Saturday 30 March 2013

'The Flip Side of Mental Illness' the 6th edition of CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG!

www.bryceabaker.com

The Flip Side of Mental Illness                                                 April 5, 2013

As an author, I receive feedback from people around the world about my articles and other writings. These feedbacks assist me to grow as a writer and further understand the public opinion.

My last article about mental illness sparked positive responses from many, and even from people with issues they struggled with. Sometimes, just having someone say that their illness isn’t a contagious disease from outer space gives them some peace of mind. These people are not dangerous and deserve the consideration and compassion like anyone else.
On the other hand the criminally ill are on another nasty page, but this ‘CORRECT ME IF I’M WRONG!’ will capture the good page. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a bleeding heart Human Rights leaguer, just a person of compassion. Like I said before, if I have an opinion about something, I have walked the path.

Many years ago I worked a case where an ex was trying to kill the mother, and even though ‘his’ three young children were in her care, he attempted his acts of insanity in their presence. Not to worry, he didn’t succeed and was dealt with. My point of bringing this up is that the oldest child was an eight year old girl with Down Syndrome. In the beginning she played me to find her borders and, after she understood that she couldn’t play me like a fiddle, we got along great. My partner and I escorted the mom and kids for outings and people’s reaction to the little girl were mixed but some were disgusting. This young girl had an illness that she was born with and had no choice in the matter. To me she was a beautiful child of God and deserved love and understanding like anyone else. She did test my patience sometimes but she was my buddy. She called me ‘Smokey’ because I gave Smokey Bear hugs.

Everyone on this earth has a medical skeleton in their closet so no one has the right to isolate another because of illness or physical difference. That said… the exceptions are the creatures with violent intent or tendencies. If one chooses to be cold toward the ill, then they need to swallow their prejudice and thank God they don’t have to contend with someone labeling them.
Rena and I are comedy driven and are preparing to do stand-up comedy together. From a previous write of mine… ‘Rena has ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and I with ADH ...HHHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder). It is a plus for us because our arguments last three or four seconds. We either forget what we are arguing about or lose interest. Going for coffee with us creates a public disturbance at the coffee shop! There is a speed dial to 911 for the public where they’re asked,  ‘police , fire, ambulance or Baker Disturbance?’

Rena showed me a video of a program for people with mental illness that teaches them how to do stand-up comedy by poking fun at the humor of it. This program was started by a counselor who himself suffers from depression. The comedians are hilarious and like I used to tell my partners, ‘Always turn a negative into a positive”. These people have confronted their condition and walked onto a stage of healing. Please support them; www.standupformentalhealth.com .

Let us not dwell on the problem of difference, but on the road of understanding.
Please ... ‘CORRECT ME IF I’M WRONG!’

Bryce A Baker

No comments:

Post a Comment