As a psychiatrist, every day I encounter families struggling with mental illness, especially in their children whose lives range from disrupted to shattered as a consequence of these challenges. In these daily battles I’m most frustrated and saddened by the jaw-dropping lack of compassion surrounding me and my patients regarding their family struggles and their child’s distress.

Unfortunately, many people still view mental illness as a moral rather than a medical or developmental issue. As a result, they readily dispense judgment when someone is struggling with emotional and behavioral symptoms – shutting down open discussion and squashing attempts to problem solve rather than blame.

Even worse, stigma and misunderstanding paralyze many people who might consider seeking help but don’t because they’re afraid of being judged or feel somehow to blame. Families are told they’re being manipulated by their loved one who’s suffering or that their parenting is impaired. Just “try harder” says the teacher, the coach, the neighbor, and the in-laws.

I’ve  just read an interesting article by Brandi Grissom first published in The Texas Tribune entitled “Mental Health Cuts Would Strain Local Texas Jails.” This article does an excellent job of calling attention to two of the main problems with cost-cutting plans that target community-based mental health treatment – people suffer while funding cuts cost more money than they save.

Cutting those services would take a devastating human toll, Schwartz said, but it would also come at an enormous financial cost. When people with untreated mental health problems fall into crisis, it is much more expensive to provide care in an emergency room, jail or crisis center.

Betsy Schwartz, president and chief executive of Mental Health America of Greater Houston

Paul Heroux recently penned an op-ed piece entitled “Can we help them before they hurt us.” To be fair, Heroux admits the poor choice of words in the title in his response to a reader’s comment:

“I write op-eds all the time. I don’t choose the titles of my op-eds, the editors do. That said, I don’t think the editor meant anything malicious by it but you do raise a good point.”

Unfortunately, malice is rarely the motive that drives stigma. Ignorance and insensitivity are the primary culprits. Also, I don’t believe Heroux’s admission gets him completely off the hook. Although he attempts to write a balanced piece, his approach tends to lean toward fueling fear and reinforcing an us-vs-them mentality.

I encourage you to read Heroux’s op-ed in its entirety before reading my comments on it, so you can see the quotes I reference in their context. It’s only fair.

While I understand that writers need to be a little dramatic or controversial to hook readers, I think the hook in this article goes a little too far in inciting fear:

In an article in The New York Times entitled “Mental Health Needs Seen Growing at Colleges,” Trip Gabriel explores the increasing demand for mental health services on college campuses across the country.

The college years have always been vulnerable to mental health issues – partially due to the stresses of academic demands and the transition to living more independently and partially because late adolescence/early adulthood is the most common time to see full blown first breaks of major mental illnesses, including depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.

But in recent years it has become clear that more and more students are coming to campus with previously diagnosed psychiatric conditions and taking medications. While this may be a sign of over-diagnosed and over-medicated youth, I see it in a more positive light for three possible reasons:

The Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation (CABF) has asked us to spread the word about its campaign for votes to win the Pepsi Refresh Project and a $250,000 grant to aid families and children living with bipolar disorder and depression. CABF has been chosen to compete for the top grant in November, 2010. Winners are decided by total votes cast via Internet and text messages throughout the month.

If selected by popular vote, CABF will use an innovative social media awareness effort to:

Over the weekend, my wife and I watched actor/filmmaker Joe Pantoliano’s documentary on mental illness No Kidding, Me 2! He made the documentary as a way to help fight the stigma and shame of mental illness (mental dis-ease, as it’s described in the film). His belief, and the belief of many others, is that the more people know about and understand these brain conditions, the more understanding and empathetic they will be. Hopefully, by putting a face on the fear, it becomes less daunting.

I was recently talking with a friend of mine, Mikal Belicove, who happens to be a marketing and positioning expert. I was describing someone I had met during a recent trip to Ljubljana, Slovenia to help promote the release of the Slovene edition of Bipolar Disorder for Dummies – a well-traveled, well-spoken, accomplished businessman who has bipolar disorder.

Mrs. Tovornik, Cecie Kraynak, Tatjana Novak, Maja Valic, Darja Budja, Joe Kraynak, Sanja Svajger (Journalist) at Book Presentation in Ljubljana, Slovenia, October 12, 2009

Cecie and I participated in another book presentation for the Slovene edition of Bipolar Disorder for Dummies. Unlike the presentation on Saturday in Koper, this one was dedicated solely to the book and was much more effective in promoting it.

Sitting: Peter Smole and Roman Peklaj and Maja Valic; Standing: Joe Kraynak, Darja Budja, Cecie Kraynak, Emi Kladnik, Ana Sorc, and Katja Jus

Cecie and I were invited to visit Ljubljana (lyoo-blee-ah-nah), Slovenia for the release of the Slovene edition of Bipolar Disorder for Dummies. We accepted and have been in Slovenia since this past Thursday, 10/8/2009. We flew into Venice on Thursday to meet our gracious hosts, Darja Budja (“j” is pronounced “y”) and her husband Simon Perko. Darja translated the book into Slovene and is a devoted bipolar advocate. She has created her own bipolar blog (bipolarna.si) and is one of the organizers of an active bipolar support group in Ljubljana.

Actor Joe Pantoliano, best known for his role as Ralph Cifaretto on “The Sopranos,” is rallying the troops in Hollywood to battle the stigma of mental illness through his organization No Kidding, Me Too!