Have you ever known someone with a mental illness? How did/does the illness impact his/her life? What have you learned about this mental illness just from knowing them?
I worked with a guy a couple of years ago who had been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD. This illness is an anxiety disorder where a person develops persistent and intense fears, worries or superstitions and repeats actions over and over for relief (Alexander, et al, 2010). My coworker was a very nice man in his forties, had never been married and had no children. From what I learned through interacting with him on a daily basis I tried not to judge but understood why he was alone. Even though he was on medication he still had a great fear of germs. He wore mittens or something over his hands all the time in fear of getting germs from doorknobs or from shaking hands with other people. Also, anytime he entered a room he had to do it three times. He would enter, step outside, enter again, step outside until he had done it three times. Also, he always brought his lunch and everything that he needed to eat it with. He would never use the silverware or glasses or bowls that we had in our department or from the cafeteria. Also, everything on his desk was in a perfect place that he had put it in and if it were moved he would freak out and he would frequently come to check his desk to make sure that nothing was out of place. I talked to him a few times about his disorder because I was very curious as to how his brain worked. He was very much aware that he had OCD and would talk about it when asked. He said his Mom had it as well. He saw a therapist frequently and was on medication to help control it. I felt sorry for him many times because some of our other coworkers were mean to him sometimes and would rearrange stuff on his desk just to see what kind of reaction they would get. By working with him, I understood that it wasn’t his fault that he had this mental illness that he had inherited. His brain worked a little differently than the rest of us but that didn’t mean that he was crazy or should have been discriminated against because in fact he was a very smart and nice person.
References
Alexander, L., et al. (2010). Mental Health. New Dimensions in Women’s Health. Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
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Hi Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post. Most of the time when we think of individuals with mental illnesses, we assume they are in homes for the mentally ill or hospitals. We don't think that they might actually work, have children and other responsibilities. I am glad that you mentioned your co-worker, this reminds us all that mental illness is just like other illnesses friends or family members may suffer with and we all need to be more considerate and helpful.
Vikki D. Littleton
Hi Jennifer;
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your coworkers story, people can be mean when dealing with people with Mental Illness, I guess their lack of knowledge or plain ignorance makes them judge people. I dont think that anyone wishes to have a mental illness, we as a society need to get educated on metal illness and stop judging people.
I have never known anyone with this disorder and I feel for those who are obsessed with a particular habit and are not be able to control themselves. The way you described your co-worker habits was so detailed that I could picture it in my head. And, the part regarding your other co-workers rearranging stuff to see this men’s reaction made me feel so bad…. I can’t believe adults can act like kids and be mean like that! Hopefully his condition won’t get worse at least he’s still active and working…
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