How many people do you know with mental illness?
There may be more people than you think. There are over 60 million people dealing with some kind of mental illness whether it's bipolar depression, schizophrenia, panic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder and many others. One of the most complex things about a person who is suffering with mental illness is that they more than likely never seek treatment for it and they are experts at hiding it.
When a person with mental illness reaches the breaking point, it is always a surprise to those around them because they hide it so well. You will find a student who decides to shoot up a movie theater or go on a stabbing spree. You will find fashion designer L'Wren Scott, Karyn Washington (founder of For Brown Girls) and Lee Thompson Young (actor) all who committed suicide. From the outside world those people tend to be living healthy, happy lives, the appearance of what they perceive is expected and accepted. They are overly happy, overly accommodating, pretends to have knowledge about everything, over talks and over compensates. The other extreme would be someone who was an extreme introvert, not social, no friends, a loner, then something triggers in their mental state, and they become desperate to change their situation and the solution is to either harm themselves and/or others. There are some that have lived so well with the disease that they do not believe that anything is wrong, until their last move, becomes their final one.
There are mental illness' that pose a genetic risk. If you grow up in a home with a parent who has a mental illness and never seeks treatment, then there's the possibility that there will be children that grow up with mental disease and never seek treatment, it creates a cycle. A psychologist can determine the kind of mental illness a person has by evaluating their mental state and their ability to function in society. Their history and their life exposure play an intricate part in determining the best solution. However, how many times have you heard a psychologist say that even with all of their sessions with a patient, they almost never can predict when a person may self-destruct and decide to hurt themselves or others. They never see that coming, and my question is why?
When a person decides to see a psychologist or a mental health expert, it should be a requirement to scan the brain to see its current state. There has to be some kind of element that appears in the brain that would alert a psychologist that this person may be reaching their breaking point and when that breaking point is likely is to happen. There has to be something in the brain that triggers an alarm that manifests the decision to self-destruct.
The brain is a very complex part of our body it is the energy that fuels us, the power tool that allows us to imagine what we want and catalyst to bring it all to life. It's one of the most beautiful things about our brain, our imagination, it's pure energy. If we can predict the outcome of a brain that may already be malfunctioning, we can further understand how to better cope and deal with mental illness.
There are too many homeless people with mental disease, too many children, too many of our veterans, just too many people who are suffering for it not to be further investigated. I am not a doctor, but it is quite discerning to hear about deaths of people who have a disease that supposedly can be managed and treated. Let's try to lessen the stigma associated with mental illness, people are afraid to come out the closet and admit that there may be something wrong. You are not alone.
Peace & Love
