And she's kicking ass. Seriously:
And if mental illness really is illness, why is it treated the way it is? Those who must live out their lives with missing limbs or in wheelchairs experience discrimination, unwanted pity, and diminished expectations, but they are at least seen as having a legitimate illness. The attitude towards those with mental illness is both that the words and ideas of those who are mentally ill is to be utterly disregarded, but also that if they would just shape up and snap out of it, they would no longer be ill - that the illness is a character flaw on their part. While some people may have compassion for the physically ill, the mentally ill are regarded as deliberate malingerers and a waste of resources, and the only debate seems to be about how to handle such difficult people so they irritate the rest of us the least. Little is said about how to distinguish a mere rebel from a person who legitimately is out of control and needs help to have a happy life.
Go read the whole thing.
She's closed comments, and I understand why. But if you know her well enough to know how to contact her, please pass along that I said Rock On for a forcefully written and cogent post. Thanks.
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