Another comment. Too many people think of mental illness as a disease of the mind. It is a disease of the brain. It is neurological. Well-meaning people told us at different times, “Why don’t you just kick him in the ass!” What he had could be called Stage 4 brain disease.
His disease was not something that could just be willed away or that could be dramatically altered by coercion or threat. Because he had no insight into his disease, he would not accept treatment voluntarily under any circumstances.We desperately need new standards
To provide ways to get treatment to those who have no insight, to keep them from suffering in ways that include homelessness or prison. We need to strike a better balance that preserves sensitivity to civil liberties but also to the deeper nature of these brain diseases.
