Mental Health; America’s Newest Scapegoat

Throughout the history of this world, man has always had an excuse, a villain upon which to blame its failings.  In the early days of creation the fault was placed upon the snake who talked Eve into convincing Adam to take a bite of the “forbidden fruit”, it then continued the British being called oppressing, the Indians being called savages and nearly every single different group from those who appeared to be in control, this trend continues even today with women not being able to make decisions involving their own bodies to this mythical being many blacks call “the man”.  One would think that by now we would have learned that the only ones truly in control of all of our decisions and the results that comes from exercising those decisions are us but not so fast, now here comes another excuse to dodge responsibility for our own choices, our own actions, and our own lives.  Now comes the excuse of being mentally ill to explain why bad people do bad things.  Is it partially true, of course but the total answer is not medication or incarceration, this requires a multiple of remedies to fix the mental health issue and the first step should be recognition and acceptance of its existence.

Mental illness is not and never will be limited to the military, the poor, and the middle class nor will it be limited by race, sex, how big your home or your bank account is.  Mental illness is truly a non-discriminatory disorder and until we truly address this dire situation, we will continue, as a nation, to use antiquated and be truly disrespectful toward our veterans, military members and the public in general.  It is believed that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD mostly found in combat veterans especially when it comes to mental health but the truth is the Mayo Clinic describes Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event and may also increase your risk of other mental health problems, such as:  Depression and anxiety, Issues with drugs or alcohol use, Eating disorders, Suicidal thoughts and actions. This definition is true for all of us simply because if we are honest with ourselves, how many events have occurred in our own lives that have left us scarred?