As a young parent, I read ‘Children the Challenge’ by R. Dreikurs which recommended ‘natural consequences’ rather than lecturing or punishing. My now 40-year-old son was ‘finding his way’ and in the process racked up some strong memories with friends and relationships. Should I have prevented this mind and memory development, I don’t think he would have stood a chance against the medications he is now on. I never turned him over to ‘the world’ but kept tabs, kept being involved.
Now I am a key-caregiver/support person in conjunction with (finally) some excellent medical care. We went through it all — every possible misstep, police intervention, inpatient, mj, even despair. My experience taught me to stay connected — no matter what.
The first 20 years are the roughest.
Each story is shared by someone impacted by untreated SMI,
lightly edited for clarity, never for meaning.
Do you have an ask? If you were sitting down with your legislator, how would you ask them to help you?
I would thank anyone who worked to improve the system in NYS. Grateful. To further expand best practices, I would recommend looking at the UK and Canada: SANE website, mental health swims, CAMH.
