The Good Life

By Don Fraser Saturday, June 05, 2010

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I lead "The Good Life". That is to say for a 52 year old man with Schizo-affective disorder it's damn good.

I collect disability benefits, and I also have a monthly inheritance from a trust left to me by my late father. Oh yeah, I smoke too much I don't exercise enough and my cholesterol is a bit high, but all in all I do OK.

This is not so for many of my peers in my home town (and probably yours) who are forced into sub-standard living conditions or out on the street.

Where I live , in a small city of 100,000, there are 300 "street people".And of that number more than half are battling a mental illness.

It is a well known fact that over 50% of people on the street have mental health issues.

So what's to be done ? Where is the outreach ? Can you see it where you live ?

I'd be interested in some feedback here.

Self-medication with booze and dope is another huge issue. There is a huge anti - psychiatry movement out there among the mentally ill and of course this leads us to find other ways to seek coping mechanisms and temporary cures.

What must be done is to get both government and the private sector together to put together a plan to change lives. If Mental Health Org. are involved (and I'm sure they are already) we can bring some hope and care to those who need it most.

Ah. the good life...........

Don Fraser

There's Work To Be Done

Comments (8) | Add comment

Janet

6/ 5/10 11:19am

What an inspiration you are to others like myself. I try to look at my life the way you do but it can be hard at times. What gives me the hardest is my relationship with my Dad. He is a very difficult person to live with because he nevers looks on the bright side of things. Thank Goodness I have such a Strong realtionship with my Mom.

As for my life I try to realize that compared to others with a mental illness my life would be considered a good life. I am on disability and stay busy by doing volunteer work in a hospital giftshop and at my church.

i want you to know that because of what you have written I am going to try to be more Positive about my own life and want to look at ways I can help others who may have a mental illness.

I want to close my post by Thanking you for making me realize my life could be so much more difficult than it.

Don Fraser

6/ 7/10 2:34pm

Thank-you for your kind words Janet. Family relationships can be trying at times, I know. My parents divorced when I was five. Luckily, I hit it off well with my step-father and had the envious childhood of having two Dads !

While we are not always obligated to go out of our way to help others in today's world, I think we have a moral and ethical duty to care for those with whom we share the same affliction. Loving others is never a mistake nor is it too difficult.

I'm glad you've decided to help.

Shalom,

Don Fraser

Rene Victor

6/ 7/10 6:00pm

Hi Don,

Thank you for your posting. I consider myself to be very lucky as well. My mom and dad put a roof over my head despite of what I did to my mom the night I was taken to rehab. I was also on disability at one point but willed my way back into the workplace. I have no idea how I did it. Just got very lucky...

There is one homeless man that I see all of the time by my house. He just looks so beat down and confused. I don't know how to even start to reach out to this guy. I will give this more thought because I remember at one point I was roaming the streets of San Diego in a delusional state. If my family didn't help, who knows where I would have ended up.

Don Fraser

6/ 9/10 8:24pm

Thanks for your comment. When you said "Mom and Dad" you hit me right where I live ! Like you, my parents helped me survive throughout my bad times.

In fact I'm quite sure that if it weren't for my Dad, I'd be dead. That kind of caring that you described only comes from having parents that nurture you as a young child and love you unconditionally as long as they live.

It's been 4 years now since my Dad passed away. He's in my dreams sometimes and I think about him a lot. He still helps take care of me. The trust money arrives twice a month. I talk to my Mom everyday on the phone. She still inspires me. You and me are among the fortunate minority whose parents cared for them during the crisis times of mental illness.

About that homeless man you see; your compassion is understood. It's like seeing the starving African child on TV. Do you give him a dollar ?

Is there a better way to help mentally people who may be on the street or is the problem just overwhelming. Are we in fact desensitized by seeing this sort of thing all the time on TV, Internet, etc.

There is no easy answer so I'm not going to attempt to offer you one.

Shalom

D.Fraser

Rene Victor

6/ 7/10 6:00pm

Hi Don,

Christina Bruni, Health Guide

6/ 8/10 8:12pm

Hi Don,

I'm no fan of the anti-psychiatry movement. This is my philosophy: Take your meds if you need to take your meds or else chances are you're going to wind up in the streets and resorting to drugs and alcohol to medicate your symptoms. Unfortunately getting people who are severely ill to take their meds is the ongoing battle. In the U.S. as well family members can't commit their loved ones to a psych hospital unless that person is a danger to himself or someone else, so too often a crime is committed before the person gets treatment and often that kind of "treatment" is jail.

I'd love to hear from you if the commitment laws in Canada are less strict and if help is available for the neediest people with schizophrenia.

I was on a tour through Italy and the tour guide told us that not many people there are homeless yet those who are often have mental illnesses. So this is a perpetual, world-wide problem that needs to be addressed.

Like I said I'm no fan of MindFreedom and those Mad Pride groups. I'm not proud to have schizophrenia. This was the challenge God or life gave me in this lifetime. I'm going to meet that challenge by taking my meds every day as prescribed, getting enough sleep and exercise, working at the jobs I love and engaging in recreation.

The question is how to inspire people who lack the awareness that they are sick to get into treatment and stay in treatment. Homelessness is not a choice. It's the great shame of society.

Regards,

Christina

Don Fraser

6/ 9/10 7:47pm

Hi Christina,

There are a number of challenges in Canada that face the mentally ill. One of the most difficult is a sub-standard government run medical system. This means that people with schiz. are treated poorly and "the system" is the only place they can turn to for help. As I was saying, the government system is underfunded and poorly staffed. It also means that many of us are stuck on older, cheaper drugs, obviously so the government can cut costs.

Regarding your question about our committal procedure, the Mental Heath Act has changed recently (about two years ago). A person can be forcibly confined for sixty days if they are a danger to themselves or others or if their illness has decompensated. ( medical opinions obviously apply for all of these laws)

The decompensation part of the committal procedure is the new law they just passed amid the cries from human rights groups. I think it seems logical that if a person can't cope at home, then hospital is a good place to get treatment.

As for the homeless problem, as I wrote in my post, it is huge here and it tears at my heart. The city where I live has 100,000 people, and 200-300 homeless.

The problem we have is not that people won't take their meds, it's that they never get a chance to be treated. This has prompted a team of outreach workers to be formed to go into impoverished areas to guide

people to doctors and nurses. There is also low-rent housing being built.

It's a slow process,and I think we're making progress. Like my psych-doc

of many years ago said to me " We'll get there"

Don F.

Donna-1

6/13/10 10:46pm

The challenges of taking daily medication(s) are not nearly as great as the challenges of trying to live without the medication(s.) I think I am finally "getting" why I need the meds.

Carolyn

The Good Life

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