On Tuesday I was in TX for a presentation – far from NYC, the center of the action where a gunman shot & injured 30 on a subway car. I didn’t hear much abt the story in Fort Worth.
So, when I returned, & got back to the city, I started to use the search engines to find out more. One of the articles (amongst many like it) I came across was this doozie. On its surface, it doesn’t seem so bad: Yes the shooter had a diagnosed MH disorder, & as is typically the case, an outlet/advocates will explain how “these ppl” don’t do “those things” as often…& are instead more often the targets of “those things.”
Again, on its surface, I understand the msg. You don’t want society to think that ppl w MH disorders are dangerous. But….even if we just stop there – if that’s all this article was trying to convey – it STILL makes the topic of MH, binary: “those of us affected who aren’t really violent” & “the rest of you normal ppl.”
OK so let’s table that for a moment to dive into the article itself…bc this is really where I take issue – & it’s what’s plagued this space for DECADES. On the next 3 slides➡️, I shared the first 3+ paragraphs of the article, only. In it, a MH disorder is referred to as:
– A mental illness
– A mental disorder (no health)
– A psychiatric disorder
– A whole community of people
– A mood-related condition
– Bipolar II
– A mental health issue
Most of us reading this are IN this space/care abt it. We can decipher this. If we’re trying to teach society abt this topic, how can they understand what is what, & what’s going on, if that list, is the summary??
We ALL have MH. That MH is affected for ALL of us on a continuum. Those of us (bc of life experiences/genetics/lifestyle) who get to the far end of the continuum may develop MH disorders (at least if we go by the DSM model). Said another way we all have nervous systems & they all can become dysregulated.
But, if we all have MH, are all on the continuum, are all susceptible to the far end of the continuum, then it’s not “us” in this community vs “them.” It’s ALL of us helping each other! It’s not “those crazy ppl committing crimes.” We NEED that understanding.
