Newtown

Gun violence.

Families grieving.

Obama preaching.

A world thinking.

Change.

I have been thinking a lot lately of the reality of mental illness.
Especially untreated mental illness.

In my family, there is a very long history of mental illness. Well, as my family would say, “He was weird,” or she had “bad nerves,” or she was “crazy.” How many of our families have a history of mental health issues that we all throw under the rug, or pass off as personality? It is this willful blindness that has created a nation in crisis.

When will WE consider mental health issues as an illness such as diabetes, heart disease, or cancer? When will WE in society see all of these other health issues as part of life? Why are WE so adverse to mental health issues?

I have struggled with mental health issues in my life. I have been down, been anxious, and have suffered with pain and fatigue. I am a mother, a child, a sister, a student, a social worker, a community member, and a partner. I have struggled with the impression of doing well, being successful, being available and not doing well, being a failure and being unavailable. Mental health is an invisible struggle that millions of people deal with every day, and many of us would rather sit in denial of the issue or struggle to get the help that is needed. To admit we need help is a very difficult predicament.

It may mean we are the crazy one down the street or we are struggling to make it through this journey intact.

Newtown has revealed the struggle of a young person with mental health issues. The struggle that has not been seen as a health issue, but as an isolated struggle for a family, which led to the loss of the lives of 26 people.

I hope that one day mental health issues are considered illnesses that are accepted and treated as cancer, heart issues, and diabetes are. I hope that the amount of money that is raised for these other issues is raised for mental health issues. I hope that one day a school will wrap around a young person with mental health issues as they do with a young person with leukemia.

I hope one day we will love the harmer as much as the victims — because they always have a story. And in that story, we would actually see that the person doing the harm is the victim.

-Gray Mama

links: Art Therapy