Of Many Minds on Mental Illness

by Michael K. Thompson

Most of us make judgments regularly about parents who can't "control" their children in the grocery store, or blame friends and family who "allowed" someone to become suicidal or even violent toward others.

While I'm not immune from being judgmental, I see things differently, as someone who has lived in support of others with mental illness on a daily basis. I'm not a doctor, but among just close family and friends, I have seen firsthand what it is like to wrestle with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, and a variety of post-traumatic stress disorders.

It's not easy.

It's not easy to be a support person either. At times, caring for others with trauma is in itself a form of trauma. Seminary interns are often told that their theology will be severely challenged after a semester of serving in a hospital chaplaincy.

I have had to seek counseling and other forms of support in various seasons of my life, and there's no easy formula for how to do that. Someone has to work, and clean the house, and take care of all the other things that won't get done otherwise.

Throughout Jesus' ministry, he stopped to heal a full diversity of illnesses: physical, mental and spiritual. Yet, mental illness in our modern society still represents a special "untouchable" status for most. The air goes out of the room when we hear that someone has cancer, but that seems easier for people to process than schizophrenia. When I try to explain with any level of detail, many faces become glazed over with shock and confusion.

How Do We React?
As a society, we’re of many minds on this issue. Privacy for the patient is critical to finding safe space for healing. Yet, how does one find community support in daily life without telling someone? How do we keep at bay those fascinated with the kind of drama mindful of the "reality shows" we see on TV every night? Just finding "safe" people is a chore.

And who supports those who are there to care even in the middle of the night while everyone else goes home to sleep or work the next day? There are few resources available for people with mental illness, and most of it focuses on the individual at the center. But the fabric of support for that person can quickly unravel when the needs of caregivers are ignored.

A variety of "floating fears" also haunt the general public. We may be turned off or even threatened by people who seem "strange" to us. We may worry that someone with mental illness will do violence to us, even though the wider data suggests that this is relatively unlikely. We hope they will find help "elsewhere."

Toward a New Public Policy
It's a challenge to figure out where people with mental illness can find the best help. In the past, the government often mandated institutionalization in a public facility.

When that practice became unpopular and in many cases ineffective, many ended up on the street or in prison. This approach can be equally costly and dehumanizing. I know personally what it is like to meet a family member or friend under these conditions, feeling completely abandoned and without hope.

I contend that the best solutions are those that are community-based and support families in their own homes.

Studies have shown that mental illness is always exacerbated by fear and helplessness. While hospitalization and prison may always be necessary for extreme cases, we need more options in between which will prevent us from getting that far in the majority of cases. We need more churches and community centers that will welcome people with these special needs, and support for those who are working firsthand, day and night with loved ones.

Finding and Lending Support
My wife and I continue to seek out our own answers for those closest to us. In the process, we have committed ourselves to helping others, especially those with children who have a chance of living a different life. We are not so much supporting people with mental illness directly, as the caretakers who are supporting them. These family members and friends need help navigating the maze of reactions and barriers present in schools, churches, and society at large.

This desire has brought us in contact with a local group associated with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). It's a safe place where we can support one another, discuss the need for public advocacy, and find better solutions for serving family and friends with mental illness. We found their list of "Principles of Support" particularly helpful:

We will see the individual first, not the illness.
We recognize that mental illnesses are brain disorders.
We aim for better coping skills.
We find strength in sharing experiences.
We reject the stigma in ourselves and others.
We won't judge anyone's pain as less than our own.
We forgive ourselves and reject guilt.
We embrace humor as healthy.
We accept that we cannot resolve all problems.
We expect a better future in a realistic way.
We will never give up hope!

Even those of us without direct contact with mental illness have an obligation to care for "the least of these" and recognize that "blessed are those who are poor in spirit." A hard-fought blessing comes from serving others in this way.

It's tempting to protect our own livelihood or our own fragile perspective on life. But we need to be challenged to see with different eyes, God's eyes, that there are desperate people around us.

Take a moment to look around. Who do you know? What might you do differently?

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