The base of ourselves is where our morals stand
The way patients are viewed in Malaysia is as if they are clueless children. The staff at the mental hospital I last visited for my clinical exposure class spoke to the patients as if they weren't worthy of a conversation. There was no compassion, no intention of kindness. It made me sad.
In a bigger picture, this is what often happens in the world. People in superior position look down on those inferior. There might be a sincere intention in 'educating' the others, but I'm a firm believer in keeping our mind open to new ideas--they might come from those we are trying to 'educate'. The most important aspect in the culture of knowledge, in my opinion, is the equal regard one gives to another. Discussion will work better if one is willing to exchange ideas; and the culture of discussion will lead to a culture of knowledge. This is also what is supposed to be the norm in a teacher-student relationship. There might be an authority in knowledge (for one who reads a lot certainly knows better), but none the superiority.
In regard to the treatment of mental patients, I suppose there are certain things we can improve. Firstly, the perception. These patients are not 'just crazy'--the definition that it seems has grounded itself in our society for a long time. We need to view these people as people--they certainly are worthy of a conversation. Doctors, like teachers, should be 'conversing' more with their patients instead of ordering them treatments. The hand that is extended must not be to educate or normalise them so that they can be reintegrated into the society--the hand must be the link to channel mutual understanding between the doctor and the patient so that they hold each other in equal regard as fellow human beings.
Secondly, communication. As psychologists would agree, the essential part in establishing communication is listening. We listen to their problems--these mental patients have their own set of problems which contributes to who they are. In the case of a predisposed condition, we must also not try to dehumanise them. People, even at their basest, are still humans. This fringe is the basis of our morals.
Thirdly, the attitude. We must start treating these patients as friends. Idealistic as it may sound, the better we treat people, the better they will respond. It is easy to enjoy their company when we have got rid of our stigma. Every time we greet a person with a smile, we will have lit up some small part of themselves. It is no accident that patients are more cooperative when we have understood their stories and become connected with them. In equal standing, we give and take something from each other.
There are many mental health issues, some are not even yet acknowledged by our society. Stress problems, depression and bipolar disorders are as real as they come. However, not a lot of people are aware they are having these problems. Most often, they will attribute it to garden-variety stress problem. Some people are born with personality disorders, some are bipolar, some possess mild form of schizophrenia--which, if treated, can be manageable.
Nevertheless, these people do not seek help or treatment from the experts because the public knowledge about this is not yet enough. Besides, many people in the public also stigmatise this issue and consider it an 'unfortunate' illness. Rather than choosing the scientific suggestions, most of them would go to the shamans as if their magic wand can lift off this 'curse' their loved one has. It may be harsh to hear but I must underline these things: our society lacks compassion, and they lack information which leads them to prefer senseless tradition over rationality and science.
I hope there will be better treatment of mental patients in the future. I also hope that our society will get rid of the stigma that 'those crazy ones' are dangerous and start taking responsibility for them.
If we can get rid of our stigma of mental issues and patients, we can start addressing their problems, and consequently save our fellow human beings from endangering themselves and others.
We need more compassion and perhaps we can prevent those awful crimes committed by those who suffer from some mental issue because it is left untreated, or because of the pressure they receive from our society who stigmatises their problem.
The very heinous crimes are often committed by those who are mentally unstable. If people care more about others, and if friends and family have the adequate information to recognise and accept that their friend or family member is 'sick', they might be able to get them help. As I have mentioned previously, the fact that people don't know enough, either the individual who suffers from a mental illness or the people around them, augments the risk and danger of the individual becoming lost. Each of us can start by sharing our happiness and sadness with others so that we can each take care of the other.
Everyone has an equal footing in humanity--doctors should realise this fact more than others. Every day, doctors receive patients from various age, race, gender and background, and all of them succumb to the pain of an illness. All of them need treatment. All of them need people to look after them.
Mental patients are unique compared to other patients. They are stripped of everyday life's superficialities, and sometimes they show us a glimpse of our base mind, and incidentally, our base self. This type of honesty is raw and unpolluted, but so indubitably human. They expose us to our base nature and encountered with this fact--instead of removing it in favour of supporting our biased, agreed ideas of life--one must be reminded of the essence of our morals and the necessity to protect our humanity and others'. This is the base of our morals and why compassion is absolutely the human answer to a human problem.
