Comments - Latest Popular Stories, Instablogs Community by Cavale

Celso Camargo

Celso Camargo — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Increasingly I think Hannibal Lecter was right in saying that psychology is not a science. It is a business, and very profitable. It’s a shame that the profit comes from what many unfortunate society classified as ”madness”.

There is nobody who can be considered normal, we are all crazy. Of course there are variations, because everyone is different and our individuality is our personal identity, non.

Meanwhile, all the time there is someone forcing us not to accept us the way we are. According to ”them”, we should be always looking for something more all the time. Durkheim called this anomy. I call this market.

PS: On a scale of 0 to 10 I believe a crazy level 8 and the absolute majority of people I know even aware of how much are mad. Denial is something very powerful ...

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Celso thanks for commenting man.. I’m glad you feel that way too. Modern psychology is nothing but a business, a very unethical business at that. The fact that human emotions are used to generate money and the ones that pay money don’t get the results they want, make psychology a very unethical career choice. Though many psychologists try and help, they can’t. Because psychotherapy is so ineffective it has actually proven to further deteriorate the condition of the patients in certain cases.. This could also be due to the inefficiency of the shrinks and psychologists themselves.

The state of isolation and anxiety which from a lack of social control and regulation cannot be blamed on mental illness but the society that encourages mental illness. The reason most people become mentally ill is because of their families and the society. Biology plays a role, but it is aggravated by the society. I hold the society responsible for the misery of the mentally ill.

The normal people I know are crazier than the ones I met in the asylum. A normal person wouldn’t be able to smile a goodbye after being imprisoned in that hell. The normal people and the psychologists can continue to think they are normal and be in an eternal state of denial. While the mad ones rot in the institutions. Come to think of it, the societies we live in are just as bad as a mental institution.

Celso Camargo

Celso Camargo — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Did you eat Foucault at the dinner, my friend? I couldn’t agree more with you!

And the worse part is that the psychologists can smell the ch*** in front of them, however, they don’t give a damn about it.

And you are right, we live in prisions, one inside other. Freedom is a dream, but, if we know that, we can find a window e try to imagine something better for ourselves.

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

which results from*

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Foucault.. Madness and Civilization, that doesn’t answer many questions either. Society is like a Matryoshka doll. You have a macrocosm of madness and you go on till you reach the microcosm of madness that is inherent in all of us. Stranger is the idea of what is mad changes every moment. And for a disease that changes so very often, institutionalization is beyond committing a crime.

Grace Calderon

Grace Calderon — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Craziness is relative. Is the insane person mad or is the situation he or she is in the one that’s maddening?

Do we have mentally ill people or is the entire world insane?

If insanity is an aberration to the normal, I say these are maddening times and the world is off-normal.

I would like to think that since times are not normal and the world is a little crazy, insane people are the ones who cannot distinguish that their situation is maddening.

Grace Calderon

Grace Calderon — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Congratulations Jaiyant for bringing in a very apt and timely article about who’s mad and who’s not, and making us think of the blurred dividing line between the two.

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

You just hit the right spot! Craziness is so relative! What is mad can differ from a person to person, culture to culture and society to society. Fundamentalism is the worst and most dangerous form of madness, is what I feel. It is akin to a delusional disorder that makes you suffer from grandiosity, paranoia, persecution complex and what not! Insanity isn’t an aberration by itself. Society paints it to be an aberration. It was as close as being an exhibitionist to reveal one’s legs in the Victorian age.. Now it is not. World isn’t a little crazy, it is frigging crazy. Most mad people also feel the world is mad and nobody understands them. Hence, not understanding and the miscommunication that happens between the mad and the normal causes the rift and the tragedy. And yes Grace, there is no line that divides the line between the mad and the normal and in fact it is not only blurred but also flexible. One can go from a point of extreme madness to extreme normalcy and everywhere in between.

Celso Camargo

Celso Camargo — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Grace, back from Texas! I loved your euphemism (the world is a little crazy)! LOL!

Grace Calderon

Grace Calderon — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Texas? Is that where the deer and the antelope play?

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

No that is where Bush has his ranch.

Radhika

Radhika — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

you know when i was a kid, we used to often joke amongst us cousins that if any one behaved badly we would send him to NIMHANS and they would give us a big basket of fruit for bringing in a mad fellow...

your article makes me realize how foolish we were when we played such games...

reality is so different and stark.

my hear goes out to those who have suffered at the hands of the so called normal ppl.

strange is this society where cruel normal ppl are set free and simple mad ppl locked up!

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

radhika, I know where you are coming from.. I have participated in the same joke too.. you forgot about the blanket part I guess. Sometimes I can’t but gasp in disbelief at the insensitivity we all are capable of. Cruel normal people and simple mad people.. You said it all friend.. Thanks.. I appreciate your response and the kind words

Grace Calderon

Grace Calderon — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

I think, if there are various forms and levels of insanity, there are as many forms and levels of dealing with it.

I believe the the most oppressing situation and also the most maddening is not when one doesn’t have the freedom to get out of a maddening situation, but when one cannot even recognize that his state of being is insane.

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

’when one cannot even recognize that his state of being is insane’

I associate that with religious fundamentalism.

Grace Calderon

Grace Calderon — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Uh-oh... LOL

Celso Camargo

Celso Camargo — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

U2 are so mean, but so realistic!

Grace Calderon

Grace Calderon — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

U2? I love Bono!

