Below the Noise
As I wrote on my business blog tonight, I'm not exactly in the festive mood this year. In light of the terrible tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut I'd like to just crawl under a rock thank you very much.
But I can't, you see. Because I've walked down so many dark alley roads these past few years that the shadows linger. Linger large. My son has a serious mental illness. I'm not going to write about it here, and I'm not going to bash those moms who do. Because the silence here is deafening to us moms.
Below the noise.
We hoped and prayed for so many things for our sons, yet we were given what's akin to a nightmare. I don't want you to feel sorry for me, I just want you to listen. We are a sub culture, we live in the shadows. Afraid to speak out because we want to protect our children and families' privacy. Afraid to speak out because of the vitriol. Afraid of the louder, intimidating, presumptious, dad~blasted (yes, I lived in the south) anti~psychiatry folks.
And all the while, our kids are very sick. Not getting treatment while their brains are damaged by continued, untreated psychosis. In America peeps. Turn off the noise...and listen.
I'm a no nonsense kind of gal, let's get down to basics. We can change things. But legislators need to listen to the experts. Not the well meaning folks who would like to skirt around the seriously ill all in the name of reducing "stigma". Or those who believe their idealogical "recovery" process should be mandated for everyone all in the name of "choice".
Here's a choice I'd like to have for my son (thankfully, he has been given a fighting chance) and for friends who live in other states and at this very moment live in fear for their familie's lives because there is no court ordered treatment available...the choice to be "treated"!!
Serious mental illness is real. People who are afflicted with it need treatment. And I'm going to post a link to 5 policy changes that would make an incredible difference. These are nothing new. Parents and policy makers have been screaming for this in one form or another, yet no one has turned the ear. Until now, tragically.
This next year. Let's do this: Five~Point Action Plan for President Obama to Reduce Violence by the Mentally Ill
But I can't, you see. Because I've walked down so many dark alley roads these past few years that the shadows linger. Linger large. My son has a serious mental illness. I'm not going to write about it here, and I'm not going to bash those moms who do. Because the silence here is deafening to us moms.
Below the noise.
And all the while, our kids are very sick. Not getting treatment while their brains are damaged by continued, untreated psychosis. In America peeps. Turn off the noise...and listen.
I'm a no nonsense kind of gal, let's get down to basics. We can change things. But legislators need to listen to the experts. Not the well meaning folks who would like to skirt around the seriously ill all in the name of reducing "stigma". Or those who believe their idealogical "recovery" process should be mandated for everyone all in the name of "choice".
Here's a choice I'd like to have for my son (thankfully, he has been given a fighting chance) and for friends who live in other states and at this very moment live in fear for their familie's lives because there is no court ordered treatment available...the choice to be "treated"!!
Serious mental illness is real. People who are afflicted with it need treatment. And I'm going to post a link to 5 policy changes that would make an incredible difference. These are nothing new. Parents and policy makers have been screaming for this in one form or another, yet no one has turned the ear. Until now, tragically.
This next year. Let's do this: Five~Point Action Plan for President Obama to Reduce Violence by the Mentally Ill
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