An Unlikely Teacher
At Mass Mental, I met another patient, an Apache Indian wearing polarized sunglasses. Robert identified himself as a healer. He led me to a young woman who was continually hospitalized because of abuse by her father. Outside the hospital, Robert asked me to help a consumer who lived in a boarding house and ate only peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I invited him to dinner. The gray dullness that enveloped his face, and his mask-like expression came mostly from heavy psychiatric medication. Robert and Meg and I went to our favorite beach in Quincy. In the water, he reached down, picked up a large jellyfish, and lifted it before him to shoulder level.
Lessons:
- ěJust get out and go back to work.î With Robertís support I recovered quickly.
- Robert showed me that many discharged patients live in isolation and poverty.
- He showed me that spirituality and healing can appear mundane, and a spiritual person can also have foibles and be of a common humanity.
- Robertís teachings always took the form of silent action. When I criticized his sunglasses, he immediately took them off and never wore them again.
Applications:
- Inpatient units are unhealthy both for patients and for the people who work there.
- Real life trauma, such as sexual abuse, can lead to hospitalization for mental illness.
- Psychiatric medications may stabilize emotions, but can dull the mind and create their own symptoms and stigmatizing behavior.
- Damaging results of a mental illness may be economic degradation and social isolation.
- Peer support is the most effective tool for recovery in the community.