In the many varied towns I have lived in, I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of different people. Not to sound harsh, but a great deal of them seemed, to me, to need some sort of therapy. It’s no surprise to me most of them will never see a psychologist, let alone get the medications they need. I’ll be honest; I am firmly against doctor prescribed drugs. I hold the view that a shady trailer park drug dealer knows exactly what his merchandise will do to you, typically he/she uses them themselves and in part passes down knowledge of any side effects that may arise. But moving on…
Our mental health system is a cruel laugh in the face of a whole generation that knows nothing but craziness. The way we evaluate mental health today is a joke, with sick people being the punch line, especially the youth. One of my good friends recently had her oldest son court ordered to an inpatient treatment program focused on kids. He was sent there for failing a drug test. The only thing in his system was cannabis. Now he’s going to spend Christmas in a kiddy jail/rehab with serious drug users and genuinely delinquent children. What a great experience for a 14 year old who has already survived a rocky childhood and drug addicted parents. He does have some issues that need to be addressed by a psychologist, but he will probably never get the chance because he is being told by “Professionals” that his behavior is due to his Marijuana addiction, and not his horrid childhood.
It totally blows my mind that mental health is so hard to find in a lot of parts of the country. There is access but at least half the people that need help will never get it. In most states, a person who believes their loved one is fucked in the head can’t commit them till they do something to prove they are a harm to themselves or others. Why must something drastic be needed to get someone help? Think about how many suicides could be prevented if kids nowadays had an adult that would listen. In my experience, guidance counselors are the dunce’s of school administration, barely knowing their ass from a hole in the ground.
Self-medicating is the “IN” thing in today’s America, mainly because the only available mental health services are run by a lot of ignorant individuals that could care less about their patients suffering. I myself have had experience with these fucks. I was having a tough spell in my life and decided it wouldn’t hurt to get help and maybe get on medication. I come from a long line of nut jobs and I felt it couldn’t hurt to get another opinion. The guy that was assigned to me was early 30’s, and probably fresh out of college. I conveyed a lot of emotion to him. I figured that is what he was for and I might as well not fight it. After a couple sessions of basically bullshitting, I asked him about possibly getting on some type of medication. He responded with “we don’t do that here.” So I asked him how in the hell did he expect to help me with my issues, which at the time were way out of hand, and he told me I just needed to get out more and walk. A walk was going to stop my suicidal thoughts? Does this mean runners never off themselves?
The next line of society is approaching, and quite a few are going to be nuttier than a squirrel’s excrement. Where do we start to repair a system that has been broken since Tricky Dick kicked all the Veterans out of the Funny Farm? Maybe the schools, or youth jails would be a good place to begin. If changes aren’t made, the U.S.A is going to be brimming with a million damaged minds, all a product of a government that doesn’t care. A country that would rather imprison than improve. I’m not a religious person but I believe this is a “sin” we will all have to bear. It’s more than likely that at least one of your neighbors has some type of disorder, ranging from the guy who never makes eye contact when you talk, to the person in your community stringing up stray cats for entertainment.
The old expression is “There is one in every crowd” and the sad part is that poor, sick bastard will never get to enjoy life.
