Disclaimer: The
following post on the SJBMCPRS Report is not to be taken overly seriously, and
is purposely expressive with an intent to imply the author’s perspective (which
people are free to view if they choose to). However, the contents of this post
will contain some real-world properties and questionable language, which along
with the entirety of this post may be taken as offensive to people.
“When
will my reflection show, who I am inside?” – Mulan (1998 Disney film)
What
do you see, when you look into a mirror, or something with a reflective
property? Is the sight you see before you, reflect your perception of yourself?
Does it reflect how you feel inside? Do you believe the visual information you
receive from staring back at yourself via the mirror (or reflective item)
depicts reality, or an illusion? Is the reflection a means of a window to your soul,
or something greater that words cannot describe?
...Perhaps
staring back at who you are physically is a troubling process, after all; there
are those who suffer mental difficulty accepting what is reflected as a
reality, and those who have catoptrophobia, spectropobia, eisoptrophobia, etc.
Additionally; what one (1) sees in his/her reflection cannot directly reveal
what is cased within an exterior of skin, muscles, and so on (unless such a
thing DOES exist, which may scare some people (and no I don’t count X-rays, or
body scanning for the purpose of this explanation)). We can’t look deep into ourselves
and see what a particular feeling looks like, the only means of expressing
ourselves as to what we’re feeling, or experiencing is through words and visual
representations (i.e. drawings or physical depictions of the self-suffering).
One
(1) might think it’s as simple as one (1) person describing, or showing how
he/she goes through the motions for the observer to get an idea of what that
person expressing his/her situation. ...Now if there is a specialist (a la, a
psychologist) at hand to decipher and comprehend, then it might be a
‘straight-forward’ process. Alas; deciphering a person’s distress (for
instance), isn’t as easy as telling the difference between some grass and a cow
in a field. ...And not everyone is a specialist, nor able to comprehend what
they do not understand. For example; someone who speaks French, may not be able
to understand someone else who is speaking Chinese. What could be a Chinese
person simply introducing himself/herself, and asking something
inconsequential, can come across as incomprehensive gobbledygook to the person
who only speaks and understands French. The same logic applies to those with
mental health ‘complications’, and those who don’t.
It
is not so easy to relay information to another person (or audience) in the same
manner as we do ourselves. Even when we try to express ourselves to someone
else, the information may not be comprehended in a manner that is desired. Like
the French and Chinese people example given above; something that person A
comprehends without fault like his/her feelings may get lost in transaction and
may not make sense to person B, person C, be interpreted as gobbledygook by
person D, and be taken as offensively by person E. Due to the differences in
genetics, education, environment, circumstances and so on (which makes each
person unique); there are aspects of incompatibility from person to person.
While for the most part, we are compatible and comprehensible with one (1)
another, like a video cassette will work and play in numerous VHS players
despite differences in appearance, and make (i.e. one (1) VHS player is made by
Sony, and another made by Sanyo), there are attributes that cause some
difficulty with some people and incompatibility with others. Mental health
conditions can cause such difficulties and incompatibility amongst people.
(Record abruptly stopping
sound) For those who don’t know; VHS (Video Home System) is a form of physical
media used for recording data such as CCTV, and home media releases of popular
films. From the mid-1970s to 1997, VHS was the main form of physical media used
before the creation of DVD, and subsequent technologies. The more you know.
