“Support your mental health or we’ll kill you.” Did this get any attention? (This is a note taped to the wall of Lakeshore Mental Health Institute in the mid-1970s.) Me As detailed in a previous chronicle, community involvement in mental health is essential to the survival of society.
Mental illness is in the news every day. The only problem is that there hasn’t been much progress in getting a firm grip on what to do when it comes to treatment and the nitty-gritty of mental illness. Treatment modalities range from biological, behavioral, and emotional treatment styles to best match the problem at hand. Remember that the current problem is not the real problem. All of this requires supportive professionals who are thoughtful, caring, and wise. This is not enough when systems and our society/culture do not support mental health, mental health care, and mental health treatment.
history:
Mental illness has a long history in our country. Psychiatrist Dr. Benjamin Rush was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Asylums and new environments were created in isolated areas to separate the insane from the insane. The belief at the time was that madmen were vulnerable to sanity. Therefore, large-scale institutions for the mentally ill were established. Asylums relied on bureaucratic handling of human needs as a method of operation.
In 1966, Frederick Wiseman, a prominent film director and Boston University law professor, made a film about Bridgewater State Asylum, an asylum for the criminally insane. Titicut Follies, The film, named after a talent show hosted by hospital staff, depicts the lives of inpatients at a psychiatric hospital and was the only film in American history to be banned for reasons other than obscenity or national security. .
Wiseman’s film was as authentic as his time in this hospital. What struck me was that most of the patients could not speak English. The scene of force-feeding is symbolic of this movie.
From there, a movement began to admit patients to large-scale psychiatric hospitals. As is often the case, politics played a big role. Psychotropic drugs have become an important “treatment” for mentally ill patients.
Does this remind you of the Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, the pharmaceutical company whose main drug is the opioid OxyContin?
Although no members of the Sackler family have been arrested in connection with the well over 100,000 provable deaths caused by opioids manufactured by Purdue’s pharmaceutical company, nearly all 50 states have announced their involvement in the opioid crisis. He is suing Perdue and the Sackler family for their alleged roles.
the current:
Here’s what New York City police officials say about major criminals. “The majority of them seem to need treatment for mental illness.” (4.21.24)
We have a history, we have a present, and we can predict the future. So what happens next? As a community, we must find the answer.
Bob Kronick is a professor emeritus at the University of Tennessee.Bob welcomes your comments and questions rkronick@utk.edu.
