By Vincent Hollander
In spite of good progress in public awareness, mental illness is still bad press and seems never to go away.
Have I lost you already?
To this writer mental illness is like that strip of packing tape that sticks no matter how hard we try to flick it off. Mental illness is like that: one of the last mountain ranges to cross, a stigma that still sticks in our culture.
You've probably heard such terms as "schizo," or "psycho" or "wacko" applied to those with malfunctioning social skills. You've seen and heard jokes through the media about "loony bins" and the residents there being in strait jackets to protect others. Jack Nicholson won an Academy Award for his role in "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest." The movie exposed the urge for social control at all costs.
Those who have battled mental illness, such as myself, are too painfully aware that the connotations and inferences of such stereotypes about mental illness virtually preclude social success for an individual bearing the burden. Stigma is painful and demeaning. Is there something Christians can do to help diminish this social travesty? It is not as simple as surrendering our seat to an "obviously" mentally handicapped person. Jesus said, "Judge not by appearance but judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24). Let's analyze this "alien from Zone 51" in an effort to go below the surface in an effort to attain true Christian empathy. "Knowledge is power," after all, power to break old stereotypes.
First, there is the blatant labeling involved in this area, warranted or not.
Secondly, this rush to judgment stereotypes those with a broad range of ailments under the umbrella "mental illness."
Next, a caste system has been informally developed to segregate "us" from "them." This is designed to be perpetual and permanent, or so it seems to me.
Why the stigmas? The term "mental illness" implies a distancing from "physical illness," although the two are intimately entwined. Neuro-imaging results show physical changes in the brain suggesting a biological basis. Yet there is undoubtedly more than a little element of blame directed toward the mentally ill, accusing them (albeit unconsciously) of some transgression that caused the illness. Some assume the victim was too "weak" to fend off the illness. Some have blamed it on drug abuse, particularly street drugs.
Why are the mentally ill almost universally unemployed? Ah, you see hospital terms leave gaps in a job seekers resume. An interviewer often interprets this one of two ways: either the applicant has been in jail or spent time on a psychiatric ward, or both. If a "mental" patient has recovered, he or she often faces a side-effect that cripples their employability. In my case this is an extreme hypersensitivity to stress, whether positive or negative. To work five hours a day for five days every week is outside the scope of most everyone who has had a mental handicap. In my case I've had 20+ jobs in my working career and only one lasted six months. I receive what's called "Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped."
Yet there's so much I'd like to do, know I can do with patient guidance and supervision. This article you're reading is a skill Ive been encouraged to develop by people who believe in me. But not everyone does. When I get discouraged I think of Jesus Christ, the greatest Friend the mentally challenged have ever had. Mark 5 records the story of Jesus and the man called Legion. He was healed of severe mental disturbances triggered by overt demon possession. Not all mental problems are linked to this by any means, but there are two main points here. One is that Jesus – my Hero and my King – with almost effortless ease healed a man everyone had written off as hopeless.
But the other point is that Jesus didn't have to be there. One of my pastors tells me that this "country of the Gerasenes" was in the opposite direction from where Jesus normally worked (Mark 5:1). He had to cross the treacherous Sea of Galilee to get there. Sure enough a storm came up and the disciples thought they would drown (Mark 4:35-41). Jesus healed the storm and calmed down those scaredy-cats, you know, the "normal" disciples. It seems like Jesus went out of his way to reach this poor wild man. That cheers me up. We all need people like that in our lives, people like Jesus who go out of their way to help. If ever there was "an alien from Zone 51" it was the guy in Mark 5. Read it sometime when you think people are hopeless.
You see, the mentally challenged have a past, a present and a future. The disease can ebb and flow during the life of a sufferer. Symptoms tend to become less acute with age. Please let people know that. Ladies and gentleman, I plead with you – I find the stigma is worse than the disease.
Once I had the chance to speak to my congregation about my experience with "schizo-affective disorder." After the talk, glances from some were more fleeting, handshakes less spontaneous, and there was less eye to eye contact. My opinions on certain matters were no longer sought. Invitations to social get-togethers evaporated. Others seemed to be observing me rather than interacting. I felt like a goldfish in an aquarium.
Bless their hearts. They simply didn't know how to relate. Most were afraid to take risks. Try telling a girl on a date that your memory is poor because your brain chemistry is out of balance and you live on "Assured Income," have no car, do only volunteer work, well...you can guess the rest. All this makes George Costanza of "Seinfeld" fame's job problem more to be envied.
There is good news. Today the stigma surrounding some mental illnesses is slowly eroding. Greater public understanding of mental disorders and recognition of biological bases for the malady have gone a long way to integrating the ill. The future looks good but at this time the mentally challenged can only be treated, not cured. More sophisticated pharmacology and rehabilitation have gone long way in taming the tiger. But the mountain range called Mount Stigma still remains. Christians, you can do your part. Please help us get over that barrier.
Vincent – not his real name – is a long-time WCG member in Canada and a distinguished volunteer with the Canadian Mental Health Association.