As
someone with a variety of mental health ‘conditions’ shall we say, I have
gradually... come to terms with my eight (8) faceted mentality. That said, I
didn’t know for a very long time what makes me the person I am (aside from
DNA). I didn’t have an explanation for my actions and behaviour, which caused a
fair amount of complications for me growing up, and for others as well. What
made me alienate myself away from others? What made me do what I did? While
some aspects were realised sooner like my shyness, and size meant that I had
inadvertently painted a bullseye upon myself for unwanted attention, it wasn’t
until my Mum told me years later that I have ...aspersers, that I gradually
started to pick up on particular traits. Press on the fast-forward button and
stop at 2016; and I am my own advocate as to who I am and why I am the way I
am. Given that I have expressed my mentality and processes in past posts on the
SJBMCPRS Report; it could be interpreted as though I have found inner peace,
and can be an advocate as to how mental health conditions affect people like
me. ...However such an impression would be inaccurate due to numerous reasons
such as being my own worst enemy, having disdain for people in general (and far
more for people who I feel are worse off than me), and the numerous reasons
that I have expressed in previous posts. Furthermore; while I can express
myself and talk about how some traits of mine may be comparable to others with
mental health problems, I am of the opinion that everyone is unique, and
therefore my experiences and methods of how to go about life won’t work with
other people. In other words, there are incompatibility issues, and I don’t
foresee that changing a great deal. Plus, I get enough headaches with the world
seemingly becoming more and more ‘politically correct’ and ‘cluttered’ with
triteness. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll try to help those who are significant to
me, and throw in my thousands of words every so often to ensure people will
continue to roll their eyes and sigh as I express my perception, ...but... Ugh,
can I go back to the world I call my own?
Depending
on what the mental health condition is, and the level of severity; a person
with said problem/complication/condition may encounter varying levels of
difficulties in a range of situations in life. In an environment with other
people; a person who suffers from anxiety attacks will preferably avoid
performing actions and processes that will cause anxiety, though the uneducated
people around the person won’t be able to understand the irregularity of the
situation. A person with traumatophobia will be fearful of places like hospitals
and building sights due to the likelihood of an injury occurring in potentially
dangerous environments, which will create complications should said person need
treatment to cure an illness like meningitis, or find staffolding and
construction equipment next to a retail store. Someone with nonverbal leaning
disorder (NLD), may encounter learning difficulties due to brain’s inability to
read and decipher information presented via hand gestures and facial
expressions. These are just a few examples among the many that exist.
Regardless of whether the disorder/disability occurs naturally, or is triggered
by a situation; the effects of a mental health condition(s) can impact an
individual in a manner that people may not understand, and thus difficulties
arise due to the inabilities to collaborate with differing perceptions and
interpretations.
Going
back to the mirror mentioned above; someone such as I cannot obtain/see an
accurate representation of myself via a mirror (or reflective property). I can
see what I am, but not who I am; and there lies a winkle (problem) when it
comes to defining or expressing myself to other people, regardless if they can
understand or not. The perception from an observer (say someone in a library
who I do not know (and vice-versa)) of me may be of “...just another person,
nothing out of the ordinary”. What that person sees is merely the physical
(...and a monstrous) part of me, and would be none the wiser about the ‘inner
workings’ of my mentality. If on the other hand; something triggers a reaction
out of me (like the books not being in alphabetical order), then the observer
would be abruptly shocked by the situation, which would seem spontaneous
because that person does not identify, or is able to see how something inconsequential
to him or her significantly affects me, because all the observer sees is an
exterior of a person who looks not indifferent to other people.
The
example given above, is a hypothetical scenario, though the purpose of defining
such a scenario is intended to provide a perspective to a situation that may be
a reality to some people. Given the adage that implies ‘1 out 4 people have a
mental health problem each year’, like depression, anxiety attacks, and that
some conditions can be permanent in a person’s life, it can boggle the mind
trying to consider how many people face roadblocks in one (1) form or another,
whether its understanding themselves, or acquiring the help and support needed?
How
many people I wonder, can understand and attest to the challenges, and
obstacles due to mental health conditions mentioned above? How many people with
mental health conditions find themselves incapable of explaining their
situation to those who cannot understand? Does the sensation of isolation dawn
on those who feel they don’t get the help, support and company required? How
does someone with a mental health condition translate what might be
incomprehensible to other people?
There
is no ‘straight-forward’ or ‘simple’ answer. Just like how everyone is unique;
the type and severity of a condition from person to person differs as well. No
single method (like medication) will work with everyone with a mental health
problem, because not all causes stem from a singular source. Some mental health
problems/conditions are more significant than others i.e. someone with severe
mood swings due to bipolar disorder will need more urgent care and treatment
then someone with medium to high functioning aspersers, due to the risk the
person with bipolar disorder is to himself/herself, and other people around him
or her. It would seem as though that the word ‘ambiguity’ would define mental health
conditions rather well, as there is still much needed to learn about the
causes, possible outcomes and solutions to the various and varying variants of
mental health conditions/problems people live with, and may develop later on in
life.
