#5: The mentally strong

To change things up on my blog, I decided to focus on an article that was written to explain aspects about people that possess mental strength instead of mental illnesses. This article was very interesting because it indicated exactly what mentally strong people have the capability to do and it can guide anyone to ultimately reach a healthy level of mental strength. The 9 habits that the author writes about mainly focus on the fact that these individuals are able to get through challenges and the hardships they are faced with and they see the positives in a world filled with negativities. The two points that seem to have the most importance to the author are the fact that mentally strong people don't aspire to be happy all the time and they're persistent in the pursuit of their goals. The mentally strong understand that life comes with ups and downs and they do not feel entitled to never have to deal with hardships. These people always enjoy living in the present and are able to control their emotions in various situations by being realists.



This article was mostly against social norm. I was shocked at how accurate these qualities really are so I decided to examine and pay close attention to individuals I previously thought to be mentally strong. I came to the conclusion that only half of them truly had a high level of mental strength because not all of them loved and appreciated their lives and some strived incessantly to be positive and to be happy. I have taken all of the 9 points into consideration and I have decided to take the path to become a mentally strong individual in order to influence other people's lives in a positive way and to create a happy environment to succeed in life. Being mentally strong should definitely be an important element in each person's life.



Article

#4: A place to get help or a jail cell?

I chose to read a shocking article that was just included in the New York Times for this blog post. The piece talks about a jail in Chicago that is now nicknamed and basically considered the absolute largest mental health institute in America. You may be asking yourself why is a jail home to the mentally ill? How is the state and the government as a whole letting this go on? Unfortunately this article doesn't give many answers as to why 60% of the people in that jail were officially diagnosed with some kind of mental illness. Some inmates that were interviewed just simply said that they've been jailed multiple times and it has always been because of a crime committed as a result of their mental illness. Furthermore others claim that they purposefully get arrested because they don't have any money to get their expensive medication when they are out of the jail because they just get it for free there. The article states that if the government is trying to save money by failing to create more institutions or having more beds in hospitals they're not. It actually costs tax payers $300 to $400 A DAY just to keep these individuals in the jails. The United States seems to be going back to the methods they used over two centuries ago instead of creating much needed change.



After doing so much research on mental health, this is yet another example of how the United States is trying to find methods to escape the problems. The most astonishing statistic that made me stop and think was the fact that in "1955 there was 1 bed in a psychiatric ward for every 300 Americans; now there is 1 for every 3000 Americans". I am shocked that this nation is really just getting worse and worse every year. How is it possible that we can't find methods and space for these people. Working in that jail is a hazard to the guards and the doctors because they think they're just dealing with prisoners while in reality from one moment to the next they can become violent and even suicidal. I am at a loss for words when thinking about this situation, I feel horrible with the way mentally ill people are looked down upon and I ask myself why they are being forced to deal with this mind boggling and harsh life.

Article: Inside a Mental Hospital called Jail

#3: Mentally ill youth (video)

I am an avid fan of the TV show 60 minutes and I remembered watching a segment on mentally ill youth. The title of the video says it all: Nowhere to go. The video begins with the issue of the Virginia State Senator Creigh Deeds that was attacked by his 24 year old son as a result of one of his furious outbreaks due to mental health problems. The son, Gus Deeds, was a good student but he started having problems so his father decided it was time to get help. Unfortunately, there were no spots available for him at any hospital the night of the fatal incident so the demons in Gus' head got the best of him and as a consequence of attacking his dad, he shot and killed himself. There are various mothers in the video that have formed a support group for their mentally ill children. They all feel that the system has completely failed them and they have been struggling for years without appropriate help. The problem is that if there aren't any beds in the psychiatric wing at any hospital, then parents are forced to bring their children to the emergency room to get the medication they need. Furthermore because of insurance they will most likely be discharged quickly with nowhere to go and they will definitely be a threat to themselves, their family and the society around them.

Nowhere to Go: Mentally ill youth

I was absolutely shocked to find out that the only option most mental health patients have in the United States is the emergency room. We are one of, if not the most advanced country in the world yet we cannot help young people and adults with the demons in their heads and the constant struggles they are forced to go through. Society doesn't understand that these individuals are truly ill. The most horrifying incident in the video was that one of the women was told that her only option was to give her daughter up to the state in order to be fully covered by the insurance company. This is outrageous, I can't believe how many tragic flaws are in the system in this nation. It's almost as if the US wants to avoid this whole topic and a phrase by the interviewer describes it perfectly "Don't want to fund it. Don't want to talk about it. Don't want to see it". When will the government realize the issues will only grow and why haven't they taken action yet?