The NH GOP Senator's method of dealing with the Mentally Ill

One rather disturbing article published March 11 2011 explains the New Hampshire Senator Matin Harty's (R) way of dealing with mental health budgets.

Sharon Omand, a community health care center manager and resident of Stafford NH, called state senator Martin Harty to request more funding for community mental health programs and for the homeless. Harty's rather unsettling response to Omand's request is that the "world is too populated" and that there are "too many defective people." According to Harty, the 'real' way to deal with the defective/mentally ill people is to ship them off to Siberia. The one thing Hitler did right. Harty himself confirmed to making these comments to Omand ( http://thinkprogress.org/2011/03/11/gop-senator-siberia/).

Omand says Harty then stated, “I wish we had a Siberia so we could ship them all off to freeze to death and die and clean up the population.” Omand said Harty appeared to be serious. After Omand responded that his idea sounded like what Adolf Hitler did in World War II, Omand said Harty responded, “Hitler did something right, and I agree with (it).”

and later clarifies:

"I mean all the defective people, the drug addicts, mentally ill, the retarded — all of them,” the elderly lawmaker said when asked to specify what kind of people he was talking about.

(http://dailycaller.com/2011/03/15/eugenics-advocating-new-hampshire-lawmaker-resigns/#ixzz1HB9HnGE1)

Also according to Harty:

nature has a way of “getting rid of stupid people” and it’s a shame “we’re saving everyone who gets born.”

(http://dailycaller.com/2011/03/15/eugenics-advocating-new-hampshire-lawmaker-resigns/#ixzz1HB9kOfvt

While sending the mentally ill way to Siberia and agreeing with Hitler in matters of human welfare are disturbing on their own, it becomes more unsettling when looking at history and seeing this was also Joseph Stalin's method to dealing with the mentall ill along with other groups he despised. Stalin sent countless Polsih, chechens, dissidents, and other groups to Siberia to work in the bitter cold at camps. Millions have lost their lives because of it.

Republican State House Speaker William O'Brien comes to Harty's defense by saying: "at Harty's age (90 years old) he has earned the right to say what he thinks but he needs to appreciate that as a represenative, he will be held at a higher standard."  Harty apparently also served under General Patton and fought for his country in WW II against the dictators he would eventually agree with on taking care of such problems. (http://dailycaller.com/2011/03/15/eugenics-advocating-new-hampshire-lawmaker-resigns/)

Regardless of his age and sevices to our country Harty's comment was the type of alientation many mentally ill fear or are already being plagued by. And perhaps if he insulted another group, such as making a racist or sexist comment, there would be less excuses for him and much more coverage. His other presumed ideals like "it's a shame we're saving everyone who gets born" shows his lack of compassion and plenty of callousness regarding human life. Harty isn't alone with his ideals and the fact he was a person in such power as well leads to many to worry where else these people with these ideals can also be.

Not surprisingly Harty resigned only a couple of days later apologizing for his comments. (http://dailycaller.com/2011/03/15/eugenics-advocating-new-hampshire-lawmaker-resigns/)

Is Charlie Sheen really Bipolar?

Since the beginning of March, actor and star of the now canned sitcom Two and a Half Men Charlie Sheen has been going through a bit of a breakdown...which the media has been capturing every second of it.

Many have seem to beleive that the reason for Sheen's behavior is Bipolar Disorder which Sheen's action matches the symptoms to. Bipolar Disorder is characterized by dramatic and often violent mood swings between great joy and depression. In the manic state of depression the person will feel like they have boundless energy and with it suffer chronic insomnia, engage in wild spending, sex, and/or drug use and also suffer delusions of granadeur or paranoia.

Sheen has shown these characteristics fitting Bipolar Disorder and has also been analyzed by psychiatrists, but has also freely admitted to taking sheer amounts of crack and cocaine which can lead to bipolar symptoms.

"Cocaine produces a heightened state of what looks like mania -- a hyper-manic state -- and it also produces a crash," explains Fischoff, a senior editor at the Journal of Media Psychology (http://www.popeater.com/2011/03/02/is-charlie-sheen-bipolar-experts/).

