Mental illness, is simply that, an illness in the mind, often due to chemicals out of balance in the brain, sometimes due to physical trauma being inflicted, or various other medical reasons. Unlike what is seen on TV, most people with psychosis don’t suddenly become able to craft elaborate cunning schemes, in reality their ability to craft elaborate schemes usually becomes less and less as the psychosis and irrational thinking takes hold. They can and do lash out, but in an increasingly disorganized and confused way.

I’ve seen this in action. These issues can lead to extreme and strange behavior to be sure, however, they aren’t like anything seen in horror movies. If you look closely, you can see that there is a humanity that lingers in the soul, in the mind that drives these sometimes bizarre behaviors.

People with clinical depression usually aim their hostility at themselves rather than at other people…and since they feel so useless/worthless, they typically become too apathetic to craft elaborate cunning schemes. Are there exceptions? Yes, mental illness is complicated. That is why each case needs to be evaluated on its own merits. However, the point here is, people with mental illness may well be difficult to deal with, but they are usually more of a danger to themselves than anyone else. Research shows that areas with higher mental illness cases show higher rates of suicide, not mass shootings. People with mental illness don’t need more irrational thinking and stigma, what they need from us is rational thinking, encouragement, love and lots of patience. Being sick is a normal part of the human experience, but the good news is, with medical advances, a lot of these mental health issues can be dealt with, the chemicals can be brought back into balance and life will improve.

Hope is available, reach for it, encourage people to reach for it. The only shame in mental illness belongs to those who refuse to lift a finger to help those suffering with it…to those who sit back and feed the stigma instead of walking through the storm…helping a sick, suffering soul find their way home…

Have I always enjoyed my time counseling people struggling with these issues? To be honest, no I haven’t.

Have I wished that someone else would deal with these people?

Yes, often.

However, when I see people who have struggled with these issues finally overcome them. When I see them now living normal, healthy lives, it makes the struggle worth it.