Two years ago Cindy Parent was at a crossroads in her life. She
could continue a life of untreated mental illness and addiction and
become homeless, or she could get treatment.
Diagnosed with manic depression and schizoaffective disorder, she
chose to self-medicate with drugs and alcohol instead of seek
treatment.
"I'd get drunk. We called it an 'episode,' and they would last
for seven to 14 days. It would be like, 'Mom's going through an
episode,' " she said.
"I don't know why, but I got out there and drank, drank, drank.
My kids grew up. My husband worked, and he loved me through it.
"No one could control my mental illness. My family came to live
with my episodes in different ways. Everyone was trying to cope."
Her "episodes" would often land her in jail and eventually led
her to being on the brink of homelessness.
That's when she decided to try it the right way and seek help,
first from Family and Children's Services, the Women in Recovery
program and the Mental Health Association in Tulsa.
Now she is a certified recovery-support specialist at the Mental
Health Association's Denver House, a drop-in center for people
dealing with mental health issues.
"It took all those programs and a year of intensive therapy. Now
I can get up and go to work. I've never been so self-sufficient,"
Parent said.
"My whole world has changed. I'm able to think about my health.
It used to be all I could do was cope all day."
When William Boyd Sturdivant II spent 128 hours on a
communications tower in Tulsa, he, too, had to make a choice: jump
or get off the tower and seek treatment for mental illness.
Mike Brose, executive director of the Mental Health Association
in Tulsa, said many people in the area are like Parent and
Sturdivant. However, their illnesses remain untreated.
"I hate it that something like that had to happen to make people
understand, but it's so important they do understand that the only
difference between him and the others is they're in shelters and on
the streets," Brose said.
"It's the same thing. They're disenfranchised, have untreated
mental illness. From their mental illness they're in a disillusioned
state, and their mental and physical health is not being addressed.
"The only difference between them and William is he got up on a
tower and wouldn't come down. There are Williams and Marys all over
the community."
By allowing them to remain on the streets, the community is
spending large sums of money, Brose said.
"It's very expensive to leave people on the streets untreated,"
he said. "Imagine the cost of the extra manpower to be around that
tower.
"It's just like people in the streets and shelters. They commit
petty crimes and nuisance crimes and get arrested and put in jail.
There are police calls, EMSA runs. It's a huge cost to the
community," Brose said.
Often they have caring families who just don't know what to do or
how to get their loved ones the help they need, he said, adding that
one of the symptoms of mental illness is that the person doesn't
recognize that he or she has a mental illness.
"That's one of the things that makes it so hard to reach out and
treat these individuals," he said. "They're not likely to seek help,
and it takes a tremendous amount of patience. It can't be done all
of a sudden. You have to reach out to them. You can't wait for them
to come into your office."
Brose said budget cuts to services for the mentally ill have
potential consequences and that more cutbacks mean more people with
untreated mental problems.
"While we're saving money in the short run, we're costing huge
sums of money on the back end," he said. "By investing up front, we
raise the quality of life for all of us."
Mental disorders in Oklahoma
In Oklahoma, 238,000 adults 18 and older reported having at least
one major depressive episode over the past year.
More than 245,000 Oklahomans above the age of 12 abuse or are
dependant on drugs or alcohol.
Mental disorders are the third-leading cause of chronic disease
in Oklahoma.
Oklahoma ranks second in the nation for the number of adults who
reported experiencing serious psychological distress in the past
year.
Ninety percent of those who commit suicide have a diagnosable
mental illness or substance abuse disorder.
Source: Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Mike Averill 918-581-8489
mike.averill@tulsaworld.com
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