•••Mental Illness is No Laughing Matter😔 ••• - Page 4

newziesuzie · ‎02-21-2014

@shoekitty wrote:
I have had 2 relatives suffer from mental illness, the outcome was fatal. I have a brother who has had mental illness since he was diagnosed at 15. He has paranoid schizophrenia, and he is also bipolar. He has been in homes and hospitals ,since he was 28. He just was hospitalized, and is now in sub acute care waiting for a boarding home that will take him, as he lost his last one. There are hardly any homes anymore. It is not profitable to take care of the mentally ill (except medication from the pharmaceutical world)

I am his delegate, although he has 2 case workers. Not a day goes by I do not have to deal with his medical, mental, housing issues. The last hospital he was in lost his 3500 hearing aid, and his new clothes I bought him. He is deaf in one ear and has diminished hearing in the other. BTW, medical does not buy you hearing aids. That is something you take out of 1200 monthly check after you have paid 1100 rent.

I have told you this as a person who is close to mental illness. My point? Although treating mental illness is a nightmare in this country. Those that do treat them, have a special heart! I have never in my life heard anyone make fun of the mentally ill. Yes we all make comments, like "I am loosing my mind", I will go nuts, he is nuts, etc. But it is usually said not referring to the mentally ill. I have taken my brother places where just a waitress in a cafe asking him, "what will you have" will set him off on a 5 minute explanation, usually involving a conspiracy and the FBI. The waitress, will be patient, smile and be kind. I have been around mentally ill, the homeless and such and people never make fun. Now, maybe a kid will, who has problems themselves, or hasn't been tutored in this illness.. My brother himself has jested about "the looney bin". But he doesn't think he is ill either.

I don't think most people laugh at mental illness. Sometimes when confronted with it, people have said how grateful they are to be healthy. There is an occasional idiot, but I think the public on a whole does not consider this a funny issue at all. They may not entirely understand the whole of mental illness, but most people understand that it is not the persons fault, and to tread respectfully. JMHO.

I will say, there needs to be more funding and facilities for the ill. More treatment and education.

Thank you you for sharing your story @shoekitty.❤️

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newziesuzie · ‎02-21-2014

Thanks everybody for your posts and

an interesting discussion.

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redhead65 · ‎05-16-2015

Dear Sunala:

If you were my delegate, I'd run away and hide, seriously.

Your brother (and all of your family) might not be very pleased with you for posting all of this very personal information about their health

on such a public forum.

May I suggest you obtain a financial representative to help you find less expensive living arrangements. Perhaps you should have left your finances out, because we never know who can do what with that kind of information obtained via satellite or otherwise.

I find it hard to accept that you so willingly shared so much information on a social media site.

I will pray no harm or discourse comes from it.

Blessings.

debic · ‎09-02-2010

Someone recommend this book to me once. The author has struggled with mental illness for many years. Since we live in the same state I bought it. It was interesting as it was from his point of view. I don't know if libraries carry it or not.

As a kid I've seen other cruel children, but not as an adult.

~~
*Off The Deep End~A very short trip for some!*

jubilant · ‎06-10-2010

My sister lives in an apartment complex. In the summer she would hear strange noises coming from a neighbor ladies apartment 2 doors down. This lady lived alone but you could hear her arguing with someone and loud yellingat night. She kept very much to herself and was quite child like in behavior. She kept to herself. One day my sister saw her lying out in the snow. She ran out to help her get up and took her home. This woman gave her the phone number of her sister. She ended up in a boot with 4 broken toes. My sister went down to check on her daily and noticed her stove look new....as if it had never been used. She opened her refrigerator to get her some milk and that was the only thing in it! She went to her cupboards and found one box of Lucky Charms cereal. That is what this woman had been living on for probably a couple of years since dumped and left alone in her apartment. When my sister asked her about it..... she smiled and said...oh, I love my Lucky Charms and once a week I get myself a Subway. My sister started taking her over food and she didn't want it, at first...so she had her over to her apartment to feed her. The woman's sister asked my sister if she could take her to her next appointment for the state to evaluate. When examining her my sister was shocked....her toenails were long and turned under. It was like she was almost walking on them. DS took her home after boot was removed and said...."Let's give your feet a good soaking and I will trim your toenails. She got a very frightened look on her face so my DS told her she would do one toe and if she didn't like it she would stop. Well, DS gave her a foot massage and cut those things and this poor womans face just lit up. She told her how good it felt. She get's a monhlyly disability check and my DS found out from this woman's sister that she was Schitzophrenic and yes, very child like, and able to use the microwave. She told her to have her give her some money and get her some groceries. My sister had done that a buys her TV dinners and is introducing her to easy food to fix. How this family just put her in an apartment and not show up for weeks is beyond me. The sister said she just could not keep her a her home any longer and the state evaluates her and says she can be on her own??? My sister keeps an eye on her now and takes her to appointments. She knows she has to be careful and she is. This woman loves my sister. Outside of my sister the only two people she trusts in the world is my mother and my sister. The noises you hear coming from her apartment is her talking to good angels or bad angels. Otherwise she bothers no one. She acts differently in public and my DS just hurries and gets her out of the building if she starts up. Her sister has offered mine money to take care of her by getting her to her appointments and seeing that she eats and takes care of her body. I know this sister has probably been through a lot but just to leave her alone like this and not hardly ever visit is a crying shame. My sister would have done it for nothing to tell you the truth...but she is getting gas money and money to buy this poor woman groceries from the sister out of her montly disability check. You see, my sister is living at a poverty level. She divorced after 30 yrs. of marriage and her ex was in financial trouble so she has little herself. She also has to work very hard to make it and is no Spring chicken anymore. I love you, ___ You have always had a missionaries heart and you never look the other way when someone is in need.

