A dialogue between David Geiger, MEE, PE (ret.) and Kendra Dixon (Moderator)
Mental Health Month | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness
Hi, Kendra.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. The link above (a little quirky) will bring you to a website that will provide some information.
In the context of our reading in this club, you may remember that Hubert Bird in All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle had a son David (no, not me!) who suffered from mental illness. He lived in the streets and received no help. The reason why he received no help is because the law at the time said that the person suffering must ask for help. And because the patient did not see himself as sick, he did not ask for help and so, got worse. This is called anosognosia. It happened in my case. It happens in America. It happens around the world. The laws have begun to change as a result of our efforts. They began in Louisiana just a few months ago where the law now says that if the person shows mental deterioration the person can be taken off the street for treatment. To go a step farther, there was a ZOOM conference with the FDA back on Nov. 2, 2022 regarding medication development for those with serious mental illness (SMI). They have no information. I was a panelist at that conference, and I told my story of the symptoms of schizophrenia. It is a step in the right direction.
Stay well.
Hi David,
Thank you for sharing this with me. Might you consider posting this in the forum for other book club members? It’s so important to have first-hand knowledge to share with others; it’s how we all learn and grow, and mental health awareness is an invaluable topic for people to learn more about. Thank you for considering!
Take care,
Kendra