Sheen also doesn't admit to being bipolar himself and takes a shot at mental illness:

"Wow! What does that mean?" he says. "Wow. And then what? What's the cure? Medicine? Make me like them? Not gonna happen. I'm bi-winning. I win here, and I win there. Now what? If I'm bipolar, aren't there moments where a guy, like, crashes, like, in the corner, like, 'Oh my God, it's all my mom's fault'? Shut up. Shut up! Stop! Move forward."
-Charlie Sheen (http://www.popeater.com/2011/03/02/is-charlie-sheen-bipolar-experts/)

There's another interesting article on The Philly Post by a Liz Spikol (http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2011/03/08/so-charlie-sheens-bipolar-eh/)
Judging by her article it seems Spikol herself is bipolar and is less than thrilled at Charlie Sheen making a bad name for those with bipolar disorder. In Spikol's reasoning:

"the media—from England to Edmonton—went with the theory of mental illness: How could he be such an arrogant, egomaniac otherwise?"

Spikol goes on to point out none of Sheen's ex-wives or girlfriends have mentioned mental illness before and explaines how damaging it is using bipolar or any mental illness to use as an automatic explanation for behavior like Sheen's is damaging to the illness and those who actually do suffer from it; again as mentioned before the stigma the mentally ill endure in real life.

In another interesting article, which isn't so much about mental illness stigma, but how society views gender roles is "Comic Masculinity: The Three Faces of Charlie Sheen" by Sady Doyle on GlobalComment.com(http://globalcomment.com/2011/comic-masculinity-charlie-shee/)

In this article Doyle details the different sides of Sheen's behavior as seen by the media from being a comedian, a tragedy, and lastly a misogynist. The Misogynist Sheen has apparently been around before the 'Bipolar Breakdown' with cries of domestic abuse during Two and a Half Men; It also seems Sheen was punished more for bad mouthing Chuck Lorre the show's creator than when Sheen shot his ex-fiances Kelly Preston. Along with Preston there are numerous starlets and sex-workers Sheen has also terrorized with his star power backing him up.

Doyle concludes her article with comparing and contrasting Sheen's celebrity meltdown with those of Brittney Spears and Lindsey Lohan, which can be summed up in this paragraph:

"But it’s Sheen the misogynist who holds the key to the puzzle. Holmes points out that self-destructive celebrities are nothing new; it’s just that they’re normally treated differently. “Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears are endlessly derided for their extracurricular meltdowns and lack of professionalism,” she writes. It’s true: Shaming is normally a major part of the sport of celebrity crash-gawking. All Miley Cyrus had to do was take an (apparently legal) bong hit and hold onto a pole during a musical performance, and we regularly treat her as if she’d released several dozen sex tapes filmed atop a pile of crack rocks. Sheen, by contrast, has displayed far more troubling behavior, and become a hero. This actually makes sense: Lohan and Spears are breaking all the rules of femininity. But as Sheen has gotten more out of control, his behavior has become more stereotypically masculine."

Historical Figures with Mental Illness

Not too long ago there was a discussion on this Blog on stigmatizing stereotypes that plague the mentally ill.

However, what may be to many's surprise is that many famous and respected people were believed to suffer from mental illnesses according to he National Alliance on Mental Illness NAMI

Abraham Lincoln: Sixteenth President of USA. Suffered from severe depression which lead to thoughts of suicide as documented by Carl Sandburg in numerous biographies.

Virginia Woolf: British Novelist, written works such as To The Lighthouse and Orlando. Experienced Bipolar moodswings which lead to periods of writing and gloom. Anthony Storr's The Dynamics of Creation documents Woolf's story of bipolar disorder.

Eugene O'Neil: Playwright, written plays Long Days Journey into Night and Ah, Wilderness!. Suffered from depression. Eugene O'Neil by Olivia E. Coolidge documents his experiences.

Ludwig Van Beethoven: Composer. Suffered from Bipolar disorder. Bipolar experiences are documented in The Key to Genius: Manic Depression and the Creative Life by D. Jablow Hershman and Julian Lieb.

Gaetano Donizetti: Opera Singer. Suffered from Bipolar Disorder. Experiences are documented in Donizetti and the World Opera in Italy, Paris and Vienna in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century by Herbert Weinstock.

Robert Schumann: "Inspired poet of human suffering". Bipolar disorder. Discussed in The Dynamics of Creation by Anthony Storr.

Leo Tolstoy: Author of War and Peace. Tolstoy wrote of his mental illness in the memoir Confession. His experience is discussed in The Dynamics of Creation by Anthony Storr and The Inner World of Mental Illness: A Series of First Person Accounts of What It Was Like by Bert Kaplan.