What’s
the solution then? There are no means of immersing ourselves in the bodies of
people who live with mental health problems in such a way that there would be
people shrunken down in size roaming around inside, so they explore and try to
figure out what is happening to cause mental health problems to arise. Nor; as
of yet are there around the clock surgeries on patients, allowing surgeons (and
anyone else who dares to look at human antimony functioning, as a means to
identifying causes of mental health problems. Sticking cameras inside the body
of a mental health patient perhaps...? Unlikely; the hypothetical methods I
mentioned above would be considered too invasive and downright impractical and
problematic. Even if ethnics and practical restrictions were thrown out the
window, would anyone realistically, be willing to share every thought process
(including all the random and involuntary notions), and relaying precisely
EVERYTHING that happens at the very moment to other people regardless if they
are specialist doctors, or a person significant or insignificant who doesn’t
know what he or she is looking at? No (is the likeliest of answers), the idea
of The Truman Show (1998 film) in reality with unrestricted access in and out
at all times to the subjected person with mental health conditions is a
deplorable prospect (though some people may think otherwise). To put it simply;
you wouldn’t lend your pin number and account card to a complete stranger,
therefore you wouldn’t submit yourself to such invasiveness. Even if the
purpose was to allow people you could trust to greater understand the plights
and symptoms of a given mental health condition you have; no progress should be
made at the cost of another person’s subjection.
And
let’s not forget, there are terrible people who will poke fun at another
person’s struggles, and with the accessibility of technology and the internet;
a cruel ‘joke’ or slander can multiply into a multitude of relentless
demoralising jabs all aimed at the one (1) person who is struggling. Yes, we are
capable of being the worst of the worst, and I don’t need to provide a
hyperlink to cases where people were traumatised, punished and ‘pushed over the
edge’ because of such ‘behaviour’. While not everyone is prone to reacting out
of impulse or flushes of strong emotions in a negative manner towards someone
else, or instinctively follow a trend like a herd of sheep led by a shepherd;
it is alas undeniable that such malicious behaviour does exist, and may impede
someone from seeking help and support, or speaking about something that is very
important, and intended to help others understand.
While
the main idea of this post is supposed to get across the difficulty people may
encounter when comprehending those with mental health ‘complications’ and
vices-versa, it is perhaps wise to empathise that regardless of a present
mental health condition or not; a human being is still a human being, and therefore
has the same rights, meaning people with mental health conditions should not
feel invalided or divided. While it’s not viable for someone to literally step
into the shoes of someone else with mental health conditions and live as they
do in order to understand that person’s situation, it is crucial that we should
try to imagine for ourselves what it would be like to life with mental health
conditions before blindly reacting out of impulses. Having the foresight to
perceive a situation from a different perception/angle is a valuable ability
that we are all capable of doing, and may help the uneducated understand and
rationalise.
With
time, developments are being made to better comprehend the effects of the many
mental disabilities and disorders that exist, and with these developments come
greater understanding about mental health.
With greater awareness and diagnosis of mental health conditions; people
with mental health disorders are becoming more and more accepted, and
supported. As advocates to ourselves and to others with shared experiences we
are capable of providing greater understanding and overcome the roadblocks in
life by sharing our thoughts, feelings, experiences, ideas, and passion with
other people willing to learn. Through our words (written, or spoken),
expressions, art, and efforts in the community; the difficulties encountered by
countless people with mental health
problems/disabilities/disorders/complications/conditions will diminish with the
help, support, and understanding that is constantly growing.
With
that said, this is where this post (number 34 (thirty-four) (XXXIV)) concludes. For more information about mental
health, use a search engine to find a lot more information, and helpful links
to quench your interest. In the meantime, feel free to comment or imply your
own perceptions, and until next time, see ya!
No comments:
Post a Comment