Distinctions.

Are You Ill?

      Let's take a trip down Hypothetical Lane to a different world.

      This world isn't all so different from our own- there are people who believe in right and wrong, there are roads and cities and buildings, jobs and families, and the people here look like us, too. But, the key difference is, this world has a different definition of “normal” than we do.

      For them, normal is seeing things that most others don't, hearing voices others can't hear, believing in things that others do not, and acting on their emotions in outbursts. When they speak, it always comes out in a stream of consciousness. They do not all believe in one single definition of reality; they all see and hear different things, and as far as they're concerned, that's how it should be. This seems so strange to us, but the majority of them live with these things every day. In fact, they not only live with them, but they enjoy them and take delight in the way that each individual perceives reality. In this world, so different from our own, this is how the vast majority lives.

      But there are others- a select few, like us, who don't hear voices or see images, don't act on emotion, and think that we all ought to see things the same. This is our place in this society. The rest of the world doesn't like us- they say it's “unnatural” to speak about one subject at a time, rather than lapsing into streams of consciousness. People like us are deemed “mentally ill”.

      They evict us from our homes when we lose our jobs for being unable to function “properly” in this world's workplace. Most of us live on the street. Our few personal items are stowed safely away in retired shopping carts. There's almost nothing we can do. Almost.

      There are a “lucky” few of us who find “help”. We get checked into mental hospitals, where they lock us in white rooms and pretend to try to “understand” what we think and feel. They force-feed us hallucinogens until we are satisfactorily seeing images and hearing voices. Then they throw us back into society with our bottle of drugs and expect us to know how to live. We get along okay- some people try to accept us because we “sought help”; others refuse to acknowledge us because we “just aren't normal”. Society thinks we're better off now that we have our “medications” pumping through our systems, and now that they can accept us into the general public, but we feel out of control. We miss the way life used to be- when the voices didn't distract our minds and we spoke by topic, not by thought. Society can't understand this. Why can't they see that we could function perfectly, without medication, if only they would accept our differences?

      This is the life of a “mentally ill” person in our own, real, society. This is the life of Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, and others like him. Society does not accept them and their differences- instead, it tries to medicate them into not being different at all. We try to make everyone the same. “Mentally ill” people shouldn't have to change their view of reality; rather, society should learn to accept the way others view reality instead of labeling them as “ill”.

      The very fact that we label people as mentally “ill” shows that we think there is something wrong with them- and that it needs to be remedied. How do we know that there's something wrong? In many instances, these people are comforted by their hallucinations and delusions. To many, their “symptoms” are their comfort, and in their eyes there's nothing wrong with it. In the film version of The Soloist, a female resident at LAMP (who is an actual resident, not an actress) explains that she doesn't like taking Lithium because it makes “the voices” go away, but the voices comfort her. This is how many mentally “ill” people feel- in fact, some don't feel ill at all.

      Society should no longer refer to this group of people as “ill”. In The Soloist, Nathaniel reacts terribly to being called mentally ill, and adamantly states that he is not ill and does not need to be hospitalized or treated (Lopez, 257). A kinder, and more accurate, description for them would be “mentally distinct”. This term is more accurate because these people are not ill- they simply see reality in a different way than we do. It is kinder to refer to them as distinct because “ill” has such a negative connotation. Changing the word to “distinct” would make it more politically correct.

      But this change in terminology should not be merely about political correctness- it should be about valuing people for who they are and how they view reality. It shouldn't be just what we call them- it should be how we perceive them. Viewing them as distinct shows appreciation for the original perspective that they bring to the table. Think about how it would feel, in that other world we visited, to be constantly referred to as “ill”. Think about how Nathaniel Anthony Ayers must have felt, being a mentally “ill” outcast. “Mr. Ayers and millions of others have been defined by labels and socially ostracized because of them” (Lopez, 288). This is the truth of what negative terms and labels will do to people.

      Simply regarding someone with a more respectful title, and viewing them as equals, can aid the distinct in meshing with society more successfully. Mr. Ayers finds frustration in being viewed as ill, and as a lesser person, and bursts out, “I am not going to have any more of this Nathaniel, Nathaniel, Nathaniel. I'm Nathaniel and you're Mr. Lopez, and there is not going to be any more of that” (Lopez, 258). This is a clear representation of how detrimental it is to others when we, as a society, view the mentally distinct as lesser than us, rather than as our equals- and this is clearly a step we have to take.

     There is a slew other avenues that we must travel in order to build the necessary bridges between the mentally distinct and the rest of society. Many steps must be taken, and it will be a long process, to bring our world and the one down Hypothetical Lane to balance in harmony. But this, the simple change of perspective and tweak of terminology, is a solid first step down Literal Lane to bring our own society to unity.