471E4--Week 13 Questions/Comments--Thursday

Reading Earley's description of "Jeff" and that although previously informed that he had a mental illness, no details of it showed. If a person has their illness under control, they can most likely go about life as normally as anyone else. Besides Down's Syndrome, are their any mental illnesses that can be detected by psychical appearances? ~ Emily Barry

In the section where he discusses April Hernandez, there is the discussion whether or not she should take her medication because of her pregnancy. Can medications for mental illnesses effect pregnancy? April also ended her pregnancy because she feared that her child would also be mentally ill. Is that a logical fear, or is it impossible for a child to inherit their mother's mental illness just by existing? ~ Emily Barry

How do you feel about the wife from Mike’s felony case? I lost respect of her when she didn’t show up to court because her husband was busy. I can understand her reaction, I’ve been there myself – the fear of someone instable in your life can make your react in rashly. However, there are plenty of example where the instable have done violent things for no reason (or for reason) resulting in damage, hospitalizations, or death. There is a very real fear there, so when the wife wanted to protect her daughter I understood. What I don’t understand is who easily she gave up because her husband was buys one day… are you kidding me!? Stick to your guns! It’s not even like she had a change in heart. How would you react? -Kasey Moore

On pg. 244, the correctional officer speaking to Earley said how working on the ninth floor is unlike working with criminals. She said "there's something else creepy about this floor... They didn't choose to become crazy, and it don't take long working here for you to realize this could happen to anyone. It could happen to you and it could happen to me. We could become one of them. That's what's really frightening about working here and seeing this." I found this quote extremely troubling because I felt like the officer was making a large distinction about the mentally ill by saying we could become one of them. I thought the word them was offensive towards the mentally ill because just as she said, they didn't choose to become crazy. -Maggie Nunn

Jonathan Stanley compared his life to walking through a room where the tv is and getting a glimpse. I thought this was such an interesting description of life with a mental illness.- Maggie Nunn The story of April Hernandez was a good contrast to the other stories in the book. I really struggled with the fact that Earley spoke with her mom and didn't share information that he knew. As a parent, he knows how difficult it is to make sure your child takes their medicine and I felt like he placed his journalism personality over his parental duties.-Maggie Nunn

How can the government try to cut back on costs but also serve the people that really need their support? Reading the part about Jeff’s prescriptions being cut or how patients going through the criminal justice system having their medications changed multiple times really made me feel for these people. It’s almost impossible to get better when the medications that actually work are constantly being swapped out or cut. – Katie Tryon

Why not use the practices that were taught to patients at Passageway in jails? Teaching the patients about their disease and methods to know when they are slipping. Jails provide education and other options for prisoners; why not provide education for the mentally ill? – Katie Tryon

I inclined to ask the same question as Ms. Tryon: Why not provide education for the mentally ill? Rather than let their care be the decision of someone else why not make active players in their treatment process? Perhaps then they would be more motivated to take charge of their lives. ~ Alex Young

I have to side with Katie and Alex on educating the mentally ill. I wonder what results would be like if treatments and education were combined...would patients be more likely to recognize what is going on with them and ways to help themselves? --Carly W.

I agree with Maggie on the t.v. analogy because I think it shows how negligent we are as a society to mental illness. Since deinstitutionalization has mental illness been swept under the rug leading people to believe the issue has been resolved? Why are we so passive when it comes to mental illness today? Before we began this class how large of a problem did you see mental illness as compared to now towards the end of the semester? -Jack Hylan

I really felt for many of the mentally ill described by Earley. The fact that many could not obtain their necessary medication or had it changed constantly, as Katie also said, really does not seem to be in the best interest of the people. I understand the conflict between forcing patients to take medication against their will or giving them an option, but in my opinion, if a person is not in his or her right mind, why would they not receive help? --Chelsea Chin

The second half of the book placed a greater emphasis on the continued use of medication, which is slightly different from what Alex, Steph, and I argued against last class. Medication really seems to help some people, but in the case of April, how much medication did she actually need? Earley seemed to push medicine for his son, and with good reason, but I guess the greater emphasis on medication confused me somewhat the message was different from the start of the book. --Chelsea Chin

I found it discouraging that Mike still could not get a job and not even one he had a good amount of experience in because he had bipolar disorder. People truly did act like the disease was catchable, but also I feel that there was and still is a stereotype with bipolar disorder and violence (from what I have experienced with knowing those who struggle with the disorder). The book was published in 2006 but I feel that in the last years, bipolar disorder has become more prominent and more understood because more and more people are talking about their illness. –Courtney Collier

The end of the book definitely focusses more on medication and I guess Earley wanted to show its importance in society and how it affects people, whether it is positive or negative. On page 308 and other times in the book Earley uses examples of people taking their medication only when they needed it. For example, some took their medication right before an important event like court. Not taking medicine consistently is a huge problem that is right up there with over diagnosing people. I have had experience with friends not taking their medication properly and it just messes them completely off and throws off their whole system. I agree completely with the points made in the earlier posts about having more education for the mentally ill, especially on taking medicine properly. –Courtney Collier

This book really reminded me of cases of children and learning disabilities. Many doctors and parents want to make the problem of their child’s success about an attention disorder. With working in a preschool there are quite a few children who are on medicine, who in my opinion, do not need to be on medication, because of the knowledge I gained from this class. Some people just want the quick fix but do not really do what is best for the child and don’t try other options. I am not against medicine by any means I just wish it wouldn’t be the first possible solution people try. –Courtney Collier

I was torn in the chapter that focused on the court cases for the mentally ill and how their plea bargains and treatments are negotiated between prosecutors and social workers. I'm not naive to the fact that the justice system is corrupt in more ways than one, but I spent some time debating the whole situation with Sam Konell. As unfair as it is that he can selectively choose people because of insurance, I guess it is good that there are at least some people who are capable of getting the help that they need. Is this situation common or is Florida's system for taking care of the mental health just that bad? --Carly W.

Earley selected Hernandez because he wanted to find a female around his son's age experiencing mental illness, and I find it ironic that she was not only diagnosed the same as Mike, but she also (with help from her boyfriend) tried to fight mental illness on her own by weening herself off of medication and trying a more stable lifestyle. --Carly W.

I thought it was interesting that Earley followed Jackson because he was "always on the brink" because of his illness, as opposed to people who cannot function at all. I think this is an important distinction because it means that people like Jackson cannot receive the treatment they need because they are not immediately visible in society. -Joanna Jourdan

On page 218 Earley discusses E. Fuller Torrey and how he is arguing that America will always have homeless and crazy people on the streets unless the states passed laws that allow doctors to forcibly treat them. I agree with this because even though people should have a right to choose what treatment they want, if they are harming themselves and others then they should be helped. If medication and treatment can help these people live a better life then they should have to take it. - Morgan H.

One of the parts of this book that set me on edge the most was when the people Earley was following adjusted or stopped taking their medication with no justification from a professional. - Joanna Jourdan