Why does society show less respect towards mental patients as compared to cancer!
Question:
Why does society show less respect towards mental patients as compared to cancer patients?
Additional Details
3 weeks ago
I chose Cancer for a reason. Both illnesses presumably have something to do with our genetic make up.
Answers:
GREETINGS, well lack of education is a problem. My ex boyfriend was bipolar. Some of his illness was true illness, some was lies and he used his illness to his advantage. That's why there's less respect, people don't know who is really sick and who is faking it alot of times. People don't understand the conditions and don't really want to many times, and alot of times the patients don't want to admit problems either so they cover things up. Cancer is physical, you see decline, sickness where people throw up, and there's alot of advocacy by patients out there. I fight that world with lymphedema, a side effect of cancer people don't generally know about and blow off. With mental illness, since people cover it, there is not alot of exposure or advocacy, you don't see movie stars coming out of the mental illness closet so to speak. Patty Duke was one of the few and Brooke Shields has petitioned for PPD.
A good example, a man has a heart attack, hits kids, kills them, people are like OMG, how awful, but he couldn't help it, he didn't know he was going to have a heart attack.
A mentally ill person stops meds or isn't treated, gets into a mood swing of anger, hits kids, kills them.
The heart attack man will not be charged. The mentally ill one will be beause they figure he did it on purpose, but in reality he couldn't control his anger because it was from his illness, and part of the illness is not wanting to take meds thinking you are ok, and not wanting treatment.
Unfair? very much so, but sadly very true. You have to experience mental illness to see both sides and many people don't.