Celso Camargo

Celso Camargo — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Be careful, otherwise Marilyn Manson is gonna get you!

Grace Calderon

Grace Calderon — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

LOL

It’s so nice to be in the company of a sociopath like you!

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Sociopaths are always fun. And yeah, Grace, Bono is cool.. I like ’stuck in a moment’.. It is kind of similar to the situation a mentally ill person goes through.. He/she gets stuck in a moment and can’t get out.. And the word ’insane’ is so wrong! There are so many different levels of illnesses and we can’t forget the number of types..

Madhuri Katti

Madhuri Katti — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Jaiyant,

Congratulations for coming up with this post...

Psychology I feel even now is like blind men defining an elephant. They do trial and error and treat the symptoms with set of drugs. But very rarely they go for more holistic approach involving family of the patient more proactively. Triggers of insanity bout most often lies within family, be it genetic or

abuse or anything else.

It is sad to see some very sensitive souls confined just because they react differently and are not ’smart’ kind in this world.

Recently I was shocked to know of one of my son’s classmate, a seven year old girl, was taken by parents to Ranchi for psychological treatment just because she was attention deficient in class. She is on mild drugs. I feel parents and family members are deficient sometimes and they don’t realise that sitting down and spending time with their children can help nip some of the psychological woes in budding stage itself.

Grace Calderon

Grace Calderon — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

You are so correct there, Madkat. The root of mental illness is societal and cultural. We would do well to cure an insane society alongside poking into the brains of the mentally ill.

Grace Calderon

Grace Calderon — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Society already has too much psychological baggage and psychiatric trash brought about by politics and religion.

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

It really is all about blind men describing an elephant! I’m glad you brought that up. The trial and error experiments are conducted by psychologists and when everything fails they resort to talk therapy. The psychiatrists provide the patient with toxic psychotropic medicines. Most of these medicines have terrible side effects. The holistic approach that you are talking about already exists.. They are called psychologists who are ’eclectic’. They take in theories from all the major schools of psychology that is psychoanalytic, behavioral, biological, existential and humanistic and try to personalize the treatment for the client. However it poses a huge dilemma for the psychologists and he/she can’t really be exactly efficient. The different schools that I mentioned just now have so many inadequacies that psychology students wonder why they ever chose to study the subject at all! Earlier it was the lack of attention and ignoring the mental illness until it became dangerous, but now it is the opposite. Children being taken to psychologists for petty reasons can do a lot of damage to their self esteem. And you are right, a healthy family and a happy childhood is the key to mental health. Like Grace says, socio-cultural factors must be studied before treating any mental illness. And we have the religion trash and the political trash.

Deepa

Deepa — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Madhuri, I too agree with you that more than the patient, its the family that needs to help. Cause only its with the support of near and dear ones thatthe so-called insane patient can be effectively treated. Not with medicines but with love, support and understanding.

Leena

Leena — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

The mentally ill are indeed treated in an unfair manner at institutions. It is due to the very biased and cruel behavior of society to some of our disadvantaged brothers and sisters that these people become mentally ill in the first place. Institutionalization is done to segregate these people from the mainstream, and keeping them there beyond the necessary time period will only aggravate their problem due to social isolation. They should be let out into the world and allowed to enjoy their rights if they are not being harmful. Staying with normal people will help them in recovering better.

But there is another side to this also. A mentally ill person needs an environment of unconditional positive regard to recover. Can our society that is so biased and cruel to them, give them that? Will he or she be able to earn for his livelihood? The institutions at least ensure that.

Jayashree

Jayashree — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Leena, ’unconditional positive regard’ may just be a myth. We, as humans, seem incapable of it. Even a mother loves her child conditionally.

I think about people that I would love even if they stabbed me in the back and chnaged colours faster than a chameleon. But it was because of certain conditions that I first loved them, right? Or wrong?

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Thanks Leena for dropping by.. You always offer intelligent comments. A cruel and biased society is the root cause for all mental illnesses. When a person doesn’t find the peace and security and doesn’t feel accepted, the resulting alienation forces him/her to behave in a different way to cope with the estrangement and disaffection.

Institutionalization is not only done to segregate but also to make money. Not everyone can afford to live in these prisons Leena, they end up on the streets and resort to begging and wandering around the streets.. Look at the irony, You either get institutionalized or you end up on the streets. Lucky are the ones that have a caring family to support them during their times of crisis.

During times of crisis, a person must be allowed to seek medical help but not imprisonment, he/she must be loved but not ignored, he/she must be active in life (hobbies, education, vocational training.. An idle mind is a devil’s workshop) and not locked up in an asylum or in the confines of a room in a house where all he/she can do is brood over and hate himself/herself.

The shocking part is, most of the mentally ill are aware of their mental condition and are already worried and desperate to come out of the situation themselves..

I’m glad you brought the Unconditional Positive Regard part. It won’t happen Leena. As Jayshree says, even a mother can’t provide that Unconditional Positive Regard and how can the therapists or the society? Unconditional removes the ’money’ part of it but mental health care is all about money.

Gagandeep

Gagandeep — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

A very valid post. Indeed the aberration, if so it is, makes everyone a little crazy. After all, whose standards define ’normal’?

Anyhow you all seem to take a more humane view of things, keeping practicality aside. I’m the least qualified person to comment on the what nots of the mental condition of people and would easily take Jaiyant at his words. I cannot for a moment doubt that there are institutions that are in pathetic state and where relations are dumped for being in need of help.

