It amazes me, that in this day and age where humans are considered to be at the peak of their "civility," that basic misconceptions still exist in regards to the mentally ill.
There is overwhelming evidence, through the use of medications and brain-imaging; that most of these disorders are indeed genetic. If a person can be born with a defect that causes retardation, what is so different for those of us born with a brain whose neurochemicals are imperfect? I have found that when the medications are their most effective, the patient's mental/emotional functioning is actually better than the norm. It is like having your brain get a "tune up," everyday.
Unfortunately, people still seem to think that the cause of these maladies are due to personal ineffectiveness in dealing with life, a major malfunction in one's core personality (which is referred to people with personality disorders, exclusively), or due to our own lack of control over our own behavior...the list of fallacies goes on. In other words, it's our own fault...not something that we were dealt with through an unfortunate draw of the random, genetic hand.
I guess I really shouldn't complain. After all, the bad press is usually distributed by those who just don't know (or just don't care) about the issue, or..., are afraid to acknowledge the imperfections in their own psychological make-up.
Eh, all of this explanatory rhetoric gets tiring, after all. Let the unenlightened one's worship those perfect specimens out there (like Einstein, who by the way had a schizophrenic son), and denounce the mentally afflicted. It wasn't too long ago, that we were chained in a dungeon and holes were drilled in our skulls to let out our demons. I guess things have improved...
Therefore, I'll take the medications, and the self-discovery any day over having the need to look down on someone else to build myself up. Who needs to be a slave to the imperfections of others. It has been said that comparing oneself to others is death to one's own serenity. I'll take peace of mind over a war of the wits. I conclude with a paraphrase of a Taoist thought: those who except life, whole, as it is; are the sanest of men. But, sanity is actually a legal issue, not a psychiatric one. We are noticed when one of us decides to go postal...which seems to be the only time we get attention in the media. Otherwise, keep locking us up in prisons of our own making.
Ciao, Shalom, Salaam and kiss all your crazy relatives the next time you see them!
OK, enough of my nonsense. -gotta quit it or I'll end up being cyber-punked.
Good to be back, folks. -quit the job in the market. -wasn't a good fit, as they say. But, will continue to seek employment.
For now, going to go back to day labor. It's hard, honest work. And, when work is available it is appreciated. -not like those whiners (no pun intended), at the market.
A certain contentment comes when one realizes that we can never know everything, nor need to express everything. That it is ok to cry alone, and to laugh in front of others for no apparent reason.
That some things in life are simply a matter of faith.
And, that love is always in and around us whether we are aware of it, or not.
