So I wrote a letter to my local MP. Never done that before. This time, I just had to. So with tears streaming down my face, I wrote. I'd like to share it with you. And then I'd like you to go here and sign the petition.
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I come from a family with a history of mental illness. My mother suffered from severe depression for as long as I can remember. I have had anxiety and depression my entire life, not diagnosed until I was in my 20s (I'm now 41). One brother had schizophrenia. The other had severe and untreated depression. Both of my brothers committed suicide at the age of 45, within two years of each other. They desperately needed help and they didnt get it because the proper services were not available. Warren, my brother with schizophrenia, was on a forced treatment order and suffering terribly with psychotic episodes and yet was released from hospital to "live in the community". He died in that community too, unnoticed for several days until he had not turned up for his required medication.
Mental ill-health is the leading killer of Australians under 45 (there's that magic number again!) and the leading cause of disability in Australia. It is not acceptable that people are turned away from hospitals, or that government funding for outreach services is either an embarrassing pittance or non-existant.
Does this government care that for each of those Australians that has a mental illness there are many more around them that suffer too? Does this government care that for every person who dies as a result of suicide, their families and friends continue to suffer and blame themselves?
Does this government care enough about its citizens to provide adequate funding for mental health services, so that other families do not have to explain to their children why the uncle whom they resemble so much isnt around anymore?
I urge you to support the efforts of the 60 mental health organisations who are presenting a letter to Kevin Rudd on Thurday. I urge you to support the immediate reform mental health services and increase funding.
I urge you to consider my 4 year old son - the one who looks so much like his uncle - who has a very high chance of living with mental illness himself. What future will this government be giving him?
Yours sincerely,
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Little Panda and big brother Warren (then known as Robert), c1973
Felix, Aug 2009
Please sign the petition.
4 offerings of bamboo:
As one whose family has also been plagued by mental illness, thank you for being brave enough to share this. Off to the petition I go!
Thank you so much for sharing this deeply personal tragedy with me. I have signed the petition & written my first ever letter to an MP this evening. You inspired me to not just grieve my losses but to actually take action - to try to save others the grief of losing a loved one so unneccessarily. xxx
Sharon, I have never felt the pain that your family has endured because of mental illness so I can only hope the bravery & honesty poured into your message is heard loud & clear.
Thank you, Panda. You moved me to write from the other side of the globe. This isn't just an Aussie problem, but a humanity issue.
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My mother is mentally ill. I only put a name on this recently, when I realised at the age of thirty-nine that threatening suicide every Christmas is not normal, that most children and teenagers do not suffer from untreated injuries because their mothers refuse to get them medical help, and that "I'm going to knock your teeth out and then you won't have to worry about getting braces" is not a kind thing to say to a small child. Only when she assaulted me in front of my daughter did I put this all together.
Having a mentally ill mother—narcissist, with severe depression and possible schizophrenia—made me realise that the history of a child living with such a parent shapes that child's life forever. Despite off-the-charts intelligence, I dated abusive men almost exclusively. I failed in everything I attempted, with the encouragement and triumph of my mother. As much as I wanted my daughter to know both sets of grandparents, I had to protect her.
I have fought depression my entire life. I know that it is not a choice, but in addressing this problem in our society we can help more people focus on everyday things they CAN control.
A good friend of mine who lost her two beloved brothers to suicide called my attention to this worthy petition. A petition is simply a request, and I request you to consider her suffering—and that of her brothers. I refuse to accept that they died in vain. For the sake of our children, please do not ignore our request—our petition.
Please help bring peace to the world by starting with this.
Sincerely,
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