But here’s the question: What ought to be done? Do people have as much time on their hands as to take care of these ’insane’? Can they really be expected to fend for themselves in the ’normal’ world? Can they sustain themselves? If not, I’d say at least they are alive inside.

Jayashree

Jayashree — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Gagandeep, most of the inmates as they are described in this post do not need to be institutionalised. Mild mental retardation does not justify being locked away with people who are seriously mentally ill and can profoundly unhinge your mental status. Hanging around with someone who is extremely disturbed is a far worse state than being admitted in a special school. And that is what is happening today.

People tend to dump (Jaiyant used the perfect word) individuals at mental asylums not just because they become difficult to handle but because of the negative status given to someone who does not fall under the definiton of ’normal’. Parents don’t want their neighbours to know they have a ’crazy child’, so the person is secretly huddled off to an asylum, to live their forever, saving the family name from being tainted.

You would be surprised at how well these ’insane’ people do in the ’normal’ world. They are not sent there for their own protection, rather it is done as a means of wiping away a bad dream from our memory.

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Thank you Gagan.. The guys who formulate DSM IV and ICD 10 and the American Psychological Association and the like set the standards.

http://www.apa.org/

The problem with DSM IV (Current version.. It keeps changing) and ICD 10 (both classify the various mental disorders and ’set standards’ as you put it) are so fluid in nature and volatile. What was abnormal in DSN II would be considered normal today and he/she won’t be diagnosed with a mental disorder. Homosexuality was considered a disorder in the DSM II but in DSM IV, where it is considered normal and natural behaviour. Just an example. There also is no such word as ’psychoses’ or ’neuroses’ anymore..

Don’t take everything I say Gagan, Just visit the APA website and also a couple of other mental health based websites.. You would know certain things. However, the other side of psychology is really ugly.

What ought to be done is psychologists and psychiatrists must make their limitations public and also they must not feel embarrassed to reveal these limitations. The patients and their families must be made aware of what the treatment is going to be like and what they could actually expect. Since the success rate is so low, they must also reveal that. And Institutionalization must be avoided until necessary and must be institutionalized only for a very short period of time. The mentally ill must be rehabilitated and provided vocational training or must be helped to find jobs and make a living.

Yes they can be expected to live in the ’normal’ world because they are just as normal as you and I are. Why is a person with heart disease considered normal and a person with schizophrenia isn’t? Because society doesn’t know how to deal with schizophrenics. And mental illness is just like physical illness. Some are temporary and some chronic. You get ill and you must be treated. Treatment must not affect and come in the way of a happy life, which is possible even during treatment. They can definitely sustain themselves, all they need is a push in the right direction.. And the direction is towards lesser drugs, shorter periods of institutionalization is any at all, love, care, employment and boosting the self confidence of that person..

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Gagan, I feel we can’t separate being humane from being practical. Being humane is to practically understand and solve the problems of fellow beings (that includes animals).. Empathy and rationality. However, there is too much of an absurdity to make sense of what we perceive as real.

Gagandeep

Gagandeep — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Points taken Jayashree and Jaiyant. You are both very right.

Still my contention remains. As morally right it seems for these people to be brought out and allowed to function in the real world, there are chances they may not actually be able to do it. (You’d say they would but then they may not.) Then is it right to risk it all? I’m rooting for deinstitutionalization, love, care, positive attitude and so on and so forth, but (and a big one at that) if you have no way to integrate them, sustain them and devote time to them then better not fidget with the kind of relative comforts (for want of a better word) that they are living in. Again they are alive, aren’t they?

Yeah I’m selfish and cynical, and incorrigible too.

Maybe a better way to start would be to have relatives visit on regular and send inmates out as often as possible. Let them assimilate, gauge the extent thereof and then possibly integrate them.

Manish

Manish — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Very good article Jaiyant. While we live our life in our ”normal” world, we are so ignorant of these parallel world’s that exist. Its only when we get a chance to see these other world that we understand how some human lives are wasted.

Mental Asylum, Old age homes, Orphanages, they all have their heart-wrenching stories that most of us are blissfully unaware of. Nice post.

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Sorry Manish, I have been typing really long comments and I took a while to reply.. Yes we are all ignorant of their suffering and it is now our responsibility to make sure they get the love and respect they have always deserved. We need to bring in legislation to make sure the rights of the mentally ill and other such disadvantaged people are safeguarded

Manish

Manish — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Jaiyant, sadly these issues are not something that can be tackled by individuals like us. At one point even I had idealistic views and wanted to see changes but I realised these things are so very complex and involves so many ”layers” that its difficult to change the system. What can be done however is make people aware of these happenings like you so very well did and give support to organizations that are doing good work. I appreciate your deep interest and knowledge in this subject. Keep the ball rolling.

Jayashree

Jayashree — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Jaiyant, how insensitive can you get? Don’t you understand that that these people need to be locked up? That one walk around the courtyard ever morning and one hour of ’recreation’ every evening is sufficient to keep any normal person mentally healthy?

The drugs, the therapy, and the constant herds of social workers and students, such as yourself, are definitely helping them. After all, any person would feel good when they are peered at and asked their symptoms, and you walk around with a notebook and jot down their symptoms for your important report that would teach you just the right ways of dealings with these undesirables the next time you are unfortunate enough to meet one. All this helps, Jaiyant, don’t you see?

