Dear Editor,

The month of May is observed as Mental Health Awareness Month and I would like to use this opportunity to discuss the state of mental health in Jamaica and how many of us are toxic towards our loved ones and others in our local communities.

First, I want to point out that Jamaica is a toxic and angry society for the most part and a lot of Jamaican families are the driving forces behind some people ending up in mental health institutions for one reason or another.

Many Jamaicans know what they are doing when they drive another to “madness”, often out of jealousy or the need for revenge.

I am tired of running into people who are driven to a state of anger by friends and family, and instead of listening to their plight the Government of Jamaica, through the Ministry of Health and their long line of foot soldiers or doctors, willy-nilly diagnose people with a mental illness.

Why are people being diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder simply because they get angry and want to express themselves? There are a lot of patients who are not seeing or hearing things, not depressed or suicidal, not having any delusions of grandeur and are still being diagnosed with a mental illness. Why is it not okay to admit that there is possibly nothing wrong with a patient? Why are people who want to live peaceful and fulfilling lives being forced or involuntarily admitted to a mental institution when nothing is wrong with them?

I want to use this opportunity to make a call to health-care workers to stop misdiagnosing so many Jamaicans with mental illnesses. It’s a very serious label that can affect one’s chances of getting hired or being treated fairly in society.

I think that misdiagnosing people with mental illness is the easy way out. Diagnosing people with a mental illness just for speaking their mind or being angry is cruelty. How about getting them into counselling so that they can learn to manage their anger and be better able to express themselves to their loved ones? How about holding the loved ones accountable for the role they play in messing with people’s mental health? How about doing the real work by helping these patients to get away from their toxic households and family members?

What about those who don’t want to take medication that will make them sleepy and not have the strength to argue with people who are actually abusing them? Why does it seem like the Ministry of Health is unable to fathom that a number of Jamaicans are very much aware of their toxic ways and through their ability to manipulate government agencies bully family members into putting up with abuse?

Minister Christopher Tufton, I think it is time we have a discussion as a nation about the state of mental health in Jamaica and the fact that medication only serves to suppress the abuse actual victims are going through.

Again, I want to call on mental health-care providers to stop misdiagnosing people with mental illnesses for being angry. Their anger is stemming from somewhere, it’s not just out of the blue. Do you know how disheartening it is to know that you’re being abused but afraid to speak up because the police will be called to throw you into a mental health facility?

Medication is just a Band-Aid for a more serious, deeper wound in the psyche of individuals caused by the cruelty of the people around them.

Shanica Blair

shanicablair1@gmail.com