May 2007 MIM Meeting
Note: The monthly Mental Illness Ministry meetings often feature a guest speaker who shares on an aspect of mental illness. This month we were treated to the personal story of Andrew Gadtke. The MIM meetings are held the second Monday of the month from 7-9 pm in Hospitality Hall. The next month's meeting is listed in greater detail in the Sunday Bulletin. Everyone is welcome.
Monday, May 14, 2007, at our Mental Illness Ministry, four family members, David B. Eckholdt, Jeanine Bontrager, Lynda Cannova and Jean Mills, spoke to us about their experiences in struggling to:
- recognize that there was something seriously wrong
- learn that their family members had some kind of brain disorder
- learn what treatment was available
- get the resources needed
- work with their family members to recognize that something serious was happening and to agree to treatment, especially pharmaceutical treatment
- continue to learn what treatment is the very best available
- overcome the discrimination against people with mental illness and other brain disorders and against their families
This was a powerful presentation, not because the big story was new to the audience, but the power came from the:
- details of the individual struggles; putting names, places and dates to the stories
- hearts of the people telling their stories, their courage, their hope
- telling and telling and telling and telling; which carried much more impact than if only one speaker shared his/her story; the struggles keep happening, are ongoing
Financial struggles are major issues for many, if not most, families and Pursuers of Wellness. This is a major, ongoing issue that is not spoken of very often, perhaps because society doesn’t want to hear about this. The prevailing attitude is that you take care of yourself. Our present government isn’t willing to support emergency and transitional housing and therapies other than pharmaceutical. Some audience members were shocked to learn that some of our MIM members have been or are homeless and have lived in their cars--when they were lucky enough to own a car.
Some of our MIM members, as in the general population, live with their own mental illness and with that of other family members, which makes their struggles even greater.
People who do share their stories at MIM meetings or in support groups would welcome your support and kind words. Aloneness is often part of the struggles, so reaching out in support, even when you don’t know what to say or to do is greatly appreciated. Some of our panelists spoke of the disappearance of all friends of Pursuers of Wellness. When people have a physical illness, even brain cancer or a brain tumor, people reach out to support them and their families with cards, phone calls, visits, invitations to dinner or to talk, offers of financial support, transportation to and from clinics or hospitals, money for parking ramps, hot meals, dinner invitations at holiday times, hugs, invitations as guests to social events, asking how to best be supportive.
I think there is something even more evasive and discouraging than discrimination, and that is non-response. After hearing a homily/reflection and being offered literature on mental illness and other brain disorders, the great majority of people walks away without comment or literature, much less asking how they can help. Greater than overt discrimination is that people with brain disorders or the topic of mental illness are treated with indifference. We are invisible to much of the world. MIM is about social justice.
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| Mary Paradis is a long time member of St. Joan of Arc with her husband, Claude. Mary is currently the co-chair of the Mental Illness Ministry. Mary can be reached at claudemaryparadis@comcast.net.
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The latest research says 25% of the United States population has a brain disorder in a given year. We are speaking of your families, neighbors, co-workers, relatives. A beginning place to end indifference can be for your small group to extend an invitation to MIM for a speaker, to learn about mental illness and other brain disorders and to know someone who lives with this challenge. I want to quote studies about the effectiveness of this, but I remember when one of our daughters who was about six, said, “Studies show that”, and I thought, “Perhaps I’ve quoted enough studies.”