I’m sure prior to your visit you must have been lectured for hours (by the same intelligent and all-knowing lecturer who proposed the idea) about the right way to interact with these abnormals. You must have been told not to whisper and not to make any sudden movements, because of course the slightest movement could set off one of the inmates and drive him to a killing frenzy. I am surprised you didn’t freeze and become catatonic yourself at the first sight of the institution. Did you follow the ethics that all psychologists preach today, and behave professionally, above all else? Some people may argue that the mentally ill should be treated humanely, not professionally, but then they don’t know anything about the noble science of psychology and treatment of the mad.

I wish they would lock up all the mad people of this world. And the names of famous people in history who were also mad should be mentioned in every psychology text book as requiring psychiatric help. I want to start with Freud. He was the maddest of them all..and someone else mentioned Foucault, they could give each other company.

And while we’re at it, let’s throw in Dumbledore, too (even though he’s dead). But then he’s gay, and that was considered mad, too.

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Sorry I posted in the wrong place.. Check below..

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Jayshree.. You are at your sarcastic best today. They don’t walk every morning but they walk all day and night, in the institution I visited. That is all I do. The library is a sad place with a couple of newspapers and that too in the local language. Most residents who know only Hindi or Englsih have a hard time. And newspaper was something that everyone wished to read there.

The tragedy is colossal. The intrusion in the form of these ’visits’ are not only a violation of their privacy but also a very demeaning one at that. Unfortunately any new face is welcome in an institution and the residents welcome you with open arms and at the end of the day you become attached to them, it is a little personal but that is how I felt. You can’t but admire their strength and hope, in all the adversities they go on living.

Once Grace said hope is the most cruel word and is the most oppressive situation. She couldn’t have put it better. The inmates’ hope is oppressive and extremely difficult to handle.

Yeah and we really were told how to behave and how not to ’excite’ the residents. I hate to say it but the entire mental health science community are responsible for not removing the bias and prejudice towards the mentally ill. In fact I can imagine how the mentally ill must find everything around them weird, surreal and dreamy, because for the the society is unreal, society was a mechanism to drive them mad and for their miserable existence in the asylums.

Dumbledore would have been put behind the bars in India, because homosexuality is considered a crime here, and that is another story.

Well it all shows how sick our societies are and I can’t help but become a sociopath myself. However, becoming a sociopath and hating the society wouldn’t make things any better. We, as bloggers can make a difference by writing and writing more, and again writing more tirelessly and valiantly. The word must get out there and people must read. Only when people read do they think, and thinking leads to questioning and giving up old thoughts and belifs. This holds true for fundamentalism as well. We gotta change the way they think. Sp we all gotta write more and more and more without wasting a second to breathe.

Ramesh Balam

Ramesh Balam — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Your article is superb. Comments are professional inputs.

Somehow, I find more mentally ill outside than inside. What do you say?

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Thank you Ramesh, I’m glad you like the comments and the article. I will write more about such social problems as and when I find time. I would love to read your articles as well. In fact many people are waiting eagerly for your article... And yes, the society is really a mad place. Don’t you just remember the madness we saw till yesterday thanks to all the fundamentalists?

Ramesh Balam

Ramesh Balam — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

I am sure you would.

If you would just click on my name, it would take you to my instablog page. I hope you will find something different or interesting. I write few and far between because I have made it a point not to write anything which has not been published earlier and that requires a little research.

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

I sure will Ramesh!

Ramesh Balam

Ramesh Balam — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Jai,

A fundamentalist, by definition, is a person whose fundamentals (or fundas, as we say it) are clear. The fundamentalist holds on to his belief. He is either simplistic or an idiot. It is easy to deal with him because any new idea makes him crazy as he is not accoustomed to it.

The next step of knowledge is the state of confusion. Here, all sorts of information is available and the person is strained to choose the right one for himself. He has to separate the wheat from the chaff. Most of the people are in this state. Some start enjoying it.

The third state of knowledge is when the confusion is over, garbage has been cleared and required inputs of information is available to facilitate in taking a decision. This situation is called expertise.

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

A fundamentalist is a deluded person. And delusion is a thought disorder where his/her thoughts are distorted and they can’t ’think right’. When they feel let down by mainstream societies the weak minded and the one’s that are filled with angst find it hard to resist the pull of religion, terrorism and militant organizations. If you observe, most Hamas and Hezbollah recruits are unemployed youths who have troubled homes and come from an existence filled with poverty. In such a case, the ideas of paradise, patriotism and honour seems irresistible and they turn into fundamentalists. Hence, fundamentalism stems from mental illness and delusional disorders. And the rest of what you said is of course, the truth.

Ramesh Balam

Ramesh Balam — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

You have explained the malaise nicely in medical terms.

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Thank you Ramesh.. The psychological education at least helped me understand what causes fundamentalism.

Deepa

Deepa — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Hey Jaiyant, this post of yours has refreshed some memories. Same is the anguish I felt when I had developed this habit to visit an orphanage run by a missionary.

I wanted to do something good for all those begging-for-love eyes. But I realized that after every visit, I was more depressed and felt uber-helpless.

Manish has rightly pointed out - Mental Asylum, Old age homes, Orphanages, they all have their heart-wrenching stories that most of us are blissfully unaware of.

Call me a coward, but I don’t think i have the courage to go to these places and come face to such brutal realities of HIS creations.

Ramesh Balam

Ramesh Balam — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

I suggest you go to such places. It will make your life meaningful and you will thank the Lord for the blessings He has showered upon you. Life is comparative, you see !

