Today I was having a conversation with someone about a celebrity going through a crisis. The celebrity had made a mess of his life and after a social and news media apology tour he told the world he suffered from a mental illness. Immediately I thought "bullshit". When I expressed how I felt about the situation everyone disagreed with me. I'm a pretty level headed guy so after everyone said what they had to say I shared my opinion.
Now I'm no mental health professional but I have been battling mental health issues since being injured in Iraq. My mental health symptoms may not be like yours, and they may not be what you find online when you google mental health. However, when I am going through a rough time I do what I believe is the reasonable thing. I seek help or ride out my wave of negative feelings by myself (when I know I can handle it).
What I am seeing is outrageous, dangerous, and careless behavior being excused for mental health issues. Mental health can no longer be the scapegoat for juvenile behavior. The mental health excuse is like the criminal who uses the "insanity" defense when they must face the consequences of their actions. Most of these actions that people take before claiming mental health illness seem to be premeditated.
We see many celebrities and people who commit domestic terrorism use the mental health illness. This is a punch in the gut for those of us who live with mental illness and it's symptoms on a daily basis. There are many resources available for individuals who deal with mental health. There are times where my PTSD symptoms make me wanna snap someone in half. However, I know what calms me: about 10 minutes of headspace (the meditation app), and smelling my lavender scented wax.
If someone out there has mental health issues, or if you know someone who does please seek help. There are many resources, most of them free that are available to help with mental health issues.
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