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Health & Fitness

The Way I See It--Mental Illness and the Legal system

Schizophrenia affects about two per cent of the population, but disrupts widely. Organizations designed to help often fail. Cobb courts and politicians only punish.

  Schizophrenia is a mental illness that affects about two percent of the population, but the severe problems involved spread out from the individual to the family, the neighborhood and the entire community.  It often involves police and courts.

  My views are from personal experiences beginning about two years ago when a family member changed from outgoing and happy to depressed with mood swings and disturbing behavior.  The combination of schizophrenia and bipolar is a mental illness that is difficult to treat, according to doctors, but can be treated with medication and education to provide a healthy life.  A feeling of isolation often is one of the first feelings of a family when mental illness is the diagnosis.  There are self help groups which vary in success, but members of this family reported finding little help from Cobb County groups.  They did receive some recommendations from a statewide office on people and organizations to contact.

  The isolation comes from misconceptions about mental illness, how the public views it often with misunderstanding and fear.  Many people do not want to be involved because of fear and lack of knowledge about mental illness.  Ignoring it does not make it less of problem.

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Conflicts develop for services needed when insurance is available, but does not provide long term treatment needed with mental illness.  Social services reject treatment for people with insurance even if the needed treatment is not covered by insurance. 

  When a patient is involved in multiple hospital treatments due to hallucinations, suicide attempts, and other problems related to the disease, the police along with the ambulance service are frequently involved.  These problems often include violence during hallucinations or delusions.  That is a major change with someone who was never violent before becoming ill.

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  In Austell, the police claim to try to help.  In this case they caused problems.

  The police were called in during a violent confrontation during one of the episodes of hallucinations and delusions.  When urged to take the individuals to the hospital, they eventually did that.

  However, instead of making certain that a patient who has been in a delusional episode sees medical people, police leave the patient unattended at the hospital.  He walks away only to get into trouble later still suffering hallucinations or delusions.

  When the police and courts are involved, this family expected they would find help for someone severely ill.  When confronted, police officers only said they tried to help.  A family who deals with these problems cannot understand why law enforcement officers are either unwilling, untrained, or unconcerned about these people.

  A revolving door appears to be a prevailing concept.  Repeated involvement with hospitals and treatment, repeated involvement with social services or attempts at it and repeated involvement with the police and legal system all leave the mentally ill people no better in the long term.

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