In this
time period, we find that many problems are world-wide in scope. It really is a smaller world. People “talk” across borders through the
internet and the media. Even the arts
contribute to being able to share. In
terms of my blog, I have an international readership. That makes me curious about what kinds of
experiences my international readers have that make my blog interesting reading
for them. So, I was thrilled to hear about
a new documentary film coming out. PBS
will be airing this new documentary, created by Seattle physician and filmmaker
Delaney Ruston “soon”. The name of the
documentary is “Hidden Pictures”. I know
you will agree that it should be released very soon if you have an interest in
exploring the lives of the mentally ill. Because it is an exploration of mental illness
around the world, it really strikes me as a valuable and educational exploration of the problem. It
discusses how the stigma impacts the lives of the mentally ill worldwide. Then
it relates that to spending on a worldwide basis and how that impacts the
availability of treatment.Here’s a link to the article that
informed me about this film: http://bit.ly/19dtTyv
Now, this is what I found so
interesting about the article: Dr. Ruston found that the stigma is a world-wide
problem for the mentally ill. I’m not
really surprised by that. But I am a
little saddened by it. In this day and
age, it seems more than a little backwards to have the stigma still be in
control in terms of the lives and treatment of the mentally ill. We know so much more about the biochemical
nature of such disease. Why hasn’t the
compassion kicked in yet? Why do people
still judge? Dr. Ruston traveled to five
countries: India, South Africa, China,
France and the United States in order to explore the lives of people suffering
from mental illness. In each country,
she follows an individual or family impacted. She covers many common mental
illnesses, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and anxiety. And she outlines how the stigma controls the
lives of those afflicted. In France, the
mother of one mentally ill individual avoids social interaction because she
doesn’t know what to tell people about the illness of her son.
As mentioned in the article, there
are 450 MILLION people reported with mental illness worldwide. (World Health Organization statistics) Now here is information on spending worldwide
for the treatment of mental illness taken directly from the article:
“Almost half of those reported to
have a mental disorder live in a country where there is one psychiatrist or
less to serve 200,000 people. That’s like eight psychiatrists serving the 1.6
million people living in Manhattan, explains Global Pulse’s Emily Judem:
“Worldwide spending on mental health is less than US $2 per person, per year.
In low-income countries, that number drops to less than 25 cents per person,
per year.”
Given the huge numbers of people
suffering with mental illness and the potential for loss of productivity,
destroyed family relationships and loss of life, in my opinion, this is a
travesty. Human beings have worth.
Mental illness is treatable. But
the combination of the stigma/shame and the lack of adequate treatment make the
likelihood of anyone receiving treatment low.
What do you think? How can we
start changing these facts? I will let
you know when I become aware of the date that this documentary becomes
available on PBS. I hope that you will
tune in. I certainly will.
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