Free lance columnist Carol Petersen writes in “Mental Health Demands Respect”:
“When suffering chest pains, we don’t refuse to seek treatment because we fear being labeled as having a heart condition. We don’t avoid treatment or lie about our condition so no one will know. We don’t suppress our symptoms, embarrassed to be thought of as weak for experiencing them. We, as a society, need to encourage open honesty about mental and emotional symptomatology, and encourage people to be as proactive about seeking mental and emotional help as we are about physical treatment.”
“We need to do a better job identifying mental and emotional conditions and insuring that those afflicted receive the appropriate treatment and therapy that will allow them not just to fit into our society, but also live healthy, happy and productive lives. Early and appropriate intervention is key.”
WATCHDOG: Ms Petersen deserves three wags of the tail for both her views and her candor in sharing her personal experience. We regretted our overture of many years ago to meet with her to discuss our usually differing views being turned down. Perhaps we now better understand her hesitancy.
The one component missing from her column is the unwillingness of society to fund treatment through health insurance and government services. Once again it boils down to what we value. We vote with our tax money!
