Mental Illness:
More Common Than We Think

Nancy Abraham

March 6, 2010

“A living nightmare,” “a living tragedy,” “a knowledge that one’s world will never again be the same,” may be among the more common phrases routinely used by families to describe the complex of brain disorders we call the serious and persistent mental illnesses. What does a family do when it finds itself in the middle of acute or persistent schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, clinical depression, or any other serious mental illness?

            In our family’s case, we entered the “world of mental illness” when my son Dylan was diagnosed in May 1974 – soon to be 36 years ago. We thought we were alone. We did not know that one out of every four or five families will experience mental illness.

            Since then we have struggled with, survived through many traumas, and overcome many challenges, not unlike thousands of other families and individuals in Dane County. Not unlike millions of others in the United States.

            Why did it take until the late 1970’s for families and persons with mental illness to begin to organize and find a voice? Some of the reasons included:

            In the early spring of 1977, I was approached by a colleague who knew two mothers, Harriet Shetler and Beverly Young, who had the idea to form an organization for families. Twelve of us, ten family members and friends, along with two persons with a mental illness met and formed the Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Dane County. What audacity and courage to announce and use the words mental illness. The purposes of the organization were and are to advocate for community treatment and services; to educate ourselves and others about mental illness; and to provide support for families and persons with mental illness.
            Improvements include thousands across the nation completing the 12-week Family-to-Family course. Research shows that persons with mental illness tend to have better outcomes when their families have a better grasp of their family member’s experiences. Programs are now in place for peer-to-peer education and support of persons with mental illness.

            Medications are improving. Knowledge is available about evidence-based practices and best practices for treatment and support of consumers. There is increased support for research into causes of the brain disorders of serious and persistent mental illnesses; and, we know more about the brain as a result of ongoing research. More institutions of higher education are providing supported education and accommodations. Transitional employment and job coaching continue. More persons with mental illness are achieving condo or home ownership. And, an increasing number of NAMI’s are sponsoring walks to heighten community awareness of mental illness.

            Today waiting lists for treatment and care are growing; no wage and salary increases in our local Human Services budget have already resulted in some staff cuts, program cuts, and physical relocation of some agency services offices. Federal mental health care parity for persons with mental illness passed Congress in 2009. Already, a city in western Wisconsin and a large Wisconsin grocer have indicated they will not provide mental health coverage for their employees and families. At this time, the Wisconsin legislature is still working on a state parity bill. Military are returning to their families in untold thousands with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), requiring treatment and understanding.

            Persons with mental illness and in particular with schizophrenia, die 25 years earlier than the average, dying at age 52. More and more persons with mental illness are in jails and prisons in the U.S. Here in Dane County 8 percent in the jail have a serious and persistent mental illness. In the state prisons roughly 31 percent have a mental illness. Thirty percent of the homeless have mental illness. Wisconsin’s suicide rate exceeds that of neighboring states, and is higher than the national rate.

            In 2009 National NAMI graded the states on delivery of mental health services. The nation as a whole received a grade of D. Wisconsin’s grade dropped from a B in 2006 to a C in 2009.

The challenge remains. How do we do what is right? How do we fully utilize the knowledge we have? How do we as a society truly recognize this major organ of the body – the brain? When will we treat persons with the brain disorders of mental illness in a consistent, equitable, and humane manner?