Priorities for Our Country

a victim if Pompeii  

 

As I soothe you I surprise wounds of my own                                this long time unmothered.

from a poem by Linda McCarriston

 

I find it unbelievably sad that one of the richest countries in the world incarcerates the mentally ill in jails all over our country. Ask anyone who works in the prisons and they'll tell you that there are many inmates who just don't belong there. First of all the rather innocuous stoners who smoke their joints aren't really damaging anybody or anything but themselves. Hopefully this has been somewhat alleviated by states legalizing marijuana. Next up are the mentally ill who stop taking their medications and then awful things ensue for them or to them. Mostly they get taken advantage of and get arrested for being out of line. They truly are out of line and out of their minds, but no one is asking, how to help that's too complicated. What do we do with them? In the unenlightened states it's into the slammer where the possibility of treatment is zilch. [These are most of the southern states, that lean red.] This is not only sad but nutty if you do a cost analysis. This has to stop. Why is no one addressing this issue? Not sexy enough I guess. Out of sight out of mind, really simplistic thinking for an otherwise advanced society.

Of course, it goes without saying that the justice system, with rare exceptions, is definitely prejudice and the preponderance of inmates are people of color [see the Sentencing Project, a study in 1989 and the current statistics].  By way of example, take Rush Limbaugh. Even though he knowingly took many addictive prescription drugs, forged his Doctor's names on scripts, had multiple Doctors writing scripts and caused himself to become nearly deaf due to his abuse of oxycontin, was he charged by the court system? Was there jail time? No. Zero. Imagine if this was a Hispanic or African American man, do you honestly think the slap on the wrist, and no consequences would have applied? Neither do I.

There are good alternatives to incarceration for the non violent and the least of the offenders. It is easily proven that prevention programs and half way houses, whether for drug and alcohol problems or for mental illness, are far cheaper in the long run for the society. The costs of incarceration is huge, almost triple what prevention costs in all states. Yet the ones who are touting the strict punishments for the druggies and the mentally ill are, guess who? the people who profit from owning and building the prisons. This is analogous to the pharmaceutical industry  ["big Pharma"] who push the pills that they know are not effective, the pills that are only barely more effective than placebos [sugar pills] as the answer to mild and moderate depression and curing children's hyperactivity.

The drug companies would have you believe that only with their particular drug can you recover from depression. Pharmacology does have its place in psychotherapy, but significantly less than the drug companies would have you believe. As I said, the truth about antidepressants is that, in controlled studies, placebos did almost as well for mild depression. [Turner et al, University of Oregon Health and Science 2006 and a 2005 article in Scientific American]. However, pharmaceuticals is a multi-billion dollar industry and the last thing they want you to know is there's a more natural route to recovery from depression. That route  is nearly, and perhaps more effective as taking their drugs.  By the way, this is only true for mild to moderate depression, if the depression is severe, bring on the drugs.

[Caution: If you are currently taking an antidepressant and want to stop, do not cease taking your medication. Talk to your doctor about withdrawing slowly.] 

Here are some ideas that can be effective to relieve depression.

1. Do follow a healthy, nutritious diet, be modest in your portions and don't over eat.
2. Do at least 30 minutes of  exercise regularly [most days), which can be as simple as walking or yoga.
3. Do have several good supportive friends in addition to family members.
4. Do become aware and mindful in your life.
5. Do seeking counseling when troubled.
6. Do make sure you are amused and or laughing every day and share that with someone. 
7. Do remember that life can surprise you and be eager to have more good times in your life, even if you are going through a rough patch.
8. Do plan a trip even if it is to another neighborhood for the afternoon, but move the body away from staying house bound.
9. Do go beyond yourself and help a neighbor, call a friend in need, volunteer.
10. Do sit and let all of the sadness that is in you rise up and just watch it, don't judge it, allow it to be--- then get up and do something silly.
11. Try meditation, yoga, swimming, dancing to still the mind and open the heart.

 No one really wants to hear what does help if it involves, well, work. This is like the people who want to lose 10 pounds in a week without altering their caloric intake or doing exercise. Bad news, nothing out there actually works without less calories and more movement. Awareness does help, knowing and being conscious of what you eat and making sure that every bite is treasured and actually good for you.

I am a human: little do I last                                                                                 and the night is enormous.

But I look up:   the stars write.                                                                          Unknowing I understand:                                                                                          I too am written and at this very moment                                                           someone spells me out.                                  Octavio Paz

We need to treasure people and remember that they are all somebody's baby and should be treated with dignity. Unfortunate genealogy, abusive homes, get rich quick schemes gone bad, dishonesty and sheer meanness exists out there. But there is a whole world of good people out there who need another chance. We need to band together and support treatment rather than incarceration. Cost wise and compassionately it makes sense. It blows me away that while there is this current slew of cost cutting going on in governmental agencies no one has the guts to well, reform the prisons, especially in regard to the mild drug abusers and the mentally ill.  Hope abounds for the ones, druggies and  the mentally ill, who are willing to walk the harder road to recovery. Some are never going to recover but at least they should be given a shot at healing and be taken care of rather than abused. God knows that some of the scarier people need to be locked up possibly forever, but let's be judicious about it.

the door is wide open, don't go back to sleep   Rumi

susansmagicfeather copyright 2024 Susan R. Grout