The Largest Mental Institution in the United States.

NPR has spoken to inmates and employees of the Los Angeles county jail about the fact that one of the two “twin towers” (both are built on the idea of Jeremy Bentham’s idea of the panopticon) is occupied by the mentally ill. The Los Angeles County Sheriff is dedicated to giving prisoners the care they need, but he wishes that the closing of insane asylums in the late 70s (often horribly maintained and run) had not meant turning many of the mentally ill into homeless persons. The gap created by the closing of these public hospitals has yet to be filled, and in the interim, our prisons and streets continue to be populated by people who could be functioning members of society if they were getting the support they needed.

A Brooklyn Hospital Psychiatric Ward Does Nothing for Dying Mental Patient

This story has at least made the national news because there is video of the patient collapsing after waiting over 24 hours for medical attention. The incident has prompted a review of the whole ward and the hospital has settled out of court after the the suit accused the hosptial of “keeping psychiatric patients in filthy conditions, systematically neglecting them and drugging them into submission.”

With so few long-term care options available to patients, it’s discouraging to see how one hospital manages the mentally ill. However, the furor aroused nationally makes one hope that this death may be able to prompt beneficial changes in psychiatric wards across the country.

Growing Up Bipolar

Newsweek has an article about a 10-year-old named Max who first tried to commit suicide when he was 7. The article is a balanced look into the life of a child diagnosed early who has already battled his way through 38 medications and seems to have had every label in the book pinned to him. What becomes clear is how little we know about the disease, its manifestations, and even the modes of treatment among drugs that do work. All that is readily apparent is that a bipolar brain is miswired. While the disease is diagnosable, no two people seem to experience it in the same way, making a panoply of drugs necessary before the right cocktail is hit upon.

For those diagnosed in early adulthood, the journey is often easier as there is a sense of “when I was normal” to compare the feelings of mania and depression to. For kids like Max, however, stasis is something to strive for but difficult to achieve because they have never known it.

Closer to Home.

Drastic cuts in the California budget mean that county mental health services could be crippled by next year. Given that many of the mentally ill already live in impoverished conditions despite the wealth of this county, this blow could put even more out on the streets, widening the gap between rich and poor, sane and not.

The writer of this article in the Santa Barbara Independent reflects not only on what the cuts will do to the kinds of services he’s received, but on the inspiration of for The Special Olympics, Rosmary Kennedy, JKF’s sister who received a lobotomy as treatment for her mental illness. Where are we headed now?

The Soloist by Steve Lopez

The L.A. Times columnist writes a book based on his columns about his intervention with a mentally ill and musically talented homeless man:

And that would have been that, except the response to that first column outstripped anything Lopez had ever written. Offers flooded in from people who wanted to donate cellos and violins to the homeless musician. Lopez was roped into being a conduit for the donations, then into finding a place where Ayers could keep them, then into trying to find a place where Ayers could stay and possibly receive treatment.

Mad Pride

I had stumbled across one of the organizations mentioned in this article and was reluctant to embrace the term Mad Pride, because the organization itself was anti-medication. I’m not claiming that I’m not conflicted on about the way medication is used to treat mental illness, nor about the lack of frank discussions of side effects. However, I’m wary of embracing illnesses of the mind and proclaiming that mental disorders are simply another sign of genius. However, this statement from a New York Times article sums up my fears eloquently, and the rest of the piece does a nice job laying out a lot of what’s going on in the whole community:
While psychiatrists generally support the mad pride movement’s desire to speak openly, some have cautioned that a “pro choice” attitude toward medicine can have dire consequences.

A Link Between Pollen and Depression?

A study at pub med seems to confirm that allergens and depression exist in tandem. However, the sample size is so small, that this study clearly needs to be repeated with a larger population and the allergen needs to be expanded from tree pollen. A good start, though.

Yolanda’s Law

A Massachusetts teen who lobbied for better mental health care for young people ended up succumbing to her disease. However, it may be a watershed moment for addressing and helping children with mental illness.