. If you are afraid of water, first you get your toes wet. The point here is recognizing that fear is about perceptions, and some kinds of fear protect us, like the fear of being burned, so we don't touch hot things. When we fear something about which we know little to nothing, our imaginations fill in all the blanks for us, usually with misperceptions. In the case of mental illness, where little to nothing is known by the general population, they allow others to fill in the blanks for them. It's just easier for them because they don't have to think or have original thoughts. That is why teaching the public about mental illness breaks down the barriers and allows the truth about our ill family members to be known, which you have given some examples in your original post. And whats more important is it allows people to make informed decisions based on real, correct information instead of supposition promulgated by those who might profit or gain from furthering propaganda. There will be those who still have prejudices; it's human nature. Homophobia is an example. Some people will always be prejudiced. But I think about how gay people were viewed twenty years ago and now. There is vast difference in acceptance between then and now. I just hope we can look back twenty years from now and feel the same progress for those who are mentally ill.Dava Castillohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11344989741393566249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-308960137374747760.post-10745404422781465212009-03-12T19:12:00.000-07:002009-03-12T19:12:00.000-07:00I totally agree. Our culture feeds on what the med...I totally agree. Our culture feeds on what the media puts out there. I stopped watching the news years ago because I couldn't stand the negativity. I always play scenarios in my head. I envision a day when I will educate students, create a national campaign, meet with Congress or picket movie studios:) I have been inspired by so many courageous people who would not settle for discrimination and decided to enact change. Unfortunately, mental illness remains to be misunderstood. I look at it like an empty canvas. There is so much we can do!<BR/><BR/>It is so interesting that you make the same connections I do with others forms of discrimination. I am constantly comparing all types of historic discrimination. I often wonder if people will join me on my quest to change. It is so hard to do it alone but over time I think some progress will be made. Even before my brother's diagnosis, I was very defensive if anyone made ignorant remarks towards African Americans, Jewish individuals, gays, lesbians...because I couldn't understand why others would allow skin color, sexual orientation or religion to define who that person was. I was always very vocal. Maybe because I was always an outsider. This attitude and judgement seemed so hateful. I see FEAR at the root of all of this. It makes me sad that people will allow the media to make decisions for them. My father always told me that we are born with free will. So I always said I would not take that for granted or abuse that will. Trust me, I am not perfect, but I have realized that for some reason, I was born with a strong sense of empathy. Maybe that is why I want to protect so many.O B S E S S I V I S I O Nhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18343653860296384235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-308960137374747760.post-13053974553067142062009-03-12T18:41:00.000-07:002009-03-12T18:41:00.000-07:00While it does seem appropriate to blame the media ...While it does seem appropriate to blame the media because their agenda is not a secret. Get the story first, and make it sell. However, their interpretations are dictated by our culture and values. The press does not create stigma alone, although they can further its frame work, people do. However, they can profit from it as we see in accounts like the one you have shown here. I agree with you totally about the damage of fear mongering, and pandering to the lowest common denominator of intellectual thought and action. <BR/><BR/>We can learn from history about how prejudice and hatred were confronted. In the not so distant past, segregation was the norm. It did take The Civil Rights Act of 1964 to eliminate it; therefore, from this we see the power of government intervention, but the interventions were a result of a battle long fought by civil rights advocates who risked everything for change. People against the war in Viet Nam, and more recently Cindy Sheehan against the war in Iraq took unpopular positions. Perhaps that is what we need. Advocates willing to be ridiculed risking status and popularity. <BR/><BR/>Amber, your writing about this is a risk. You are questioning the media, and they are a powerful influence who can harm you in ways you never imagined. You are a brave soul, and I applaud you.<BR/><BR/>One of the citations says, "...it was his responsibility to get treatment...." Could this be more inaccurate from a mental health standpoint? Our ill family members with no insight can not take care of themselves. You only have to go to any large city and see who the homeless and forgotten really are. <BR/><BR/>Ignorance and fear drive people to make statements like the ones above, and until we treat mental illness like an illness and not criminalize it, nothing is going to change. No one wants to see innocent people hurt or killed because laws prevent timely and effective intervention, or the services for the mentally ill are so sparse that getting adequate care and follow up leave them in the streets untreated and uncared for.Dava Castillohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11344989741393566249noreply@blogger.com