I wanted this to be a happy blog post with updates on my novel, "Jupiter Symphony," but the reported death of Robin Williams has completely thrown my resolve.
As with many people that seem incredibly outgoing and socially well adjusted, Robin Williams suffered from depression, a mental illness no different than any other ailment. What frustrates me the most is the fact that in this country, the good ol' USA, we have marginalized mental health patients, pushing them to the side and filing them under 'crazy'.
Mental health falls under the scope of a person's entire condition. It should never be stigmatized, chastised, or ridiculed. And yet we are faced with countless tales of good people, famous or not, committing suicide or carrying out some other act of violence due to the fact that they never received the treatment they required.
Mental health is a sickness. It is a subversive, sinister, and tricky bastard that is hard to pin down and difficult to beat. It takes a lifetime approach more akin to cancer treatment than mending a broken bone. It takes years of treatment, combining medicine, therapy, and a generous support system. People don't look at mental health in this light, though.
Personally, I think these diseases get generalized into something that you just take a pill for, instead of something that is a lifelong struggle. In many cases the patient may not even realize they have a problem until it is too late. We educate the populace on recognizing the dangers of alcoholism, but not depression or anxiety or bi-polar disorder.
The truth is, the mental health system in our country is abysmal, and that's coming from someone who has had to deal with it directly. If we want to make strides as a nation, we need to realize that people's minds can be just as sick as their bodies, sometimes more so. We can prevent the mass shootings, the suicides, and the self-mutilation, but it's going to take communal effort, which has been becoming very rare as the decades have passed. We can help people through education and care, by using processes that aren't invasive or off-putting.
So I'm drawing my own line in the sand, and I'm going to be doing my part to reach out to those in need, to make sure they recognize the problems they might not see, and to seek professional help when needed. Be understanding and caring in your concern, don't force anything on anyone, and maybe, just maybe, read a book or article on the vagaries of mental health and how it can be treated.
Frankly, I'm sick and tired of waking up to news about good people dying in bad ways. I hope you share the sentiment.
A.C. Harrison
Like what you see here? Spread the word and support indie authors! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter.
As with many people that seem incredibly outgoing and socially well adjusted, Robin Williams suffered from depression, a mental illness no different than any other ailment. What frustrates me the most is the fact that in this country, the good ol' USA, we have marginalized mental health patients, pushing them to the side and filing them under 'crazy'.
Mental health falls under the scope of a person's entire condition. It should never be stigmatized, chastised, or ridiculed. And yet we are faced with countless tales of good people, famous or not, committing suicide or carrying out some other act of violence due to the fact that they never received the treatment they required.
Mental health is a sickness. It is a subversive, sinister, and tricky bastard that is hard to pin down and difficult to beat. It takes a lifetime approach more akin to cancer treatment than mending a broken bone. It takes years of treatment, combining medicine, therapy, and a generous support system. People don't look at mental health in this light, though.
Personally, I think these diseases get generalized into something that you just take a pill for, instead of something that is a lifelong struggle. In many cases the patient may not even realize they have a problem until it is too late. We educate the populace on recognizing the dangers of alcoholism, but not depression or anxiety or bi-polar disorder.
The truth is, the mental health system in our country is abysmal, and that's coming from someone who has had to deal with it directly. If we want to make strides as a nation, we need to realize that people's minds can be just as sick as their bodies, sometimes more so. We can prevent the mass shootings, the suicides, and the self-mutilation, but it's going to take communal effort, which has been becoming very rare as the decades have passed. We can help people through education and care, by using processes that aren't invasive or off-putting.
So I'm drawing my own line in the sand, and I'm going to be doing my part to reach out to those in need, to make sure they recognize the problems they might not see, and to seek professional help when needed. Be understanding and caring in your concern, don't force anything on anyone, and maybe, just maybe, read a book or article on the vagaries of mental health and how it can be treated.
Frankly, I'm sick and tired of waking up to news about good people dying in bad ways. I hope you share the sentiment.
A.C. Harrison
Like what you see here? Spread the word and support indie authors! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter.
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