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Yes Deepa, It really was a disturbing experience. you know something? I made friends there.. The residents were warm and fun loving people who liked dancing, Rihanna, Bollywood and rock music. They were people who liked watching movies, like you and like me. We discussed sports, music, movies and what not. It was so fun. There was this lady who asked me to visit her again. Each person there had a story to tell. There was this nineteen year old boy stuck there!

And later I was so disturbed you can’t imagine. You feel so weak and helpless because you want to make them happy but you can’t. The reality hit me once I got out of the place. Visitors are not allowed inside unless they come on a ’study trip’. Which means I will never see my friends again.

Deepa

Deepa — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Jaiyant, I had the liberty to visit that orphanage without restrictions. Infact for my daughter’s 10th birthday, I arranged to celebrate with those kids at the orphanage. Tried my best to make it special for them.....we cut the cake, shared chips and distributed hats and gifts. But then what?

How much can most of us do such noble acts regularly....especially when we have a whole set family and friends expecting so much from us?

It takes tremendous determination to follow up with such deeds.

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

You know what, even a small act like that makes a difference. They would for a moment forget that they are in an orphanage or an institution and feel connected to the rest of the world. What you did was a cool thing and I hope you do it again. It needs not only determination but also courage and strength to visit these institutions. We ourselves are mentally so fragile that we can’t face the truth, the bleak suffering of the residents..

Deepa

Deepa — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Right said buddy, I just mentioned previously that I am not strong enough to easily come to terms with such flaws in HIS rule.

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Deepa, I don’t believe in HIS impartiality. And I don’t believe He can provide any answer to our problems. You know that song by Joan Osbourne? What if god was one of us? It really is a cool song... I love it.

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Check this out:

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=B4CRkpBGQzU

Manish

Manish — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Jaiyant if I may join in here, Deepa its tremendous that you actually thought of going out and doing something like what you did. There are not many people (very few actually) who even acknowledge the very existence of such places around them where there is very little or no value and hope of human life. But even if you can’t give your time regularly, do try and do whatever, whenever possible. Don’t let lack courage stop you. These people need help in what ever way they get. I would suggest get a like minded friend to join you and try to do something (even if its small) for the cause you believe in.

Deepa

Deepa — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Thanks for the song video Jaiyant....it certainly is a song that most of hum but with different words, lyrics, moods and tunes :)

Deepa

Deepa — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Thanks for your kind appreciating words Manish :) This post has ignited my emotions and interests....I seriously intend to go back to that place soon. Even if that means to walk out with tear-filled eyes again :)

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

@ Gagan:

Okie, Gagan, I know where you are coming from and I’m a great cynic myself. The reason I wrote the article is to highlight the helplessness of both the professionals (who are helpless but great business minds) and the mentally ill.

I agree, these people may not have a great future outside and may perish. But (again a big one) allowing them to perish within the confined walls isn’t a solution. And how many people can afford to get institutionalized? A minuscule percentage. You would be shocked to know that each person in that asylum spends 25,000 rupees per month to stay there. The families are obviously too rich and see them as an aberration and dump them there. The asylum is paid and kept happy for being a dumping place.

However, there are millions of mentally ill people in our society. Statistics reveal at least 5% of any population is mentally ill. Do the math. We can’t institutionalize them all. They suffer in the greater institution which is also called the society. Most turn to prostitution, begging, substance abuse and crime. And many just perish, without a livelihood.

Gagan the entire system has to change. The way mentally ill people are handled has to change. Deinstitutionalization is just one part of it. Most of the mentally ill would never have seen the face of a psychologist/psychiatrist. They would be locked up in their houses or thrown out in to the streets.

We need a massive awareness program and a government funding. We must also criminalize long periods of institutionalization because the same facilities could be used for the more deranged and not ’wasted’ on rich and less disturbed people. We must make mental health care affordable and subsidized. We need a governing body to license psychologists. The mental health profession in India and other developing countries is like the lawless wild west.

Gagandeep

Gagandeep — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Perfectly valid observations. I was only making a general case out of a specific one. And the way you describe this particular case makes me agree that this is an instance of rank selfishness.

If the problem is as great as you describe it is then education is the surest way to go forward. It is us normals that need a lesson in psychology. You professionals have gotten so used to it that you can see clearly through it :P

But again I’d just revert and say if a person is able to take care of himself then by all means release him. But do not dump him back into a family that clearly has disowned him. That would be even more inhumane thing to do; even to those who were guilty in the first place. I hope I find resonance in at least this argument.

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Yeah dude.. Laymen need to be taught psychology too. I mean just like we study history and political science in school. There must be a sensitive attitude towards the whole issue. However, our government is a retard. And I’m not a professional yet. I will be, after 5 years, if I continue to do an Mphil and a Phd.. which is doubtful Lol..

I can’t but agree with you.. Because that is my point too. Don’t send them back to those unloving homes and don’t keep them in the institution. Rehab must be all about readying them to face the world. So vocational training must be included as part of the therapy. So that they can live on their own once they are out. Regular sessions thereafter for an couple of hours every week is enough to manage the madness. Resonance in at least this argument? You gotta be kidding! I never disagreed with any thing that you have said! :P Just the way I said was different. Phew.. I feel like a typewriter.

Grace Calderon

Grace Calderon — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

I think what makes the condition of insane people worse is something that is social in nature –stigma.

