Blessed are the Crazy Part II

I didn’t know what to expect by throwing out an open invitation to study mental illness from a faith perspective. I do know that what happened wouldn’t have made my top 10 list. Our numbers were few, but everyone shared a common experience as we gathered in our tiny circle. We all love someone who is mentally ill. We all hurt as a result of that someone’s mental illness. We’ve all had to renegotiate our hopes and dreams for the future because of that mental illness. We all know many others who suffer in silence, though we consider ourselves quite vocal. We are all desperate for someone or something that will be the answer to our dilemmas. And we all wonder if there was something we could have done to make things different…better.

            Growing up as I did, there wasn’t much talk about mental illness or addiction. Actually, there wasn’t any talk. The book we are reading uses a colloquial term called, “crazy in the blood.” At our house we knew it as, “one of his moods,” which meant make yourself scarce and hope he doesn’t zero in on you. There are so many types of mental illness and not everyone’s experiences are exactly the same, but most who love someone who suffers with mental illness knows the same sense of frustration and helplessness. The most common versions known publically these days are depression, anxiety, bi-polar disorder and schizophrenia, and what we know of these are usually limited to our own experiences or what makes the news. Did you know that MOST of the time schizophrenia is not exhibited as violent behavior? Most people who suffer from paranoid schizophrenia avoid being around people and keep quietly to themselves? The only ones you will hear about, though, are the ones who make the news by committing mass destruction. These are the ones where the media asks family members why they didn’t do something. Ask anyone who loves a child/parent/sibling/spouse who is mentally ill why they aren’t doing something and I think you might be overwhelmed by their response.

            We live in an era of everyone having a voice. In my lifetime people have started speaking out about domestic violence and abuse, about rape and sexual assault, about alcoholism and addiction, about neglect, about animal cruelty, about so many things and yet there is still as stigma surrounding mental illness. This disease is like cancer. It has no regard for age, gender, social status or socioeconomic origins. It does not respect boundaries or logic. It cannot be reasoned with or coerced into submission. It can sometimes be treated or made better with therapies and medications, but for the most part we are helpless to its whims. The era of silence about mental illness is coming to a close. People are tired and suffering and desperate for help. They are ready to reach out to one another and offer up experience, strength and hope when those around them seem to have none. When it comes to mental illness, complete strangers somehow become friends, burdens divided become bearable and hopes and dreams somehow seem possible once again.

If you or someone you know suffers silently with all the struggles of loving someone with mental illness, please share with them that there are others like them meeting at the public library on Wednesday evenings at 6 p.m.

Blessings,
Tracy