A Historical Review of Mental Illness and the Stigma Attached
A Historical Review Of Mental Illness and the Stigma Attached
During the month of July 1999, life took an abrupt turn. Although I did not suffer from multiple personalities, my behavior was unpredictable enough to make an acquaintance ponder. Crazy and insane were words used flippantly to describe me. I joined in with the jokes by sometimes throwing in other words like psychotic or nuts, but all the time I wondered if I really was as mad as a hatter. I had behaved in certain peculiar and bazaar ways that validated the use of these words by people uneducated about mental illness.
I had been divorced for two years. The bitterness in my heart was much like the salty taste of blood in my mouth which lingered on in my memory. In May of 1999, I was laid-off from my job and lost custody of my son to his father. This led me down a road of perpetual destruction. Confused about what I should do and heartbroken about losing my son seemed to be the breaking point for me.
Because of my alcohol abuse, I did become aggressive at times. I was often ready to fight if I perceived anyone had looked at me in the wrong way. Danger became my middle name as I drove the wrong direction down one-way streets just for entertainment. In addition, everything was about fun and games. I hung out with teenagers and we invented new forms of mischief on the weekends while sharing bottles of tequila. The nature of my mental illness beast was unpredictable. Some nights I would wake up restless and disappear for two or three days to party at the neighboring town. I would leave with my family having no knowledge of where they could find me.
In July of 1999, I visited the local mental health center were the psychiatrist diagnosed me as Bipolar 1, severe. Emotions flooded my body as if a dam had broken. Surprisingly most of them were good and filled with hope. Now I knew there was a name for the uncontrollable ways I acted beside, Serina
During the month of July 1999, life took an abrupt turn. Although I did not suffer from multiple personalities, my behavior was unpredictable enough to make an acquaintance ponder. Crazy and insane were words used flippantly to describe me. I joined in with the jokes by sometimes throwing in other words like psychotic or nuts, but all the time I wondered if I really was as mad as a hatter. I had behaved in certain peculiar and bazaar ways that validated the use of these words by people uneducated about mental illness.
I had been divorced for two years. The bitterness in my heart was much like the salty taste of blood in my mouth which lingered on in my memory. In May of 1999, I was laid-off from my job and lost custody of my son to his father. This led me down a road of perpetual destruction. Confused about what I should do and heartbroken about losing my son seemed to be the breaking point for me.
Because of my alcohol abuse, I did become aggressive at times. I was often ready to fight if I perceived anyone had looked at me in the wrong way. Danger became my middle name as I drove the wrong direction down one-way streets just for entertainment. In addition, everything was about fun and games. I hung out with teenagers and we invented new forms of mischief on the weekends while sharing bottles of tequila. The nature of my mental illness beast was unpredictable. Some nights I would wake up restless and disappear for two or three days to party at the neighboring town. I would leave with my family having no knowledge of where they could find me.
In July of 1999, I visited the local mental health center were the psychiatrist diagnosed me as Bipolar 1, severe. Emotions flooded my body as if a dam had broken. Surprisingly most of them were good and filled with hope. Now I knew there was a name for the uncontrollable ways I acted beside, Serina
References: Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General, Executive Summary, ADS Center, Resource Center to Address Discrimination and Stigma, Archived Issue – Spring 2003, Answers.com, Encyclopedia of American History, MSN Encarta, Alex Cohen, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Answers.com, Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders, Law and Psychiatry, Mark L. Levy, MD, DFAPA