re: #52 researchok

Won’t happen.

What is obvious to you, me and most everyone else means little when it comes to mental illness.

If he had displayed symptoms of typhus, cholera, TB or any other communicable disease we would employ mechanisms already in place to quarantine the individual and keep him away from the general population.

Mental illness is different in that no matter how obviously disturbed or dysfunctional the individual is, he or she cannot be quarantined if he or she questions the diagnosis. The problem is decades old and is exacerbated by some cultural shifts (think Cho at VA Tech).

The same applies to serious behavior issues. To remove an obviously disruptive/dangerous student from a classroom can be a production if the parents aren’t cooperative, etc.

And that’s only a part of the problem.

Since I have a mental illness that has caused me and others endless grief I’ll add my own two cents.

Most people don’t believe in mental illness, and they are frightened of it.

To most people mental illness is just a matter of strength and rationality. If you “get back on the horse and start riding you’ll be fine.” I had a friend say that to me when he visited me in the hospital after a suicide attempt. People simply don’t understand and they get angry when a mentally ill person doesn’t act the way they’re supposed to.

And people are frightened of mental illness because of this. Here in North America we are severe control freaks and people out of control really unnerve us.

It’s why our mental health systems are severely underfunded and staffed. As a people we can’t see the need for it, and we’d rather it just go away.