The value of a human being.......

A teasing comment with an acquaintance about how much I might cost if a retail establishment were to set my price led me to this question:  How much is a human being really worth?  So I did a little research.  I found out that the essential elements of the human body, including DNA, could be very pricey.  All the estimates were in the millions of dollars.  One of them was 45 million.  So, I guess that there are no retail establishments that could afford to put me on sale.  Amazing.  And that didn't take into account the most important parts of me.  Like my spirit.  Like my experiences.  Like my relationships with other valuable human beings.  So, why did I become fascinated with this question? I was thinking about the value that was lost when Maxine became sick.  Mental illness took away her potential.  As I've frequently said, Maxine lost quite a bit as a result of her mental illness. Underneath it all, she was a lovely woman. But she was chronically an outsider. And her home life was uncomfortable, with difficult relationships within her family. She had been a talented artist in her young adult years. And of course, that suffered as she became severely mentally ill. I have to tell you that she was also a great Mom...at least until she became so sick that her parenting suffered.

What does this lead me to?  When I worked in the field, I was always fascinated by what mental illness steals from human beings.  I liked getting to know who my clients were underneath the illness. And as a result, my life was enriched.  The most severely ill among them had assets.  In one experience, I established a good relationship with a gentleman who had served this country honorably. And spent years in the building trades before becoming physically and mentally ill.  His relationships with family had suffered. But he still had considerable emotional connection with them. He made efforts to contact them whenever he had the opportunity.  Even though he was homeless. Many of our conversations were about his pride in his children. His basic goodness was an important part of my desire to do the best I could to provide him with a more comfortable existence. Sometimes he cooperated. Sometimes he didn't. But he was certainly worth the effort anyway.

What did this teach me about mental illness?  Underneath it all we are human.  We have considerable value.  And every effort to deal with the illness is important.  Which is precisely why stigma is so destructive.  Stigma is a way of decreasing the value of human beings. Not in reality, but in the attitudes of the other human beings around them. And it can lead to death. Stigma controls the support we are willing to give to the mentally ill. It leads to a punitive attitude which controls the numbers of mentally ill in our jails. Finally, it also controls our willingness to devote resources to the treatment of mental illness. One of the most important focuses of my blog has been dealing with stigma. Are you willing to join me in this effort?  Whenever you reach out, you are challenging stigma. I am here. Are you?  Let's talk!