It is tragically hilarious to note that this social stigma befalls the victim families, more than the victim themselves. So, if a family is rich enough to afford private mental asylums, it will have its insane member kept within the walls of an asylum.

So, any which way we look at it, it’s society that makes people mentally ill. And mental asylums are really prisons for the insane – prisons that have the license to administer insanity-pacifying drugs.

There’s something else, too, that can cause insanity and this one is of the chemical kind. Mind-altering drugs such as amphetamines, barbiturates, etc.

Over here, where the national mental asylum is always overloaded (understandably because this is maddening Third World), only the following are allowed to be admitted and confined: those who can be physically harmful to others and those who can be physically harmful to themselves (these ones are on 24/7 suicide watch and outfitted with straightjackets and/or injected with tranquilizers or sleep-inducing drugs). Drug addicts who have gone over the brink are sent home.

The drug addicts gone mad have better chances of mental illness recovery than the ones who are kept within the walls – primarily because they have the opportunity to intermingle with normal people more often.

The fundamentalist is delusional, and thus insane, because he or she is kept within the prison or asylum of ideology. In it, he or she, can only mingle with kindred souls. So, I think, what causes a fundamentalist to be such is the lack of exposure to the outside world. Breeders of fundamentalists know exactly the strategic tactic to use – alter the mind via brainwashing.

The social stigma of insanity can only be cured with social change.

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Yes... It is all about the society we live in. In times of social crises, the instances of people visiting mental health institutions increase. There can’t be a better cause than a social one for mental health. If the society is responsible for mental health it should also be responsible for those who are mentally unhealthy.

But as we have already seen and experienced, society is but a lifeless body that runs on mass hysteria. Society can’t feel, can’t empathize, it can only isolate it and exploit it’s members. And only the rich can afford to be in the asylum which leaves me wondering if the insane left out in the open are lucky or the ones within who can afford to be imprisoned.

The insanity pacifying drugs you are talking about, are so dangerous, in fact worse than many substances that are used. The psychiatrists prescribe an Amphetamine called the ’Ritalin’ to hyperactive children. can you imagine? If you have a kid who is hyperactive you are going to feed him/her with amphetamines! They say it works on kids! The situation of pharmacotherapy for the mentally ill is so bad that traditional substance abuse drugs like cocaine and heroin pale in front of them. Feed the mentally ill with amphetamines at a pre pubscent age to get them alright! Wow!

http://www.healthscout.com/ency/416/639/main.html#TreatmentofAttentionDeficit/HyperactivityDisorder

Drug addiction is of course a mental illness but the society encourages it because the cool actors and actresses do coke, heroin etc. If you don’t smoke up, you are so not in the ’scene’. It is again the society that encourages drug addiction. And most mentally ill when left free and allowed to interact with mentally well adjusted people, they have a remarkably successful rate in recovering. Coming back to the good old fundamentalists, they are society bred delusional criminals. What do we do with the society?

Grace Calderon

Grace Calderon — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

That is why clinical psychology is a dangerous trade! LOL

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

:sigh: It sure is.

Grace Calderon

Grace Calderon — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Like you said, society runs on mass hysteria. I’d like to see that as society running on popular sentiment. A society is the sum reflection of popular thinking. So, if society’s bent towards social stigma for the mentally ill, then the insane’s condition will not change.

The responsibility rests on opinion makers who can be loud and clamorous. More often than not, that’s civil society composed of several and varied cause oriented groups. They can be loud and clamorous to the point of swaying popular sentiment and popular thinking.

The general mindset is the biggest hurdle, as well as the biggest responsibility.

Madhuri Katti

Madhuri Katti — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Grace, Jaiyant...

Unfortunately society is made of mindless masses who need a punching bag, someone to look down upon, someone to assert superiority against. Thus a ’lunatic’, butt of everyone’s ridicule is born. So I don’t think social stigma can be done away with so easily...

This true also of believers and fundamentalists tend to look at themselves and project themselves as normal and god fearing and thats why masses like to emulate these traits and leaders. While others, outside the circle of belief, become a punching bag and are held in suspicion...

I think only true scientific attitude can make society take a balanced stand.

Madhuri Katti

Madhuri Katti — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Oops, Excuse my grammatical errors. I have just returned from our ’crazy day out’ sunday outing...:)LOL

Grace Calderon

Grace Calderon — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Right, Madkat. That is why when fundamentalists go en masse to try to sway popular sentiment, it becomes disturbing.

I’m not sure if there is a scientific basis for the phenomenon they call ”charismatic?”

Madhuri Katti

Madhuri Katti — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

They say a chemical called ’dopamine’ is responsible for blind faith, blind love, obsessive love and all kinds of emotions in human beings...

I don’t know much about how exactly dopamine gets triggered during mass hysteria or affects mob psychology...

:)

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Grace, Yes.. Unless the popular opinion against mental illness changes, we can’t see a change in the situation. We need more celebrities, politicians and news makers to come out in public and talk for the rehabilitation of the mentally ill and also force the government to make the very necessary changes. When these people start getting noisy, the masses will notice and the opinion will change. But for that we need a governing body of mental health professionals who believe in ethics and who can get the celebrities and famous people to endorse these awareness campaigns.

Madhuri, You brought in a completely new insight. I didnt think about the punching bag part. We all have our punching bags and the society’s punching bag happens to be the mentally ill and those who deviate from what the society considers normal. Isn’t this punching bag thing also a defense mechanism? Because the society can’t face it’s bitter impulses and because it can’t acknowledge the evil in it, it displaces societal anxiety on the punching bags that happen to be the mentally ill. I can also see a lot of reaction formation within the society. We have a mad society which terrorizes mad people. Great!

