I wrote this today for a class in my graduate program, seems fitting to add here. I welcome your comments and thoughts!
The recent news surrounding actor Charlie Sheen has had me thinking a lot. I see people saying all kinds of things about him, but very few seem to truly understand what is going on. After watching several hours of current and past interviews, I am convinced he has bipolar disorder. He has said many times that he has trouble sleeping and will stay up for days at a time. He lately has engaged in reckless behavior (drugs, sabotaging his job, etc), he speaks in very grandiose terms about himself, and he has lots of disconnected thoughts and uses bizarre terms.
What I have been thinking is that most are dismissing this as solely drug related or him having a giant ego, or just a “meltdown”. America by and large has little to no understanding of mental illness. Charlie sounds very similar to many clients I had while working at Magellan. What upsets me about this whole situation is our cultures’ ignorance of mental illnesses. If someone famous had become confused and wandered the streets because of diabetes, the discussion would be “oh poor guy, he just got off his medication and he needs some help and support”. That is how it should be in regard to Charlie or anyone else with bipolar or schizophrenia. We should be able to identify what is truly going on and seek to support or help, not judge from a seat of ignorance.
I think this all begins with education. We should be educating children as well as adults regarding understanding mental illness. Up to 20% or more of the population have some form of mental health issues, but it seems that a small fraction seem to be educated on the topic enough to support or understand the difficult challenges illness presents. If we would disassociate from our fears of “odd” behavior, educate ourselves, and open our minds we would have a much healthier society. The US is far behind the rest of the world in its attitudes toward mental illness. It is truly unfortunate, because if we did indeed have a more educated stance on these illnesses treatment would improve, there would be less need for incarceration, and hopefully over time the severe outcomes from these illnesses would fade because we would be recognizing, supporting, and treating much earlier.
The thing I find most frightening for people with bipolar and schizophrenia is that their very illness inhibits them from getting help or taking medication. People view Charlie Sheen as this pompous guy who should grow up and be thankful. I say his grandiosity and arrogance stem from his illness and if it were not for his illness he would not behave that way. Further, it’s that mindset that he has that keeps him from realizing how ill he is and would likely have him believing he does not need treatment or medication. The biggest struggle in working with someone who is bipolar is getting them to stay on their medication. It is hard for someone who views themselves as healthy and intelligent to accept that they have an illness and need medication. Why? Because of the stigma our culture associates with mental illness. Again, with education and a cultural shift, we would be helping the ill and the healthy alike. However, it is very American to stigmatize the things we fear which is sad. As a result many are needlessly suffering and the families and friends they have are sitting there wishing for the same changes I am describing here.
