Laughter is indeed healing but not went it fraudulently depicts people as "loonies."

I must admit I've been around lots of people with mental illness and was never afraid of any them.

It's pretty common knowledge that people in pyschiatric institutions are drugged far beyond what they need in most cases causing them to act in a more bizarre fashion than they would without the drugs.

In my own opinion, I feel if I laugh at these childish tv shows depicting the serious issue of mental illness as a joke then I am perpetuating the real suffering that people with this illness are going through. It goes against my nature of offering comfort and understanding to people with mental illness.

I also have another friend who worked in a psychiatric hospital and confirms that people there are drugged way too heavily causing them to act out when they normally wouldn't. People who were frightening and dangerous there were the exception, not the rule. That was her own experience. I think it's important that we not erroneously lump all mental illness sufferers with those you might be referring to.

[ January 30, 2006, 06:49 PM: Message edited by: ladybug ]

Understanding the source of our pain is the first step towards the cure.
In my particular case I had one parent who thought I could do no wrong (my father) and one who thought I could do no right (my mother). Unfortunately for me, my father died when I was six and he could no longer protect me from my mother. It was many years into therapy that I came to understand why I was her victim. She feels jealous of me because all the things that came so easily to me were the very things she always wanted and never achieved. It's sad when a parent turns their own self-hatred on their child. She is in complete denial and any attempt to get her involved in my treatment only brought on more abuse. I cannot change her, and no one can help her unless she is willing to face the problem. So, I am doing what I have to do to protect myself from her. My husband is aware of the problem and he is not afraid of her. He knows that she has a history of turning people against me and so he will not let that happen to us. When we first met he thought I might be exaggerating about how bad she was. It only took one day with her for him to see that I was telling the truth. He is protective of me and I like that. It's nice not having to go it alone. I also have many friends that care about me. It's easy for me to have friends because I don't go out of my way to treat people bad. I don't want to hurt anyone because I know what it feels like. Being so nice to people can make me a potential victim, so I have had to learn how not be one. I also learned self-defense because I cannot control every situation. There are a lot of people like me in this world. We suffer from what I call 'Nice Person Syndrome'. It is good that there are so many nice people in this world but bad that there are so many that only care about themselves. If we don't give up and give in to the evil then we will continue to survive. By finding others like us, we can have hope that we will do more than just survive. A twig is easily broken. Put two together and they are harder to break. When all you hear is what you did wrong and no one ever tells you what you do right then you will never know anything different.

I think that I said enough for now. I could write a book on abuse and what I've learned about it. Maybe I will...

Personally, I see a lot of "loonies." running around just about everywhere, including but not limited to, mental hospitals. Some of my best friends are actaully quite loonie and I'm sure they would proclaim the same about me.

I love loonies. They add fun to an otherwise mundane life.

Comedy almost always originates in pain, and I've seen a lot of people in a lot of pain. Life is full of pain. You might as well laugh about it as cry. Those who can lighten up and see the humor in whatever comes their way endure it with greater grace.

smile

[ January 30, 2006, 06:50 PM: Message edited by: smilinize ]

I agree with a lot of what you are saying. I'm only thinking about when I see a movie or tv program that "hits home." Others probably see it as funny, where I, having had that experience do not.

If a person with mental illness sees themselves as worthless or "crazy" then these shows might just be reinforcing their beliefs. It really hurts to see others laugh at a serious situation if you are in that type of situation yourself. I just cannot laugh at something that makes fun of a serious illness.

[ January 30, 2006, 07:08 PM: Message edited by: ladybug ]

Humor is essential in life... but who is delivering the humor, and to what audience makes the difference between, healing and hurting...
A patient, a resident, a client who makes fun of himself in whatever context, may be helping to heal himself and lighten a bad situation, but a staff member who makes fun of the same patient, resident, client for exactly the same thing,
has more than a bit of explaining to do......

I may laugh with you, but when i laugh at you.... there is a difference..... and obviously this goes beyond mental health issues, but extends into racial, gender, national.... all issues of life......

[ January 30, 2006, 07:40 PM: Message edited by: norma ]

To each his own.

Today I have bronchitis. I sent my husband to Walmart for Nyquil and called my older daughter who sympathized and felt sorry for me.
I was feeling much worse so I called my younger daughter, the comedian. She nonchalantly observed, "Well Mom, next thing you know you'll be wheeling around the nursing home sipping your Nyquil." We laughed and I hung up.
Either I felt better or maybe I just decided not to whine anymore.

You might as well laugh at what you cannot change.

smile

Personally I think we are all a bit round the bend. Some of us get caught and locked up while others of us never do and roam free. I am not trying to make light of mental illiness as my father was diagnosed as scho?(whatever) and I watched my sister become demented beyond belief. I guess what I am trying to say is what works for one person doesn't work for another. Laughter when done WITH a person can be healing. Laughter when done AT a person for any reason, is an abomination. It all boils down to treat others as you would want to be treated. Old and dull saying, but it works just the same...

I think that's all that is trying to be said here Chatty and your last sentence says it all.

Looking back on the history of the psychiatric profession (in the office, on the couch approach), one can see that even though we think we have come a long way with this illness treatments have actually digressed or been at a standstill. The treatments of yesteryear consisted of actual talk therapy and then followed with a presciption for meds, if needed. Today it's much easier and less time-consuming for doctors to simply write a prescription as a cure-all. Doctors are busy and operate on an assembly-line type of schedule. "Time is money."

With most other diseases there are prescriptions and operations as well as a myriad of other procedures and treatments. The human brain is a complex organ that still baffles medical science.

With mental illness your friends are required to sit and be a little more patient. Many people back off because they feel they don't have the time or their own patience to give to you. I've often heard this from people suffering with depression and bipolar illnesses. They lack friends. This makes a person feel even more alone and makes them question why this is so. It is our "busy" society that makes people impatient. Every time someone brushes you off it isn't because you repel them. It's the fast-paced society we live in that tells them they don't have the time to invest. That's sad but it's another hurdle for people suffering with mental illness to have to deal with. They become isolated. People all need someone to pour out their hearts to from time to time. It's what helps us cope, someone who can say, "I've been there, I know what you're going through."

Unfortunately, that's what much of society doesn't grasp in dealing with mental illness. People simply need someone to talk to.

having someone to talk to can make a whole lot of difference.

That's why I like this site. I have so many wonderful friends to talk to and who listen to what I have to say.