The other day while sitting with Justin on a patio taking advantage of the plus 25° weather and drinking dehydrating beverages I became alerted to a woman who was shouting. As I wasn’t certain if the woman was shouting for help or not I turned my attention towards her. The approximately 5’ foot woman with a scarf wrapped several times over her head and under her chin was shouting obscenities to herself (or perhaps someone else that could only be seen by her) was clearly not in any immediate danger and so I, relieved, went focused my concentration back to what I was doing and the conversation Justin and I were having (which was interrupted by his bladder demanding that he visit the men’s room), when my attention became tuned into something extremely disturbing and overtly annoying.

Several tables, with people ranging in ages from about 20 – 45 were laughing hysterically at this woman, and making jokes about her ‘craziness’. Looking around I seemed to be one of the very few people not partaking in this spontaneous giggle fest.

As I sat there and waited for Justin to come back from the washroom I could feel the heat begin to rise in my face. I bit my lip, and placed my hands on my lap to keep myself from getting up and telling these people off (which I would have/should have done if I wasn’t so selfishly afraid of being asked to vacate the premises by the staff of the establishment). I had the incredible urge to get up and ask these people in my loudest, most intimidating voice if they would still be laughing this hard at this woman had she been in a wheel chair, or strolling along the street with a seeing-eye dog.

Seriously, why is society generally sympathetic and understanding when it comes to people with different physical abilities (although many people do try to avoid others with physical differences), yet become completely prejudiced and – at times – down right hostile and/or standoffish against people with mental health? Both are defined as a disability under the Human Rights Code, yet I’m sure if this woman had been in a wheelchair that people’s funny bone would not have been tickled by the sight of her, and if someone’s funny bone WAS tickled I’m sure that the other patrons would not have joined in the laughter and teasing but, would rather admonish that person for their prejudice.

Mental health is like the poor foster kid when it comes to tolerance in our society, for too long mental illness (such as depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, etc) has been seen as a deviation from what is considered normal, even some people who work in the field of mental health been known to look at people suffering from mental health issues with scorn and condemnation.

And why should this be so? Mental health issues are extremely common. One out of ten people will face a mental health issue during their lifetime. Most people think that a person with mental health issues must hallucinate and/or is not in touch with reality, but in reality mental health issues are much broader than that. They include a range of issues from attention deficit disorder to severe depression and anxiety disorders. Many people with mental illnesses are highly successful and make significant contributions to society. Here are the names of a few: Mike Douglas, Walter Cronkite, Ted Turner, Robin Williams and me.