Ditzydori · ‎03-10-2010

Shoekitty, Vincent Van Gogh was mentally ill. What you say is very true and my heart goes out to you. My son suffers from schophrenia also. And suffer he does. He is brilliantly smart. He did manage to go to college and his average was a consistent 4.0, Deens list included and the like. Now he simply can't work. My heart is broken.

Yes, mental illness is a terrible, terrible illness.

skuggles · ‎11-20-2013

@redhead65 ...it was not sunala, who spoke of being her brother's delegate. And even more to the point, how will anyone personally identify someone as for instance , "redhead87's brother" who is mentally ill or "poster432's sister" who is receiving treatment.

In 2013, there were an estimated 10 million adults aged 18 or older in the U.S. with SMI in the past year. This represented 4.2 percent of all U.S. adults.

from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/prevalence/serious-mental-illness-smi-among-us-adults.shtm...

SMI being Serious Mental Illness.

redhead65 · ‎05-16-2015

@skuggles wrote:
@redhead65 ...it was not sunala, who spoke of being her brother's delegate. And even more to the point, how will anyone personally identify someone as for instance , "redhead87's brother" who is mentally ill or "poster432's sister" who is receiving treatment.

In 2013, there were an estimated 10 million adults aged 18 or older in the U.S. with SMI in the past year. This represented 4.2 percent of all U.S. adults.

from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/prevalence/serious-mental-illness-smi-among-us-adults.shtm...

SMI being Serious Mental Illness.

First, I can't believe anyone would think mental illness is a laughing matter. If so, they need much prayer.I'm sorry if I misidentified the correct poster. However, I have great concern of mean people doing something with this information. I couldn't myself post family (or any) information like this on social media. I have prayed already that nothing harmful becomes of it.

shoekitty · ‎03-10-2010

@skuggles wrote:
@redhead65 ...it was not sunala, who spoke of being her brother's delegate. And even more to the point, how will anyone personally identify someone as for instance , "redhead87's brother" who is mentally ill or "poster432's sister" who is receiving treatment.

In 2013, there were an estimated 10 million adults aged 18 or older in the U.S. with SMI in the past year. This represented 4.2 percent of all U.S. adults.

from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/prevalence/serious-mental-illness-smi-among-us-adults.shtm...

SMI being Serious Mental Illness.

Shoekitty said

Thank you skuggles for your post, I noticed that and was going to respond. I was thinking of something to say , but wanted to think. I would like anyone to know who thinks I gave out damaging info to know this. .. I am very aware of what I post, and what I don't! I am not ashamed of my brother, and anyone who knows me knows my brother, believe me .His story is no secret. He is not ashamed, but there are times he thinks he is not ill at all.. He has shared a

his story in our county's several newspapers, and he was featured in a couple TV newscasts, about the arts disabilities. About his income, the amount I posted is what every person on disability in this county receives for his illness. We live in California, 1100 is average for boarding care. If people want to hack his "credit" have at it, they won't get far. No one would his life, his income or medical situation if they had to choose.

Skuggles thank you for that link!! I am reading it. Amazing isn't i?. I can't imagine with those statistics there is anyone in this country that cannot be touched by mental illness somewhere in their life circle.

Thank you all for kind comments. and hearts.

surfk · ‎07-12-2010

@jubilant wrote:
@Peaches McPhee wrote:
This is weird. I can't remember a time when I witnessed "public laughing" at the expense of the mentally ill. Well, maybe from a 15 year old.
Can someone give some examples?
It happens. I hear it a lot among teens and adults alike. It even happens right here on these boards sometimes. I think there has been times in all our lives when we have been guilty of making fun of someone who is "odd or different". It's not anything to be proud of and hopefully, when we do hear it, we won't join in but instead say to ourselves...God help that person. That person could be related to you or someone you love. Great post, OP.

Not giving pointing & laughing a pass really. But being "odd or different" isn't the equivalent of being mentally ill.