It was Reagan who as Governor began the process of de-institutionalization, but I was surprised to learn that it was actually that turd, Pete Wilson who closed Camarillo State Hospital. The issue of mental health treatment is an issue that is very dear to me. It is an issue that is inevitably very dear to anyone who has cared for a relative suffering from acute paranoid schizophrenia or a variety of other serious mental illnesses. As caretakers, we have all traveled down the same path. Some are still suffering while their loved ones refuse treatment and go through cycles of homelessness, self-medication, and victimization by predators. Others have been able to provide a modicum of stability for their mentally ill loved ones and create and maintain a support network. There are a million other permutations that could apply to a situation where you care for a loved one with a serious mental illness. I only mentioned two of them. Hospitalization is of course, another.
All of us noticed something different in our mentally ill relatives from an early age, most likely between the ages of 10 and 13. Then, there was the manifestation of the illness and a major increase in symptoms during the teenage years and into young adulthood when a hospitalization inevitably took place. Most likely, the first treatments and therapies were not effective. There was the self medication. Alcohol, stimulants, opiates. Chronic smoking. It helps make them feel better. But it also involves them in the criminal justice system, exposes them to blood born illnesses, and once again, predators. Compliance with medication is always a problem. It is hard to identify what is happening. You have no idea what the fuck a paranoid schizophrenic is unless you are a mental health professional or a student. It is not something that even the smart layperson can identify. The same goes for the many variants of serious mental illness. Unless you know what to look for, you have no idea what is going on. You may just think that they are doing it intentionally.
Then comes the first time that your relative is hospitalized and the psychiatrist actually gets the diagnosis correct. What a shock to learn about something so serious! And it may go hand and hand with a criminal case, or concurrent diagnosis with another serious illness such as HIV. Facing a judge in criminal court is not an appropriate mechanism for the treatment of the mentally ill. Controlled substance possession, sales, and prostitution are all part and parcel to serious mental illness so our prisons are crawling with untreated individuals who are exceedingly ill. Prison is only going to make them more self destructive and more dangerous. Any type of coerced outpatient treatment program imposed by the criminal justice system is likely to fail.
But there are good doctors out there with heavy clinical experience. County mental health programs and mental illness free clinics in large cities are typically good places to begin, and are usually free. The problem is getting the people to go. They are not going to want to go in most cases. Even after a hold, their participation is simply voluntary, and they are free to go back out on the streets and harm themselves. Thank you Mister Reagan and Mr. Wilson. I believe Dante has a seat for both of you in a deep ring of hell. But there is hope for those that want to get better, have a support network and are lucky enough to encounter a good Psychiatrist with clinical experience that can help you get to the bottom of things.
Underneath the exterior of every homeless person is someone's brother, sister, son, daughter, mom or dad. They don't want to have those things going through their heads. Trust me. If they could be more like everyone else, they would elect to. Their recovery is usually possible. Don't give up on them. The de-institutionalization of the seriously mentally ill was and is a crime against humanity. Placing defenseless people on the street and exposing them to predators, narcotics, and early death is not an indiction of a compassionate and sane society. How dare we force democracy down the throats of other nations and carpet bomb when they refuse to follow our orders when we cannot even take care of our own population of mentally ill people. Instead of several thousand 1.5 million dollar Tomahawk Missiles, how about spending some money to treat these people and open up places where they can be safe and hope to lead a better life?
Morbidly obese people fall into the category of mental illness. Endocrine problems my ass. It is self-destructive, uncontrolled behavior. They are victimized by predators such as Hostess, Jimmy Dean, Paula Deen, Oscar Mayer and Ronald McDonald. The amount of resources consumed by the fattest Americans contributes to the destruction of the earth and makes things quite expensive for our health care system. Like others with serious mental illness, the fattest people in California need to be placed into institutions under WIC holds and treated for morbid obesity forthwith. Even if you are a staunch conservative and Rush (Limbaugh) is music to your ears, you have to realize that at the rate we are going, there are not going to be any people fit to serve in the military in the near future if America keeps up its eating habits. So we got to do something quick or we may even be eating borscht, because the Russians are going to take us over.
I propose an Atascadero for fat people. A new Camarillo with a focus on a healthy lifestyle. And the cessation of any business that contributes to the poisoning of America. And of course, the expanded availability of mental health treatment and the re-opening of State Mental Hospitals across California. We could just get the hell out of Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa, get rid of a couple of aircraft carrier groups and send some of those dumb-ass generals into retirement and have plenty of money to fund everything a million times over.
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