Last night I went for another counselling session, and the counsellor recommended me some links to check up on mental illnesses as well as psychiatrists that he knows. In case any of you are wondering, no, I am not suffering from any form of mental illness, but I just thought these information would be useful because there are many people suffering from some form of mental illness around. Somehow mental illnesses seem more prevalent in modern society. Is it due to our highly stressed up and busy lives?
Essentially we talked about things like bipolar disorder, addiction of any form, and depression. Sometimes we come across someone who does things that are out of the ordinary. I am not talking about weird quirks which I believe everyone has, but things that normal people will not otherwise do, like excessive addiction of some form. Or someone who is suicidal, who is always being difficult to get along with, who has some form of extreme mood swings and tantrums. All these could be signs of mental illnesses.
The hard thing is to determine whether this person is suffering from mental illness, or he / she is just being a jerk in general. Personally I have come across at least three people in my course of life who may border on having mental illness. The thing about people is that, when someone behaves in an unorthodox way, the first conclusion is that people will think the person is just being difficult. Unfortunately, many people in general are not very kind or receptive towards people who are really sick in the mind.
It is all very good to avoid people who are psychotic in some form, but until you actually get to know someone who is like that, that is when the dilemma starts. Will you then ostracise a person because of the illness he or she is suffering, an illness which otherwise may have a possible cure through medication? Or will you just totally cut off contact with the person and leave him or her to their just deserts?
It is hard to answer that, is it not? I guess public opinion is that a mentally unsound person is dangerous. No doubt a mentally unsound person can be physically violent, but then again, many do not understand that the violence they have is probably due to their illness which makes them unable to control their behaviours or emotions. With medication and treatment, this can be helped.
However, how many people are willing to seek treatment? I do not think the victim himself is willing to admit he or she is sick in some form. More often than not, the person will always feel that he / she is alright, and this is how he / she is, and if people do not accept, so be it. Hence, many cases get unresolved because the person is not willing to go for treatment, and when this happens, their illness may get worse and dire consequences may arise.
In any case, it was a pretty informative session. At least it makes me realise and understand things from another point of view why certain things happen. It also makes me feel so priviledged that no matter what life throws at me, I am still pretty grounded. Anyone with weaker resilience may probably have crumbled. This makes me resolve to be more tolerant and understanding towards people who behave in a different way, and not just write them off or ostracise them without giving them a chance.
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