When Daily Tar Heel City Editor Kellie Dixon ventured to the forensic ("criminally insane") ward at Dorothea Dix Hospital to interview Wendell Williamson ("Speaking From the Inside"), she went a long way toward helping our community understand the Henderson Street tragedy and how this kind of violence can be prevented through appropriate medical treatment.
"Speaking From the Inside" showed us how Wendell is coming to terms with his past -- by finding ways to share his story in the hope that it might help others avoid a similar fate.
The Henderson Street shooting did not have to happen, but there are many barriers that inhibit people with mental illnesses from receiving the treatment that can help them. The Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health (2000) states that about half of all people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are not receiving treatment. According to the Treatment Advocacy Center (http://www.psychlaws.org) anosognosia, or lack of awareness of one's illness, is the main reason people with these disorders do not seek help. This is not a character flaw but a symptom of these highly insidious illnesses. Brain disorders inhibit people's reasoning and judgment, making it difficult or impossible for them to make rational, informed decisions about the need for treatment.
Another major obstacle is the lack of affordable mental health care. North Carolina is one of 16 states without a mental health parity law that would require private insurance providers to offer coverage for mental health treatment. People with disorders of the brain do not receive the same coverage as people with disorders of the heart, lungs or kidneys. Until the N.C. General Assembly passes mental health parity legislation, people with brain disorders will continue to be victims of discriminatory coverage.
For those who can get treatment, there are more options now than ever before. Long-term institutionalization is, for most, a relic of a past era -- but medication alone is not enough to treat brain disorders. Ongoing supportive therapies are important to help people retain control of their lives. And the love and understanding of friends and family members is also essential for anyone going through the trauma of altered brain chemistry, with the emotional swings, hallucinations and distorted reasoning that can accompany these disorders.
Ms. Dixon's article, like the film "A Beautiful Mind," helps us to empathize with people who suffer from mental illnesses -- and compassion can go a long way toward ending the shame and stigma that have been associated with mental illness for so long.
Proceeds from the sale of Wendell's book Nightmare: A Schizophrenia Narrative (http://www.mhcn.org) will benefit the Kevin Reichardt Foundation (http://www.reichardtlacrosse.org).
Amy Suzanne Martin
Durham
