new required coursework

i replied to shrew’s posts on the dishing out of shame.

it dawned on me, the quickest way to eliminate shame; make it a requirement that everyone take two quarters of mental disorder. they would have to take living with a mental disorder 101, and 102, if they still didn’t get it, they could successively take living with a mental disorder 201. if still didn’t work, they could move on to the. upper division courses, living with a mental disorder 301 and 401. if they haven’t got it my then, they are a lost cause and probably committed.

the synopsis would include, but not limited to:

• staying in bed and getting out just in time for significant other to come home, doing virtually nothing
• tiredness
• moodiness
• sleepless nights
• isolation (the intensity of this would increase as one progressed through the coursework, eventually excluding your family, best of friends and significant others)
• weekly trips to therapist
• monthly trips to the psychiatrist
• monthly trips to the pharmacist to pick up new drugs because
  the last script didn’t work
• heaps of self-doubt
• heaps of feeling like something is wrong with oneself
• despair (the lack of hope would increase as the coursework continued)
  thoughts of taking one’s own live
• potentially trying to take one’s own life (definitely, upper division course work)
• thoughts that the one’s own value is less than the dump of crap one did this morning
• at best, weekly showers
• making poor decisions about what’s best for oneself (intensity would increase with coursework)
• a chemical imbalance in the brain
• a serving of unresolved anger (this would become more prominent as coursework continued)
• the pressures from the outside world that says, “get over it.”
• the pressures from inside of oneself that maybe we’re (the royal we, mind you) are making this all up
• heaps of judgement and disapproval. (this would increase as coursework continued)
• hearing voices when nobody is around
• having those voices tell one to do irrational things ( upper division coursework )
• seeing things that aren’t there
• paranoia (increasing as continuing through the coursework)
• thoughts that everyone is working against oneself
• thoughts of “no one gets it.”
• a weeklong trip to the local psych ward (upper division coursework)

if you “got it”, you could take a test to show your knowledge in that particular area and potentially move to the next class. then again, maybe one would have to take the class again, in order to simulate the idea of cycles.

maybe that would be enough that ignorant people and society as a whole would pull their f*cking heads out of their ass and stop it with all this stigma-y (there i go again, making up words) bulls*hit.

headline reads, “Heading off troubling police encounters with mentally ill”

the second time in a week, a headline grabs my attention. this time mental disorders are equated to an “illness”.

tell me, are people with cancer considered ill? a heart condition? a thyroid condition? none of these conditions evoke a description of illness. why are mental disorder so often singled out as being and illness? this continues my work of education, to break down the misconception surrounding mental disorders. it is those misconceptions that cause stigmas. it is those stigmas that cause a reaction similar to a newfound compatriot. he didn’t tell his boss that his wife went into the hospital because of a mental disorder. he made up some other condition, instead.

this article appeared in the seattle times. the author continually uses the shortcut of mental illness to describe people with mental disorders.

the article discusses a new program put together by the king county sheriff’s office. this program got put in place after a rash of shootings and deaths by local police departments when dealing with people with severe mental disorders. the program keeps a of list people with mental disorders so police can be more knowledgable when coming to a situation. don’t thing big brother, here. this list is a voluntary list and used so the police can be more aware and make connections with treatment providers.

so, i’ll continue on my journey of education. i plan to contact the author and the sheriffs department, especially the officer in charge of the program to let them know of the stigma they are potentially perpetrating.

Let’s face it, i am no more ill than someone with cancer, a thyroid condition or a heart condition. this madness has to stop! an i’ll try one person at a time.