Facing the mental illness stigma

Author: CAITLIN CONNOLLY '06

By the time seniors graduate, 40 percent have visited the counseling center. While not all suffer from mental illness, many do. Mental illness touches everyone. It affects one of four people, and one of seven have a severe mental illness. It does not discriminate on the basis of skin color, social status, education or religious affiliation. Rather, mental illness is an illness of the brain just like diabetes and multiple sclerosis are illnesses of the body. It does not go away with more rest like the flu. These illnesses range from anxiety and depression to ADHD and eating disorders, to name a few. While we have no control over who is affected by mental illness, we do have control over how we react to it. And by being able to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental illness, you can provide support for those around you who need it.

At the panel discussion held by Active Minds last Wednesday, I was most impressed by the 1972 Middlebury College graduate whom we will call James. James was a JC his junior year at Middlebury and suddenly became very depressed. Everything he used to enjoy at Middlebury he no longer enjoyed, including going to the hockey games. He slowly cut off his social supports and isolated himself. By the time he reached his senior year, James had to use all the energy he had just to graduate. Shortly after, James was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. But his journey did not end there. A couple of years later, James was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, a combination of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. To cope with his symptoms, he turned to alcohol and became alcoholic. Although he attended AA meetings, he did not remain sober. Instead, he was homeless on the streets of Washington, D.C., and merely went to the meetings to find people to stay with. It took James a tremendous amount of social support to realize he needed to seek help and practice sobriety for his medications to work. James is now sober and has also been a client of the Howard Center for Human Services.

James is just like any of us, a very intelligent individual with a lot of enthusiasm, charisma and strength. His diagnosis with bipolar came at a time when mental illnesses could not be discussed and shared, so James did not have the support system he needed. The stigmas around mental illness have not changed much, even though the services on campus have improved dramatically. Our ability to help those in need will go unnoticed unless people feel they can talk about the issues. By sharing these stories, you can literally save a life. The medications have greatly improved and for an illness like schizophrenia in which the brain slowly deteriorates, if the signs and symptoms are recognized early, the medications available can stunt the deterioration. Most forms of mental illness appear during the college years, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and anxiety.

Personally, James's story really hits close to home. Unfortunately, Vermont's state services today are not what they used to be due to the loss of federal funds. There used to be 1,500 beds available for adults in need of psychiatric treatment. Today, there are 50 beds for adults and only six for children. Vermont State Senator James Leddy, who was also a member of the panel and a past Executive Director of Howard Center for Human Services, made several good points about how to make changes regarding mental illness. He said the most important thing is to share our stories. Politicians are suckers for personal stories and if they notice that people are truly concerned about the issues, they will prioritize these. Frankly, I think it's wrong that there are so few beds available in the state of Vermont for psychiatric treatment. This is not an issue that pertains only to Vermont, it is a national issue, and looking at our current national government, we cannot rely on it to make these changes. It is in our hands to make these changes locally and in our hometowns so that we can be role models for how mental health should be dealt with. The first step to making these changes is to share our stories. It took James 35 years to share his - lets have the courage to reciprocate and share ours.