Reflection Paper: CRAZY A good book should cause you to think, a great book invites you to question your bias and a brilliant book shows you how necessary cultural change is (starting with oneself) and why it is so important. Pete Earley’s transparency in disclosing his family’s journey through mental illness and how America’s culture of indifference towards those who suffer with it, is an invitation to redirect how we approach social justice for those who are mentally ill. As Early begins to understand the long- term ramifications of having a loved one with mental illness in a system rife with problems, he recognizes the need to understand and explore why our approach to mental health is not meeting the needs of such a vulnerable population.
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It does not matter who you are, how wealthy or educated; mental illness can arrive without invitation and turn your world upside down. As I read his story, part of the message I heard was that we as individuals and in our American culture have largely ignored the problem of appropriate treatment out of fear. Much like teenage immortality thinking, we do not believe it could happen to us (I feel this is our response to fear) and as a result, we turn a blind eye. I felt so frustrated when a nurse confided that she was afraid to leave the 9th floor of the Miami jail because she was concerned for the safety of her patient who had earned the negative attention of the guards (Earley 2007). Although Early found several ambassadors of hope, it was apparent that there are too few in this community. For example, as Early shadowed Dr. Poitier on his rounds, he saw 92 inmates (who should have been in a mental health facility) and spent an average of 12.7 seconds per inmate (Early 2007). How can he possibly effect change and promote health with such a time constraint? I found myself questioning how he managed self-care in order to come to work every day, the burn out rate for those in this type of work environment must be enormous. The question that arises from this book for me is, how do we effect change in thinking and development of policy to redirect this tremendously vulnerable population into the appropriate supportive
It does not matter who you are, how wealthy or educated; mental illness can arrive without invitation and turn your world upside down. As I read his story, part of the message I heard was that we as individuals and in our American culture have largely ignored the problem of appropriate treatment out of fear. Much like teenage immortality thinking, we do not believe it could happen to us (I feel this is our response to fear) and as a result, we turn a blind eye. I felt so frustrated when a nurse confided that she was afraid to leave the 9th floor of the Miami jail because she was concerned for the safety of her patient who had earned the negative attention of the guards (Earley 2007). Although Early found several ambassadors of hope, it was apparent that there are too few in this community. For example, as Early shadowed Dr. Poitier on his rounds, he saw 92 inmates (who should have been in a mental health facility) and spent an average of 12.7 seconds per inmate (Early 2007). How can he possibly effect change and promote health with such a time constraint? I found myself questioning how he managed self-care in order to come to work every day, the burn out rate for those in this type of work environment must be enormous. The question that arises from this book for me is, how do we effect change in thinking and development of policy to redirect this tremendously vulnerable population into the appropriate supportive