In a bigger picture, this is what often happens in the world. People in superior position look down on those inferior. There might be a sincere intention in 'educating' the others, but I'm a firm believer in keeping our mind open to new ideas--they might come from those we are trying to 'educate'. The most important aspect in the culture of knowledge, in my opinion, is the equal regard one gives to another. Discussion will work better if one is willing to exchange ideas; and the culture of discussion will lead to a culture of knowledge. This is also what is supposed to be the norm in a teacher-student relationship. There might be an authority in knowledge (for one who reads a lot certainly knows better), but none the superiority.
In regard to the treatment of mental patients, I suppose there are certain things we can improve. Firstly, the perception. These patients are not 'just crazy'--the definition that it seems has grounded itself in our society for a long time. We need to view these people as people--they certainly are worthy of a conversation. Doctors, like teachers, should be 'conversing' more with their patients instead of ordering them treatments. The hand that is extended must not be to educate or normalise them so that they can be reintegrated into the society--the hand must be the link to channel mutual understanding between the doctor and the patient so that they hold each other in equal regard as fellow human beings.
Secondly, communication. As psychologists would agree, the essential part in establishing communication is listening. We listen to their problems--these mental patients have their own set of problems which contributes to who they are. In the case of a predisposed condition, we must also not try to dehumanise them. People, even at their basest, are still humans. This fringe is the basis of our morals.
Thirdly, the attitude. We must start treating these patients as friends. Idealistic as it may sound, the better we treat people, the better they will respond. It is easy to enjoy their company when we have got rid of our stigma. Every time we greet a person with a smile, we will have lit up some small part of themselves. It is no accident that patients are more cooperative when we have understood their stories and become connected with them. In equal standing, we give and take something from each other.
There are many mental health issues, some are not even yet acknowledged by our society. Stress problems, depression and bipolar disorders are as real as they come. However, not a lot of people are aware they are having these problems. Most often, they will attribute it to garden-variety stress problem. Some people are born with personality disorders, some are bipolar, some possess mild form of schizophrenia--which, if treated, can be manageable.
Nevertheless, these people do not seek help or treatment from the experts because the public knowledge about this is not yet enough. Besides, many people in the public also stigmatise this issue and consider it an 'unfortunate' illness. Rather than choosing the scientific suggestions, most of them would go to the shamans as if their magic wand can lift off this 'curse' their loved one has. It may be harsh to hear but I must underline these things: our society lacks compassion, and they lack information which leads them to prefer senseless tradition over rationality and science.
I hope there will be better treatment of mental patients in the future. I also hope that our society will get rid of the stigma that 'those crazy ones' are dangerous and start taking responsibility for them.
If we can get rid of our stigma of mental issues and patients, we can start addressing their problems, and consequently save our fellow human beings from endangering themselves and others.
We need more compassion and perhaps we can prevent those awful crimes committed by those who suffer from some mental issue because it is left untreated, or because of the pressure they receive from our society who stigmatises their problem.
The very heinous crimes are often committed by those who are mentally unstable. If people care more about others, and if friends and family have the adequate information to recognise and accept that their friend or family member is 'sick', they might be able to get them help. As I have mentioned previously, the fact that people don't know enough, either the individual who suffers from a mental illness or the people around them, augments the risk and danger of the individual becoming lost. Each of us can start by sharing our happiness and sadness with others so that we can each take care of the other.
Everyone has an equal footing in humanity--doctors should realise this fact more than others. Every day, doctors receive patients from various age, race, gender and background, and all of them succumb to the pain of an illness. All of them need treatment. All of them need people to look after them.
Mental patients are unique compared to other patients. They are stripped of everyday life's superficialities, and sometimes they show us a glimpse of our base mind, and incidentally, our base self. This type of honesty is raw and unpolluted, but so indubitably human. They expose us to our base nature and encountered with this fact--instead of removing it in favour of supporting our biased, agreed ideas of life--one must be reminded of the essence of our morals and the necessity to protect our humanity and others'. This is the base of our morals and why compassion is absolutely the human answer to a human problem.
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