Vaslov Nijinsky: Dancer. Suffered schizophrenis. Documented in his autobiography The Diary of Vaslov Nijinsky.

John Keats: Poet. Mental illness experiences are documented in The Dynamics of Creation by Anthony Storr and The Broken Brain: The Biological Revolution in Psychiatry by Nancy Andreasen, MD.

Tennessee Williams: Playwright. Clinical depression. Documented in his Memoirs and Five O'Clock Angel: Letters of Tennessee Williams to Maria St. Just, 1948-1982; The Kindness of Strangers: The Life of Tennessee Williams by Donald Spoto, and Tennessee: Cry of the Heart by Dotson.

Vincent Van Gogh: Artist. Bipolar disorder. Discussed in his autobiography The Autobiography of Vincent Van Gogh and The Key to Genius: Manic Depression and the Creative Life by D. Jablow Hershman and Julian Lieb and Dear Theo.

Isaac Newton: Scientist. Mental illness is discussed in The Dynamics of Creation by Anthony Storr and The Key to Genius: Manic Depression and the Creative Life by D. Jablow Hershman and Julian Lieb.

Ernest Hemingway: Novelist and Pulitzer Prize winner. Suicidal depression. Discussed in True Gen: An Intimate Portrait of Ernest Hemingway by Those Who Knew Him by Denis Brian.

Sylvia Plath: Poet and Novelist. Suffered clinical depression and commited suicide. Discussed in A Closer Look at Ariel: A Memory of Sylvia Plath by Nancy Hunter-Steiner.

Michelangelo: Artist. Mental illness is discussed in  The Dynamics of Creation by Anthony Storr.

Winston Churchill: British Politician and Statesman. Bipolar Disorder. Discussed in Churchill's Black Dog, Kafka's Mice, and Other Phenomena of the Human Mind by Anthony Storr.

Vivien Leigh: Actress, star of  Gone with the Wind. Suffered from mental illness. Documented in Vivien Leigh: A Biography by Ann Edwards.

Jimmy Piersall: Baseball player for the Boston Red Sox. Bipolar disorder. Documented his experience in The Truth Hurts.

Patty Duke: Actress. Bipolar Disorder. Documented her experience in her autobiography and made-for-TV movie Call Me Anna and A Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic-Depressive Illness, co-authored by Gloria Hochman.

Charles Dickens: Author. Clinical depression. Experiences documented in The Key to Genius: Manic Depression and the Creative Life by D. Jablow Hershman and Julian Lieb, and Charles Dickens: His Tragedy and Triumph by Edgar Johnson.

Trivia from Snake Pits, Talking Cures, & Magic Bullets: A History of Mental Illness by Deborah Kent

• In 1997 the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimated that American taxpayers and consumers spend approximately $200 billion a year on drugs, therapies, and hospital stays to treat mental disorders.
• Even though both mental retardation and mental illness affect the mind they are both very different. Mental illness involves disordered thought process and uncontrollable emotions while mental retardation is a low intelligence. It is possible for someone to suffer from both mental illness and retardation, however a mentally ill person can have an average, below average, or even an extremely high intelligence while a person with mentally retardation can be perfectly mentally healthy and have a fulfilling life.
• What both have in common is that they both have a history of being abused, shunned, and made the object of ridicule in many societies.
• Ancient Sanskrit records show that Hindu physicians in India established shelters, or asylums, for mentally ill persons in about 1400 B.C. According to the physicians their mentally ill patients should be treated with kindness and understanding.
• During the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, one thing asylum directors did to being in extra money was putting their charges on display akin to a freak show. In 1815, the British House of Commons revealed that curious visitors were admitted to view the inmates at Bedlam for a penny each Sunday.
• In ancient times, people have believed that madness is triggered by the phases of the Moon. In fact, the term “lunacy” comes from the same root as the word “lunar.”
• Mental illness was often seen as demonic possessions to many ancient cultures.

What it means to be mentally ill in the media

"Since so many Americans obtain their view of the world through movies, television, and the news media, however, the perpetuation of this and other exaggerated stereotypes of mentally ill people reinforces culturewide stigmatization" - Aaron Levin, "Violence and Mentall Illness: Media Keeps Myths Alive" (A Psychiatryonline.org Article)

As covered before the mentally ill's portrayl in media is often inaccurate and damaging, thus leading to the group to be stigmatized. Of course it is not just the News over publicizing certain crimes, but in the public's many forms of entertainment.