Madhuri Katti

Madhuri Katti — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

I often see it other way around...the problem lies with society, society needs cure and not people who are not normal and perceive and react differently in this world.

Innocence is the true essense of people who are often looked down upon as insane by society. They are not manipulative and cannot be manipulated as well, so they are shunned.

Grace Calderon

Grace Calderon — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

LOL Jaiyant and Madhuri! The mentally ill as society’s displaced aggression!

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Yes Grace, the society always displaces all it’s frustrations on people that are weak and vulnerable. Sometimes it is the insane and other times it could be just the poor, weak and homeless. Society can be blamed for not only mental illnesses but also physical ailments such as cardiac diseases and Hypertension which are caused due to unhealthy lifestyles that societies encourage.

Ruchi Agarwal

Ruchi Agarwal — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Hey Jaiyant.. needless to say its an excellent post.. i think the discussion which your post has woven puts forth the erractic behaviour of the society towards such kids and no wonder, we too are a part of it, where sometimes we choose to remain as silent spectators and dare to be vocal for such issues only when our kith and kin become victims of such brutal realities of life..

your post might just hit many peoples’ conscience and if they aren’t shallow enough to ignore this, they would probably recollect instances if they’ve displayed lack of respect towards the mentally ill..

i find that i can relate to this post because my own cousin is autistic and each day brings the same challenge of sailing through the difficulties of bring up such a child for my aunt.. my relatives, who has big degrees bangin aganist their names detest his presence in family gathering for they fear that my harmless cousin might just hurt thier children because of his out-of-the-blue violent behaviour... Respect for her child is the only riches my aunt seeks..

and to talk about visits to orphanage, NGOs and such other places, i know folks who dat under the pretext of shunnin to live a wasted life, bt i later learnt that was just to add some weight to their resumes to bag those fat-salaried jobs.. unbelievable, aint it?!

my single visit to an orphanage has made me hate myself for i have always cribbed about my set of problems ( for me, problems=break with boyfrend!) I couldnt be less thankful to God for having everything in place. there we go, another instance of selfish nature, where it first occured to me to thank God and not pray for the future of such kids.. :)

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Hello Ruchi, I’m sorry for the extremely late reply but had been busy. It is not only the kids but also adults. Mentally ill are always exploited by one and all and are treated without the dignity they so deserve. We always magnify our problems and crib about it but the reality could be worse for others.. It really is sick to hear that people actually do that to have a better resume.. Well it just shows what an insensitive race we are.

Leena

Leena — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

@ jayashree

As you and Jaiyant opine unconditional positive regard is sadly made out to be a myth in the present world. But I still think it is possible. As Jaiyant said in some comments, awareness programs for people can help in developing a society free of all stigmas and developing the correct attitudes towards the mentally ill individuals. The change may be gradual but it can still happen.

It is rather sad that nowadays parents are rather ‘investing’ love but I am lucky to have parents who love me unconditionally.

I will definitely not love a guy who changes colors faster than a chameleon. In this case my love will definitely be CONDITIONAL because the guy is knowingly hurting me. There is a difference between him and a mentally ill person. If he is a mentally ill person and is not aware of the fact that he is hurting me and I had fallen in love with him due to some reason then I’ll definitely love him UNCONDITIONALLY and see what best I can do for him.

Jayashree

Jayashree — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

I hope and hope and hope that you are right, and that it is not a myth. But when I look within myself I realise I have never loved anyone unconditionally nor have I ever received love unconditionally. I know, your next argument may be that a positive emotion that isn’t unconditional can’t be called love!

Like I said, I hope..

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Hello Leena, it is easier said than done. What we need is a well funded campaign supported by the government to first increase in fact create an awareness about the mentally ill. Unconditional love or positive regard that one may not come across everyday. It is something that is best left to people who claim to know it all and also those who know what lies beyond.

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

I quote Our lady of Knowledge and say hope is the most oppressive and cruel thing. It just lets you hang on but not give you anything. Hope is what the insane have to sustain themselves, when they are institutionalized. They hope to get out of the hell that is the asylum. They keep hoping day and night and for years. I wonder what it is like to take the last breath and I wonder if people hope even then.

Leena

Leena — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

@ Jaiyant

Thanks a lot for your compliment. Its nice to know that you are studying clinical psychology. Maybe that’s the reason you have come out with such a lot of empathy for the mentally ill in this wonderful post of yours.

You have very correctly pointed out that it is either the institutions or the streets for a mentally ill person. This is the reason I feel institutions are better off than the streets. Every psychotic person is not lucky to have a supporting family. If he would have had, he would not have become mentally ill in the first place because I believe nurture plays a greater part in developing mental illness in people in whom nature has sown the seeds of insanity.

In a world where there is an insane rat race for proving one’s superiority in terms of power, resources, intelligence, personality and any goddamned thing, the mentally ill people will only be proved miserable failures in all ways and that will again trigger their illness. A person will either become suicidal or murderous, both of which are labeled as psychotic traits, and pushed back to the institutions.

