Our World Today

Is it safe out there? Since the Tucson shooting I have been so disturbed that I felt compelled to share my thoughts. I hope you will too as this indirectly affects the future of our children and grandchildren.

When is the last time you went to visit someone you love in a psychiatric hospital? Do you know anyone who had to spend time in a psychiatric hospital? Shhh. Don't tell anyone. This is a secret because mental illness continues to be a secret. Why is it OK to say I am going to visit my aunt in the hospital; she fell and broke her hip but is not acceptable to say I am going to visit my aunt in the hospital; she is getting help for her depression?

Until we treat mental illness like cancer, it will continue to spread and people will continue to suffer with mental illness while going undiagnosed. Others will suffer as well, as they did in Tucson.

Today, psychiatric hospitals have become a revolving door for many people who have some type of mental illness. If you are not homicidal, suicidal or psychotic, you could be discharged within 72 hours. You might be prescribed medication and given an aftercare appointment. But you'll likely just to go back to work as if nothing happened after you physically attacked your spouse, maybe even your child, and had episodes of breaking things. You'll continue to be aggressive with your peers at work and others in your life. Who is responsible? Shh, don't tell anyone. Just say, He was out from work with the flu.

Next scenario: Enter the teenager who just smoked marijuana that was laced with something. He flipped out and was hospitalized for a psych evaluation. The teen comes around and is discharged. Did he self-medicate because he was depressed, or had the boy been enduring manic episodes since he was 12 years old. Could this be a child of a parent who is addicted to drugs? Do one or both parents suffer from a mental illness or substance abuse— or both? Has this child been neglected? Does this teen fall through the cracks and have unidentified learning disabilities or low self-esteem?

We can help society by recognizing mental illness is not a dirty word. Perhaps if you become pregnant you should be mandated to take a parenting class. Better yet, when you plan to marry or are thinking about having a child, you are summoned to comprehend the responsibilities you have and role you play as a parent.

Every school should have a therapeutic component, a psychologist for testing, a psychiatrist for evaluations and psychopharmacology, a family social worker and child therapist for counseling, and a nutritionist. Experts and services should always be available for families. And teachers should have the ability to make a referral with an appropriate intervention in 24 hours, not weeks or months later. Teachers should have training on who might need an intervention. We speak of inclusion, but do we really speak about it? Do children talk about how Mary is different? How does a teacher have time to assume the role of a therapist with an inclusion class and most likely 25 students or more?

Family participation in schools should be part of the curriculum to help each child be seen as a whole person. If everyone is visible and participating in raising a healthy child, maybe we would be able to educate each family about being healthy. If this is all done to improve the life of a family, we could raise the veil on mental illness, perhaps all illnesses. Wellness should be the theme of 2011, at home, in the workplace and in schools. Parents need to be held accountable for helping their children be healthy— physically, mentally and spiritually.

Your child and my grandchild are in school with someone who is being neglected and has violent tendencies. That child one day might grow up and buy a gun and then decide, because he is angry, to open fire. What is wrong with this picture?

It is time to wake up America and realize we are all in this together! If you care about your child's future, tell me how you are going to help raise awareness in your home and in your community. Actions speak louder than words. If you care to join me as a concerned grandma and parent, let me hear from you.