An incomplete education

There are certain challenges every adult is expected to know how to respond to:

Photo courtesy of @norwigger on Instagram.

How do I do laundry?
Where do I take my car for an oil change?
How do I fill out taxes?
Which stores have pants that fit me?
What do I do if my kid breaks her arm?

But then there are the ones that the average person is ill-prepared for:

What do I say to a friend who has suddenly lost interest in all his friends and hobbies?
Where do I go if I can't remember significant stretches of time?
Who can help me when I'm afraid to even leave the house?
Is there a supplement or medication that can make me focus better?
When do I seek treatment for my father's increasing disconnect with reality?

Mental health topics are given a cursory nod in high school health class and suicide hotlines are a small news item – sometimes – because of underfunding.  There's always the crazy aunt, but no one really cares to get involved because what can you do? A broken bone is met with sympathy while a diagnosis of
schizophrenia is unmentionable.

And yet the general population has a fascination with the functions (and dysfunctions) of the mind. There are movies about escaping mental institutions, TV characters with personality disorders and songs on the radio about bipolar lovers. Although cases of mental illness usually do not involve violence (at least not towards others), it suddenly becomes a temporarily real issue when a school shooting or suicide from bullying occurs. College students live on Ritalin and at any given workplace, you can be sure that there is someone on anti-depressants.

People manage their weight, check their blood pressure, get mammograms and visit doctors with complaints of the common cold. Is something hurting? Get it checked out. While you're at it, it's a good idea to get preventative care. Yearly physicals are a standard recommendation.

But when it comes to matters of the mind, hurting actually impedes getting help. How is someone bedridden with depression supposed to seek treatment when he doesn't even have the motivation to shower and get dressed? How is a student supposed to confront her roommate when she is becoming dangerously thin?

There are so many questions. There are also so many answers. So consider this blog the orientation you never got. The mental health system is complex, but a little street savvy advice and dissection of jargon can go a long way.

Health care – including that of the mind – is a business. Become an informed consumer.