I read an article the other day that asked a question about mental illness among African Americans. Since I am a so-called "African American", and since I work in the field of Mental Health, this article was of particular interest to me.
The more I reflected on the question, the more I became convinced of a certain reality -- that whether we want to believe it or not, mental illness is more prevalent among our people than we realize.
Like many physical illnesses, mental illness can manifest in many different forms and degrees...sometimes quite noticeable, sometimes barely noticeable. In fact, it is possible for an entire society to be "mentally ill" and yet regard itself as "sane"; while often labelling the few truly sane among them "insane" or "mentally ill".
There is no way that we, as a people, could experience over 400 years of the worst treatment ever inflicted on any people, and not fall into some form or degree of mental illness.
The GOOD NEWS is that, in most cases, the remedy is simple...although often very time consuming.
What IS "mental illness", exactly?
mental:
1) Of, or relating to, the mind;
2) Of, or relating to, the total emotional and intellectual response of an individual to his environment.
mind:
the record or collective of experiences of a Being by which he or she assigns meaning to his or her subsequent experiences, and to his or her own existence; and by which he or she makes evaluations and decisions concerning his or her past, present and future.
ill(ness):
1) involving or demonstrating dysfunction or difficulty;
2) not optimum; unfavorable.
Therefore, "mental illness" is a state or condition wherein a Being has consistent difficulty (or the inability) responding appropriately to his or her environment or surroundings. "Appropriately" meaning "in a manner that promotes the well being of Self and Others."
If a Being can accurately perceive a situation in his or her environment, and then appropriately respond to the situation, that Being is said to be "rational", or, responding exactly (in a "one to one" ratio) to the demands of the situation, so that the situation ceases to exist, and thus requires no further attention. This is also known as "sanity", and Sanity is absolutely dependent upon the presence and proper understanding of TRUTH.
With the exception of cases where there is physical damage to the Brain, Mental Illness is the result of accepting "false data" as "true data".
What is “false data”? False Data can be any information in the Mind that does not allow a Being to produce a “true” or appropriate answer to a given question or problem.
False data can be said to be of four basic types:
1) Data that is completely false.
2) Data that is partly true and partly false.
3) Data that is true but incomplete.
4) Data that is true and complete, but misunderstood.
Much, if not MOST, of our fundamental assumptions about Life, about Self, about Love, etc., are based on “false data” that has been accepted as True. This presents a problem for a Mind that is Designed to function on TRUTH.
If one could locate all the "false" data that one has accepted as "true", and then replace that false data with "true" data, the result would be a complete return to sanity. But, as with any process of healing, it requires great amounts of honesty, courage and commitment.
Just as “mental illness” is produced by the acceptance of falsehood as Truth, so “mental HEALTH” can be restored and maintained by the acceptance and understanding of TRUTH.
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RM
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