A culture of disdain often out of sight, out of mind

...mental health "services" are neglected, under-resourced and treated with disdain.

THE LOSS of funding to mental health advocacy organisation Like Minds Like Mine perpetuates a culture that is far too obvious in this country - mental health "services" are neglected, under-resourced and treated with disdain.

I particularly had this highlighted to me when taking a relative, shortly after a suicide attempt, to mental health services in Wellington. It was obvious immediately that the service, officially the front-line resource for the district health board, was in the worst premises on hospital grounds. They were an afterthought. Everything about it suggested they really weren't in the business of doing anything serious. A short distance away, the glamorous outpatients building was dealing with upright citizens with rehabilitation from tennis elbow.

I have worked as a medical receptionist and can remember the nurses rolling their eyes as the "regulars" surfaced - those who were behind on their medication, or simply turning up on the full moon. They were irritating, argumentative and downright disruptive. Or, more to the point, they were very ill, unable to be socially rational and appropriate, and not coping.

Is it society's default setting to shun and back away from those who do not act appropriately? Is our first emotion, on encountering a mental health consumer, to get exasperated at their lack of ability to get on with things?

I believe we do have a culture of disdain towards mental health in this country. Sure, there are the teams within the health boards who act when there's an emergency, when a person has derailed to the point of being unable to function.

But since we have chosen to be a society whose mental health consumers are largely in the community, the concept of support should be obvious. The ability to talk, to disclose, to communicate what is happening, to professionals and supporters, is one of the most vital aspects of ongoing stability.

Most of us do not understand mental illness, and how people can literally do the irrational. But too often, we're in contempt of it. It's annoying and too much trouble. I will never be good at understanding why someone hears voices or cuts themselves. But cutting them off from people they can talk to is never the right move.