on depression and addiction August 31, 2007
Two Tennessee bloggers are ruminating on depression and addiction this week. Newscoma writes about how Owen Wilson’s suicide attempt HAS BEEN ON HER MIND, and Left Of Dial IS SHARING a really sad and thought provoking story about some family members’ fall into serious, hardcore drug addiction.
As a mother, I think I would rather see my child suffer from a purely physical ailment than be faced with serious mental illness or addictions. Our culture still has so little understanding, empathy or available care for those who are burdened with these terrible afflictions.
We live in an urban neighborhood with lots of homeless people - most mentally ill or addicted. The kids and I are always talking about these issues, because we can’t avoid looking at these poor and sick people in the same way we could if we lived in the ‘burbs of West Knoxville. These folks are often literally right in our faces. It’s painful to see on a daily basis, and can be a nuisance, but in some ways I think it’s good for the children to see how serious the problem is, and also what addiction looks like in its most serious stages.
I would never choose a physical disability over my child’s Asperger’s. My son isn’t sick, he just thinks differently than most of us.
But Cathy, do you see Asperger’s as a “mental illness” or just a differently-abled brain? Isn’t it different than, say, severe bipolar disorder or schizophrenia?
I think schizophrenia is an actual ***illness*** in the truest sense of the word. Those who suffer from it are in terrible, terrible pain much of the time, with very few resources available to them. And it makes them behave in ways that causes them (and others) even more pain. This is a different sort of metal health issue than any of the autistic disorders, don’t you think?
I can not speak for a parent of an autistic child, but I am the sister of a schizophrenic who committed suicide when her illness became too much for her to bear. I can safely assert that it would have been far less painful for her to have gone through cancer.
becky mom of willie
Simple question. Complicated answer. I see Autistic spectrum diagnosis as developmental disabilities. Developmental disabilities include mental retardation. I bet anyone with a Down Syndrome child offered the choice between limited intellectual ability and heart defects would choose not to have heart defects. But, as long as Asperger’s is included in the DSM, it is considered a mental illness. Also, most mental illnesses are completely treatable. It’s difficult and requires constant maintenance, but even schizophrenia can be treated. I just don’t think parents of children who are bi-polar or anything else would prefer that their child have cerebral palsy or something more publicly acceptable than mental illness. We just want to help our children have the best lives possible.
I have to disagree that almost all mental illnesses are completely treatable. Treatable yes, but not completely. I have a brother who is bipolar and even with the mountain of drugs that he to take he still has trouble. Untreated he gets severe paranoia and even with all the drugs he still is paranoid to a lesser extent. It still affects his day to day interactions, and it has definately hurt many of his personal relationships and his career. I think he would choose a physical ailment over his mental illness in a heartbeat.
I agree with Sarah. I have a BIL that is bipolar. It’s pure torture for him-and us. He is very bright-has 2 Masters and has had many high-level,high-paying,jobs (which he has always lost because of his illness.) He wouldn’t take his meds for years because there was such a stigma attached. So,yes,I think that he would trade the stigma for a more “acceptable” disease.
Oh believe me there are a lot of mentally unstable people living in the ‘burbs around me
[...] don’t think she took any comfort in her child being in a wheelchair instead of something in the DSM. The tragedy is that the mother was probably diagnosable and treatable, but help didn’t [...]