My friends and I were rolling down Chicago streets, from Lincoln Park to the South Loop on a transit bus. Naturally, as women are prone to do when more than one assembles, we were discussing all things important to us, from the significance of having a black president to the best kind of moisturizer to use for dry, white skin. No topic is too much or too little for us, and basically, nothing is sacred. We are all reasonably bright, well-read, and successful people with good senses of humor and a variety of passions. So, when another passenger boarded and took the seat next to us, we noticed things like her beauty, her clothes, her handbag, her jewelry, her processed hair, and finally, the fact that she appeared to be suffering from a major mental illness.
After a few hostile glances in our direction, the woman had a long conversation with either herself or someone only she could see, then declared us "white bitches on a bus". Usually, one of us would have something to say about that, but we're all in possession of good manners and strong survival instincts, so we kept our mouths shut. I'm sure we were all silently praying she was unarmed, and we were all quite relieved when she got off.
So.... the first subject the Bitches on a Bus will tackle is the fact that there is an absolute failure of mental health service delivery to people in this country who are sorely in need of medication, therapy and/or committment to a locked facility. The United States of America is full of sick people. Probably one in one thousand mental illness sufferers is being treated properly. Mental illness is not even considered a "real" condition in terms of health insurance criteria and their "covered benefits". You can have your appendix removed in a hospital, but your schizophenia is probably your fault, and therefore, basically, untreatable, or at least, uncovered after a few days. You wonder why you see so many people out walking the streets or riding buses acting crazy? Our society treats mental illness as a stigma, a badge of dishonor, a lack of character and moral fiber. Why? Why are Americans so afraid of mental illness? Why is there such disparity between diabetes and bi-polar depression?
In the city where I live, the local public mental health hospital is under investigation for repeated sexual assaults of patients by other patients. One of the assaults resulted in a pregnancy. The administrator of this facility refuses to comment on the situation and is engaged, I believe, in a cover-up that goes right to the top of local government. Legal ramifications aside, the lack of acknowledgement of a problem in the facility by it's top administrator is a symptom of this country's failure to identify, treat and protect the most vulnerable members of our society. The road to recovery for the mentally ill is full of sink holes and speed bumps. I am appalled at what is happening in this facility and in this country. Where was the hospital staff when these sexual assaults occurred? Was their a union meeting on pay raises that day? Perhaps fresh Krispy Kremes at the nurse's station? Ask the questions, people. Demand accountability.
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2 comments:
Hi there, Citizen X!
When I read your entry about mental illness, memories of my best bud, who was mentally ill, came flooding back.
My best bud died in 2006. He died within a few months after when good-ole ex-county executive, Scottie, cut funding to a mental-health day program. My best bud needed to continue with that day program to help him manage his bi-polar as well as his life. After that program got cut, my friend and his bi-polar started spiraling out-of-control. He was going from one extreme to the other. Yes, he got into risky stuff when he was manic, but that's not what killed him. It was the medications that his psychiatrist prescribed (well, more like gave him shopping bags full of medication samples) that killed him. Without that day-program, he was no longer getting medication management and his blood levels were no longer being monitored. And, how often does one see their psychiatrist and how much time does a psychiatrist spend with their patients. It is not often and not enough.
The ME ruled the cause of his death as a toxicity build-up of his behavioral medications due to the levels of Lithium and Carbamazepine not being monitored in his system through mandatory blood level checks. What kind of psychiatrist continues giving their patient Lithium and Carbamazepine without knowing the levels of the medications in their patients' system? If Scotty hadn't cut funding to that program and its services, my friend would still be alive today. Damn that scooter walker!!
First, let me say I am so sorry you lost your friend. There is nothing more sorrowful than the needless death of someone who cannot get the help or support they desperately need. I lost my son, a war veteran, to suicide because this country fails to stand behind anyone with a mental illness, veteran or not. I believe the United States, itself, is mentally ill and the casualties of untreated mental illness just keep mounting.
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