Who Are the People (with Mental Illness) In Your Neighbourhood?

Source: http://bit.ly/qASsuQ

There are a lot of stereotypes and assumptions out there about “who” mental illness sufferers are. No matter how many celebrities write books with “revelations” of suffering bipolar or PPD, or how many families contain at least one Crazy Aunt Mary many persist in believing that mental illness is the domain of the poor, stupid, homeless and criminal.

There is plenty of critical thinking and anti-oppression analysis we could do to figure out why people think this way (and why many with mental illness are vulnerable to becoming poor, homeless etc) but I haven’t the energy/time for that right now.

If any one needs proof that mental illness is something which affects people from all walks of life, they should spend just 5 minutes hanging around the local out-patient centre or treatment clinic.

I accompanied a client to his psychiatrist appointment today at Local Hospital out-patient clinic (I know! I said I’d never go there again, but reality bites). Someone who didn’t know him would see that he is a family man (his wife was with him) is middle aged, and might guess that he is an immigrant (English is his second language).

While we were there I spotted a familiar face that took me a second to place. A woman I recognized from my old neighbourhood - she spent a lot of time hanging around the back alley, lived (sometimes) in a nearby crack-house, and often stopped people to ask for change on the sidewalk. I used to try talking to her sometimes, but it was difficult because her tongue was always protruding (possibly a med side effect or a symptom) and she would usually walk away when I didn’t have any change to offer.

On the way out of the office I recognized a woman I know from my family’s church. She’s a white, upper middle class professional who goes to bible study with my mom. I have actually run into her once before in a psychiatrists office when there with another client. We nodded to acknowledge one another and she seemed happy to leave it at that. We did this once again, adding a smile, when encountering each other at the hospital.

In the span of that five minutes I came across people from a wide cross-section of my own life, and who covered a good range of social locations.  And I know it’s not just me.

The Closed-minded Co-worker

I got snappy with a co-worker this morning. We’ve had some donations in the office and as a “joke” he put a set of flower patterned sheets on a male managers desk. When it was figured out who did it, he started loudly proclaiming that it was a joke because “no man should have to sleep on flowered sheets” looking for collaboration from the rest of us. I shot back “where do you get these close-minded ideas?” Another female co-worker laughed and said “okay, I’m not the only one who was thinking that!”

This was a small occurrence, but he says sexist things like this a lot. And it gets on my nerves. A lot.

It’s not that he’s saying anything that would constitute harassment or whatever, but it is annoying. I especially don’t understand this kind of attitude in a social work setting.

It’s not that I can’t take a joke. I do have a sense of humour. I do! It’s the thoughtlessness behind these comments that gets me going “please, just SHUT UP!”

I could lay all kinds of “anti-oppression framework” or gendered analysis on this one, or I could talk about how in this line of work we all have to explore our own privileged and social location etc, etc.

But it's friday, and I don’t want to. Is it too much to ask for people to think before they speak and check their prejudice at the door?