Image: Eva Almqvist - Getty Images
Human mind puzzle pieces
Standing near me on a crowded street, the young man had a kind face, but there was something unusual about his mannerisms. He was loudly speaking and gesturing to all in the vicinity, prompting wary passersby to move away. I decided if he was that invested in being heard, I should listen. When I approached, he began talking about a small stone in the palm of his hand, which he displayed to me with dramatic reverence.
I struggled to follow his train of thought, but it had something to do with the “soul” of the stone, its cosmic significance, and how it figured into what he called the “transcendent order and beauty of life.” I listened intently, but the sequence of his ideas was tough to track. He exhibited, as we shrinks say, “loose associations.” After much nodding, I concluded our interaction by telling him the stone was indeed “very beautiful.” He smiled warmly, said, “Thank you for listening to me,” and then turned to address the flood of strangers who were doing their best to avoid him.
Over the years, I’ve worked with many folks struggling with mental illness, and I suspect this young man fit that bill, at least by our modern definition. Millions of Americans grapple with chronic, disruptive psychological disorders, some their entire lives. Most people regard such folks as strange or odd, as separate from the majority culture, and, often, a tad frightening. Frequently, those with mental illness are either avoided or ridiculed in public settings. The negative stigma they endure is palpable.
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Lack of Public Support
Not long ago, many of these persons found themselves institutionalized in some form. Today, very few go that route, and most only for short stints. In the 1980s, there was a much-publicized movement to empty psychiatric hospitals and reintegrate these folks into mainstream society. Politicians touted this initiative as a community-based approach to treating those with mental illness, an effort to include rather than isolate them. But that isolation didn’t abate. It just became more visible.
Predictably, for lack of public support and funding, this effort failed miserably, so many with severe or untreated mental illness, while not institutionalized, remain on the margins of society. A substantial number are homeless and destitute, and many more endure isolation and discrimination at the hands of the public. Some are viewed as risks for violent behavior. However, those with serious mental disorders often prove more withdrawn and less aggressive than the general population. In fact, they are at greater risk to harm themselves than others and are far more likely to be a victim of crime than a perpetrator.
Social ostracism toward these folks is the modern version of the historical propensity to attribute mental illness to demonic forces. In earlier times, many of these unfortunate souls were considered possessed by the devil, and some were persecuted, exiled and murdered by their ignorant, fearful neighbors or church authorities. Even today, too often, they are seen as “other” rather than as bonafide members of our communities. Consequently, they evoke the inherent wariness inhabiting the human psyche—essentially, “If you ain’t like me, then I should keep my distance.”
In some instances, earlier cultures did a better job of crafting a valued place for such persons. Certain indigenous peoples regarded them as “touched by the spirits,” which afforded them a respected role in their communities. In some instances, they were viewed as go-betweens linking the spiritual realm with the material one. So-called modern societies, however, have proven far less humane and accepting in this regard. Instead, we tend to point at those with mental illness as individual examples of the psyche gone awry when, in fact, some of them are the canaries in our collective psychological coal mine. In other words, they may manifest the impact of a mentally dysfunctional society on some of its individual members, just as an errant child sometimes becomes the symptomatic repository of a family’s dysfunction. One can argue that, collectively, our culture manifests its own version of mental illness—that being the inhumanity we too often visit on the psychologically challenged and downtrodden.
So, what’s the greater insanity? Those individuals grappling with mental illness, or a society that too often turns its back on them?
For more, visit philipchard.com.
