Understanding mental illness

Sometimes you read or hear a story about someone who really understands the struggles that individuals with a mental illness and their families encounter and it touches your heart in such a way that it brings tears to your eyes.

The reporter who wrote the article in the Los Angeles Times, Leave Britney alone, had that effect on me this morning.

I also have a family member who was diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder and she is the reason that I advocate for changes to our treatment laws. Witnessing someone you love go through the deterioration caused by untreated mental illness when they lack the insight to receive treatment, while waiting for them to reach a level of dangerousness required by law, is one of the most heartbreaking experiences that you can imagine.

I was recently contacted by CNN asking what it was like to have to seek involuntary commitment orders for my daughter. They then asked if my daughter would appear on TV for an interview, talking about her experiences dealing with her illness. At first she was willing, thankfully she now has the insight to remain in treatment, but after we talked it over, we declined. A big part of the reason was that I didn't want her to appear on their news show because I didn't want her to become a part of the circus that the media has made out of Britney Spears experience.

Although I think that station would have handled the topic of mental illness with dignity, I don't know what other media sources might have picked up on it and I certainly wouldn't want the person who I admire and respect for her courage in dealing with her illness to be exposed to any humilation as some media sources have done to that entertainer and her family. My sympathy goes to all of them.

Mental illness is a biological disease that should be treated and discussed with the utmost respect and compassion for those whose lives are affected by it. The timely treatment that assisted outpatient treatment laws provide should be given to all of those who lack the insight to seek their own treatment.