Connor Holohan
Dr. Noll
PS 109
2, May 2014

A tale of mental illness -- from the inside

"Is it okay if I totally trash your office?" This was the question Elyn Saks asked her doctor during a psychiatric meeting. Saks is a professor of law, psychology and psychiatry at USC with a very unfortunate illness; she was diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia. She has suffered from this type of disease her entire life and finally came forward with her own story of schizophrenia in an episode of Teds Talk. She proposes various bold questions about how society treats people with mental illness. Saks uses various personal situations to express how poorly and inhumane the treatments were to cure people with psychotic and other mental issues. Saks along with hundreds of other people with these types of illnesses were being omitted to hospitals and being physically restrained by straps for hours to days on end. This is the kind of treatment that Elyn Saks is trying to eliminate in modern day psychological therapy.

I believe that the way Elyn Saks was treated for her chronic schizophrenia was inhumane and ineffective and that we should treat people with mental illnesses clearly, honestly and compassionately. An excerpt from Saks’ presentation states, “I think using force is a terrible thing to do to another person with a terrible illness.” Saks, as well as I, believe that mentally ill patients should be treated with consideration; also medically should make daily visits to psychotherapy, and should take little to no medication if not needed. There is no place for force or violence to treat the mentally ill or will there ever be a reason for it. Saks gives us a strong excerpt from her presentation that states, “Some people still hold the view that restraints help psychiatric patients feel safe. I've never met a psychiatric patient who agreed.” No human being likes to have