LET US BE FREE IN MIND, BODY, SPIRIT

This is something which has bothered me for some time; the idea that an "expert" can determine whether or not I'm a "danger" to myself and others simply by virtue of the fact that my thinking processes differ from "normal" people. Look around you, there are many terrible people out there, few of which are deemed mentally ill. 9-10ths of the horror I have endured as a result of being mentally ill has been because some "professional" decided I needed to be locked up. In the course of being locked up, I have been separated from my infant, threatened w/injections, locked out of my bedroom when I desperately needed sleep, locked out of the bathroom, had my shoes taken away and forced to wear shoes that don't match each other, etc. I have never committed any offense simply by virtue of being mentally ill. I had a problem for awhile because of my self-medicating use of alcohol, but apart from that, I have never done anything to hurt anyone because of my mental illness. My illness caused me severe pain, embarassment, feelings of hopelessness and futility, mostly because the current laws allow those disabled w/mental conditions to be treated as criminals. This is so bad...violations of civil rights abound. I am a human citizen w/rights. If you have a mental illness, make sure you understand your rights, and insist upon them. Generally, you have the right to wear your own clothing, the right to refuse treatment to the extent permitted by law, the right to create a PAD (psychiatric advance directive) just like any medical document detailing your preferences of treatment in the event of a period of incompetence in your future. You can give your spouse or another family member the right to act on your behalf for future treatment, in the absence of your ability to act in your own best interest. My husband knows me, and knows I object totally to forced treatment. I was suicidally depressed for a period of 6 weeks, in the past, while my medications were being changed. I actually had to pretend to be OK, so the stupid doctor would let me go home, which should be my right! The person I called for help got me to confess to a "plan" of suicide, then used that to contact the police & have me forcibly dragged from my residence. I stated to her that I knew she was calling the police, and she lied to me. Five minutes later, two cops showed up at my door, screaming, and demanding me to let them in. I was terrified! Then one of the two threatened to shoot me!! It was a scorching hot day, and they deprived me of water, and put me in handcuffs, while the landlady confronted me w/screaming and accusing questions. My husband & I had to move out, which caused total duress for both of us, because of this evil, unkind witch of a woman!! My dad told me I should've sued. Because what happened was totally the result of a disability over which I had absolutely no control. Luckily, the same woman, who had terrorized many tenants in different ways, was eventually relieved of her post. I laughed when I found out. There is nothing which makes me more angry than for persons who are disabled or disadvantaged in some way, to be mistreated, by anyone!! Take that for what it's worth! Everytime I've been hospitalized, with one exception, I've had to get out of the hospital & be seen privately to realize any improvement. And I have very good instincts about which medications and what doses are appropriate for my best functioning. If I can't voluntarily participate in the forming of my own treatment plan, I don't want it! Many in the mental health community currently under treatment, and even others not associated, know doggone well, even if you are suicidal, you don't admit it verbally, because it's a guaranteed sentence of against-your-will lockup. I don't approve of people killing themselves, but I do believe in mental and physical freedom. Think about it.