You Know Who Looks Goofiest?

I've been ruminating lately on your typical American adult's reaction to mental illness. There is a lady who is often seen standing outside of my office. She's generally fairly clean, although her hair sometimes looks a little wild and her clothes are often mismatched. As she stands at the curb, she has loud arguments. With thin air. To your average passer-by (or bus patron, because there's a bus stop), she's a little intimidating. She's very accusatory in her arguments, and if you are in her eye line you question at first if she is angry at you for some fictional act that she is convinced you carried out. This can be a little scary, because she can sometimes be verbally aggressive and gesture wildly. But I've never seen her invade anyone's personal space, and her intent is not to harm anyone. I'm not sure who she is arguing with, or if they are really an actual person somewhere in the world. But having gotten to "know" her by seeing her every day, I see that she has some mental issues, possibly triggered by some horrible damage done to her earlier in her life, or possibly just brought on by lack of medical treatment and support.

Today as I was going about my work, I passed by her several times as she ranted on the sidewalk. She usually will spend a little time doing this, and then move on. There was a group of three women who appeared to be tourists, or at least women who had broken their normal routine and come into a part of the city they did not often traverse. The first time I passed by, two were doing their best to ignore her, but the third looked rather alarmed, as though she thought the woman was angry at her. The second time I passed by, she seemed to have figured out that the woman was in fact angry at an invisible adversary. The third time I passed by, she had the giggles. Look at that funny crazy lady. She has obviously lost her mind.

I know that mentally ill people can be scary, especially since their illness doesn't manifest itself like many physical illnesses and disabilities manifest themselves, and you're generally not able to ascertain what ails them or how it will impact their behavior. You've seen on TV and in movies how the moods of crazy people can turn on a dime, and suddenly they are having a psychotic break and trying to kill you, and it can be easy to imagine the worst will happen.

In reality, the majority of mentally ill people are not violent. I think that it is our responsibility as adults living in a complex society to try to understand mental illness. Chances are, you know at least one person with a mental illness, whether you think you do or not. Some have been diagnosed, some have not. Chances are that if six people are reading this blog (which would be terribly exciting), at least one has been diagnosed with a mental illness at one point or another in their life, whether it is an issue today or has been treated. To stay in the dark about what it means to be mentally ill is a risky thing to do. At some point in your life, someone you love and care about, to some degree or another, will need your understanding. I recommend the website found at the above link for online information. I'm sure there's probably some other ones out there, but this is the most extensive and informative site I have found.

What makes me just a little sick inside is seeing people who have not just discomfort written all over their face when they are near mentally ill people, but disgust. The look seems to communicate that they think the person should have kept a better grip on their sanity. Or it could also be interpreted to mean that they think they are going to catch the person's crazy. Generally this is not case, unless you count things like untreated Syphilis, which leads to insanity if untreated. To me, that look of disdain and distaste is not only disappointing, but offensive. Also prideful. Who are you to think you are so whole and perfect that you can't empathise with the outward manifestations of the confusion and pain? I'm not saying the empathy and understanding come naturally, because I don't think they do; not with most people, myself included. But those traits are something we should develop as we grow into responsible adults and contributing members of society. So go ahead, giggle if you feel uncomfortable. It's a natural result for some people, myself included. But then maybe go home and read a book about mental illness, or take a class, or subscribe to a reliable blog.