There is an informative article on pn.psychiatryonline.org called "Violence and Mental Illness: Media Keep Myths Alive" by Aaron Levin (http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/content/36/9/10.full)

I nthe article, Levin interviews Otto Wahl, Ph.D who is a professor of psychology at George Mason University  in Virginia. According to Wahl, mental illness is actually a poor indicator for violence ranking after othe factors such as: youth, male, history of violence, or poverty. With the exceptions of those with substance abuse issues, people with mental illnesses violent acts just as much as those without any disorder. Also, 80 to 90 percent of menatlly ill people never commit a crime.

So why do some people think of crazed axe murders wearing hockey masks when this subject is mentioned? Of course, the media.

News satations have been shown to have a bias against the mentally ill today and in the past. Most of the news consists of stories about crimes being commited and crimes where the perpetrator is menatlly ill are usually the lead story, on the front page, and even have the most coverege on the case, trial, and sentencing.

Along with news coverage there are the problems with the entertainment media as well. According to Levin:

"In popular fiction, “mental cases” commit violent crimes. On TV, they are violent and murderous—both in drama and comedy shows. Slasher movies give birth to multiple sequels. Batman’s foes, the Joker and the Penguin, are “insane.” Even children’s literature is rife with mentally ill villains. In the Harry Potter books, one character is termed “mad” and hence “a danger to anyone who crosses him.”

The such movies like the Halloween franchise no doubt helped fuel the fear towards mentally ill. In various TV shows if someone is mentally ill besides or instead of being a danger, they will sometimes be seen as sources of comedic reliefs. And along with being one of the most iconic and oldest of superheroes, Batman's adversaries tend to be the most iconic and oldest of supervillians, who happen to be mostly insane or diturbed in one way (The Joker much, much ,much more than The Penguin).

Besides ignorance, there are also profits that keep these stereotypes alive in people's minds. Producers admit to wanting action and violence because these genres are cheap to produce and don't require any translation in an export market. Also, there usually isn't much time in some TV shows to develop a character, so mental illness then becomes a convienent steretype and plot device for a story.

Media stigmatization has broader political significance. When public debates arise over issues like involuntary commitment or legal definitions that equal mental illness with criminal behavior.

Of course, the mentally ill are aware of these stereotypes and the problems they make for them. With the stigmatization, isolation and anger there is also the fear of getting help because of these reactions and/or keeping their conditions secret from others.

However, there is hope as there have been more and more media with better portrayls those with mental illness. Such as Ron Howard's film about Nobel Prize winning Mathematician John Nash who also had schizophrenia and  "The Caveman's Valentine" starring Samuel L. Jackson.

Blog Introduction

One group of people that for has gone through years of stigmatization is a group that contains people of any sex, ethnicity, and culture: The mentally ill.

When first hearing these two words or synonyms of it many people will think of a violent murderer, a hobo who talks to him/herself, perhaps even a “retarded” person, or someone whose “just plain crazy.”

Mental illnesses in general are diverse and complex, and also controversial. Part of the controversy deals with misconceptions and myths surrounding these illnesses which are often fueled by the media, be it the News or Hollywood. The latest tragedy, the Tucson shooting that left six dead, sparked attention towards Mental Health and Treatment due to the shooter having “erratic behavior” in the past. Even though the shooter Jared Loughner wasn’t diagnosed, experts agree this is a “teachable moment” and educate people on intervention for mental illness crisis.

In spite of how often many news reports emphasize a mental illness in the murderer and how dangerous they are/were, the mentally ill are just as likely to commit acts of violence as a person without a mental illness. According to Kyla King’s article that besides the mentally ill being no more violent than others; they are in fact eleven times more likely to be victims of a violent crime (http://www.mlive.com/health/index.ssf/2011/01/experts_say_public_stigma_igno.html)

Needless to say, Hollywood and other businesses haven’t help in a realistic portrayal of the mentally ill; the most common and damaging would be a psychotic killer, whose disorder could be anything bipolar disorder to Schizophrenia. The importance of this blog will be discussing common issues and generalizations the Mentally ill face and how the non-mentally ill perceive them.