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Are You Crazy?

We are all crazy in our little funky way. Let’s see…

Maybe that verbally abusive customer spewing cuss words has some sort of bipolar disorder.

Concerned over a friend who can’t seem to keep a relationship? Shrinks say it’s some kind of borderline personality disorder.

What about that stark, raving mad driver that overtook your vehicle the other gave and gave you a dirty finger? Ooh road rage! And what do you know? It’s called “Road Rage Disorder” or intermittent explosive disorder.


mental health

Or that husband, an adult little boy that constantly acts out a need for mothering like he never grew up . Just like Peter Pan. Yes, it’s called the Peter Pan Syndrome, a pop-psychology term used to describe an adult male or female who is socially immature.

I read somewhere that Kris might have some sort of histrionic personality disorder . Why so? Individuals with Histrionic Personality Disorder exhibit excessive emotionalism–a tendency to regard things in an emotional manner–and are attention seekers. Ah the reality TV drama!

There is practically a label for every strange personality disorder or mental illness out there.

May is Mental Health Month 2007: MIND Your Health. For more than fifty years, the USA has celebrated May as Mental Health Month to raise awareness about mental illnesses and the importance of mental wellness for all.

In the Philippines, there is no Mental Health Month only a National Mental Health Week which is on October 8 to 14, 2007. I hope mental health awareness is raised during that week such as:

1. Alcohol is a drug of choice when used to an extreme and that alcoholics are just as bad as drug addicts. In the Philippines, drunken men or women are a common sight in parties, fiestas or celebrations. But how are their lives? If it is unmanageable, they need help to get their addiction under control. There are rehabilitation centers for alcoholics but are not as common as drug addiction rehab.

2. Shame often prevents a person from seeking medical help because of this stigma towards mental illness. And even if they ask for help, the gravity of their problem is minimized as mere despair. Oh yes, I know of one death by suicide from a friend because of this reason alone.

3. Health Maintenance Organizations (like Philamcare) in the Philippines do not include psychiatric consultation in the list of medical services. It’s as if mental health has no bearing on physical wellness.

4. The Philippines lack truly qualified psychiatrists. Sure, they all passed the medical board and all that. The psychiatrists that I’ve met or had some experience with are supposedly one of the best in the country. Sad to say, they just dispense medicines with a few token counselling sessions during the consult. Ho-hum. Our psychiatrists should recommend other modes of therapy other than medicines . Fortunately, I found an excellent psychiatrist for a family member who provides consistent cognitive therapy alongside the medications but he is NOT cheap. You get what you pay for, I guess.

5. Depression is not mere sadness, dear folks. Prayers alone cannot totally eliminate depression because it’s a chemical imbalance in the brain. Also, our pediatricians should try to diagnose childhood depression early on. Mental disorders in children are just as real. Left untreated, children’s mental health disorders can lead to problems at home, trouble in school and in the community, substance abuse and even suicide.

(I don’t claim to be an expert on mental health. It’s just that in the course of my grief work, I’ve come across a few observations of these mental health issues.)

I am not exempted from temporary crazies. Sometimes, I drive my family members crazy when I am in one of my obsessive-compulsive fits such as overconcern with keeping objects (clothing, groceries, tools) in perfect order. When things aren’t in order, I get stressed out .

Most often, I try to maintain a balance by appreciating life’s simplest pleasure, laughing and lifting my day in prayer, All for Jesus.

10 thoughts on “Are You Crazy?”

  1. Hi Noemi! Was about to call it a night when your new post popped out. And of course, after reading through it, just had to add a little to stuff that drive one crazy.

    How about this one: You are alone and about to check out of a supermarket, you’re in a rush, you find a line that isn’t that long and the guy’s cart in front of you isn’t that full. You line up right behind him thinking you can get out of there faster. Just as you are 2 people away from the cashier, the wife of the guy comes with ANOTHER CART loaded to the hilt with groceries and inserts herself in front of you. And you have no choice but to grin and bear it since the other lines have, by now, filled up with people.

    Happened to me!!!! Now who wouldn’t go crazy over that? 🙂

  2. I have long been wondering about the lack of “understanding” in Pinas re: Mental Health. When we talk about clinical depression, or talking to a shrink, it’s akin to saying one is loony.

    I do hope it gets better esp for the kids, as you mentioned. I have a friend who brought her son to a psyche because she & the husband were separating. She wants to make sure that her son’s unusual silence doesn’t become permanent. The husband found out & was enraged, accusing my friend of turning his son into a basketcase, completely missing the point & the benefit of the consultation.

    I suffered from clinical depression here in London & I was really hesitant to tell my family in Pinas. My first thought was they will not understand.

  3. That’s right, bipolar disorder can lead to episodes of anger. I haven’t experienced that, fortunately.

    #3 – that’s right, and I think it affects life insurance as well?

    #4 – in the Philippines it’s the clinical psychologists who go for alternative therapy.

    #5 – so true, you can’t “snap out of it” if you’re depressed, or just “calm down” of you’re manic. take your medicine regularly! (but these are expensive. another problem.)

  4. @auee- it’s taboo for most filipinos to consult with a psychiatrist. A family will most likely consult only when the symptons are worst .

    @miguel- not sure of life insurance. Oh yes meds are definitely expensive.

  5. I’m a bipolar type 2, I was just recently diagnosed to have it but before I was being treated for depression. Before I really wouldnt talk about it but lately I’ve been telling almost everyone I know what bipolar disorder is and it helps cuz they become more understanding. Youre right, its a chemical imbalance, a reason why I have to take a couple of mood stabilizers.

    The stigma is still there, I just wish the public may be more open and understanding to mental health issues…

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