Of course the kinds of institutions that you have portrayed in your post are rather cruel and greedy for money. The actual problem is not with institutionalization of the mentally ill, but with the attitude of the staff out there. So they have to be educated on how to treat a mentally ill person and strict laws for ill treating the mentally ill should be enforced. Institutions should be instructed to provide a loving and caring environment to these individuals and tap the best of their intellectual faculties. It is not uncommon that quite a number of this so called psychotic lot is

Leena

Leena — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Sorry, the last line of my comment is incomplete so I am rewriting it.

It is not uncommon that quite a number of this so called psychotic lot is actually intellectually superior to many of the ‘normal’ people.

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Yes Leena, the societies are a terrible place for the mentally ill to stay in. But do you think they can survive in the asylums for long? They go madder with each passing day. Not everyone can afford to be institutionalized. What do we do about them? Institutionalization is not a problem when they are admitted for short periods. A maximum of 3 months. Anything more than that must be made unlawful. Family and society is always the culprit for most of the problems we see. Even sane people are fed with lots of rubbish related to religion either by their families or by societies. And yes, psychotic people can be very intelligent

Prabhunarayan

Prabhunarayan — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

The Ervadi tragedy in Tamil Nadu a few years back shows the criminal negligence and treatment meted out to the so called-insane people. That tragedy could have been avoided had not the inmates were shackled to beds and poles. That had exposed quite a few things about private mental asylums.

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Exactly Prabhunarayan. That is what it is.. Criminal negligence. The ’insane’ were tied up and left to be burnt and they did not even unshackle them when they got to know there was a fire. which shows the authorities didnt give a damn about the mentally ill people. Private mental asylums are the worst place to live in. As bad as the Guantanamo bay camp

Prasad

Prasad — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

I have had the misfortune of visiting the renowned mental asylum in beautiful northeastern town of Tezpur, in Assam about 10 years back with one of my uncles who was a doctor there. There are various enclosures and it was apparent that there were enclosures for the rich and there were enclosures for the poor. The scenes were heart wrenching. An old lady half laked wandering aimlessly with cropped hair, a man wearing nothing but a gunny bag staring blankly at you... the story could go on, and on, and on...

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Oh prasad, each one of us who have visited asylums have a similar story to tell. I’m happy and thankful you shared your experience. I think we must all visit asylums more regularly and that would create a fear amongst the authorities to keep the asylum in a better shape. However, this whole asylum thing sucks... They must really rein in these ’asylums’ and it is a dirty word now.

Sonu

Sonu — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Many people who are in Indian lunatic asylums are victims of family members who to deprive them of family rights somehow prove they are lunatics with the help of corrupt officials and doctors and throw them these asylums where they lives in sub-human conditions. Prisons are much better than these so called mental hospitals.

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Thanks for that input Sonu and sorry for the late reply.. Families can be so cruel if they want to and the entire family therapy thing becomes such a farce. If you knew about it, schizophrenic patients are given treatment along with their families because it is assumed that if a person must become schizophrenic, the family that he lives in must be unhealthy too..

Julie

Julie — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

The mental asylums of India needs to be revamped seriously. There must be a through review of the state of mental asylums and those running illegal ones like the one gutted in the Tamil Nadu fire should be prosecuted. All humans deserve to live and die in dignity.

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Yes Julie, the asylums must be revamped. you know something? It is not just about revamping the asylums the society must be revamped. Because we all live in a big asylum which is the society. Here politicians, fanatics and radicals form the authorities and the people suffer like the insane do in an asylum.. It is a thin line that separates an asylum and the society

ARVIND K.PANDEY

ARVIND K.PANDEY — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Dear Jaiyant,

The role of Pshycholgists have become important in our times .However, not everything they say needs to be treated as gospel truth .According to them each of us is suffering from one ” chemical locha ” or the other. Going by the logic of Psychologists even a saint like Ramakrishna Paramhansa was victim of psychological disorders !

The problem is that we have become dependent on western way of living things .It does not offer any concrete solution . On the contrary , it leaves in the lurch . That’s what taking place in the world of pshychologists .

You might have no faith in existence of God but had there been no God ,the world would have only psychologists in it !!!

Lastly , it’s a harsh truth that society first gives birth to people in league with psychological disorders and then it proclaims to offer healing advices .Yeh duniya ek tamashe ke sive kuch nahi hai...

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Insane have always been mistreated whether in the west or in the east. In fact in india the mentally ill suffer more than in the west because our societies are sicker. Indian society considers mental illness a shame and that such people must be thrown to the lions or in to an asylum. When such is the case, a comparison between the west and India is unwarranted..

Vijay

Vijay — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Dearjayant,such things happenings everywhere in the society and in all classes rich persons are doing such acts to grab the properties also.

Its realy very shocking.

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

yes vijay, the discrimination against mentally ill people is so pervasive in the society that it doesn’t discriminate among the poor and the rich. In fact it is tougher for the rich who have to spend their lives within the confines of a mental hospital. The governments always choose to keep quiet over such issues.

Jaiyant Cavale

Jaiyant Cavale — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Thanks everyone for commenting and sharing your experiences and opinions about the mentally ill and the way they are treated. We may all have different views about mental illness but the culprit according to me is the society and the hypocritical families. I also blame lack of ethics among mental health professionals and governmental apathy. Things really don’t look bright..

Oscar

Oscar — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

I believe psychiatry has become a very lucarative legal drug pushing business. If you’re happy, you need downers, if you’re blue you need uppers, if you’re confused you’re locked up and locked up you’ll get cocktails insuring you’ll never no which way is up or down,,, until the money dries up...then you’re out, an addict, and left to find a way on your own.