Image: Warner Bros. Walk down the street. Look at the faces that pass. Really look at them. Women? Men? Happy? Angry? Apathetic? Sad? Spaced out? Forgotten? I’ve got a lot to say about this week’s window, so we’re just going to jump right into it. This world doesn’t care for the things it doesn’t understand. That much we can all agree on. The marginalized. The outcasts. The pariahs. Those that our culture throws to the side are those that we just can’t understand. They do things that are weird. Their facial expressions are wrong. They don’t follow the status quo, the social rules. Some people do act that way on purpose because they want desperately to be noticed. Some people don’t. Some people want more than anything to be “normal.” They don’t know what makes them different from everyone else. They don’t see how they come across to others, so they just feel wronged by everyone. Some of them have mental illness. And, I know, I know, many of you are so tired of hearing about mental illness. But, if that last line caused you to roll your eyes and want to stop reading, I beg you to reconsider. The media plugs it as an excuse to let people just wallow in their pain; the courts use it as a way to wiggle out from under the arm of justice; schools allow it to be an exception to real learning. And I’m not saying I support or disagree with any of these responses to mental illness. However, I don’t want to cause those things to be the reason you click away. Depression used to be such a foreign concept to me, until I watched ones I love fall between its talons. I saw them fight up the slippery slope in the pouring rain, wanting nothing more than to see the sun crest over that horrible hill of darkness. Fighting so hard, they dug their hands and knees into the sticky mud and used what strength they had left to scramble up out of the dark. Some of them made it. Some are still squirming there. Suffering. I don’t have clinical depression, but I have spent years in that pit. I know that fight is real. And depression isn’t the only one! Bipolar disorder. Post-traumatic stress disorder. Anxiety disorders. Personality disorders. Eating disorders. And the list goes on and on…. Having a disorder makes people act differently from the rest of us. But, I assure you, they don’t want to be that way. A movie that shows this perfectly (and our window in this blog) is Joker. Whatever you think or believe about the movie aside, it is amazing in its dialogue about mental illness, showing us “normals” what life can be like for the mentally ill. The first quote we are going to look at comes from the main character’s journal. “The worst part about having a mental illness is people expect you to behave as if you don’t.” Oddly worded, I know, but really read that line again. It breaks my heart because it is true. And I know that a lot of you might be frustrated with this line because the mentally ill need help getting healthy. They can’t just wallow in it. I agree with you. What this line in the movie is talking about is treating those who are mentally ill as if they are freaks, expected to act like the rest of society, only they can't. The main character in this movie, Arthur, is mentally ill. Though they never tell us exactly what he has, psychiatrist Dr. Imani Walker diagnosed him, saying, “He has bipolar disorder type 1, most recent episode manic, severe, with psychotic features, and he also has Pseudobulbar affect (a condition that causes the person to uncontrollably laugh or cry in inappropriate moments).” She later adds that he also has a delusional disorder. He is on seven different medications. He is seeing his therapist when he is supposed to. He has a job, an apartment, a mom to take care of. He is trying to be healthy. Image: Warner Bros. And people just treat him like garbage. People are weirded out by his behavior, so, rather than try to understand him or see past his oddities, they make fun of him, use him, punish him and hurt him. Because he is different. Because he is weird. Because he should just act normal. “The worst part about having a mental illness is people expect you to behave as if you don’t.” In an interview for Los Angeleno, Dr. Imani Walker also said, “We do not care about the woman at the bus stop who might be mentally ill. We as a society don’t even pretend that they’re real people. And that’s what this movie is about. He never had a chance.” Does some of their behavior need to be corrected? Absolutely. (Even Arthur recognized he couldn’t act the way that came natural to him.) But does it need to be met with impatience? Absolutely not. You would never yell at a cripple because they can’t walk. Get them a wheelchair and help them get around, but we do not get frustrated with them because they can’t function on their own like the rest of us. Why don’t we treat mental illness that way? Here’s the window: the church shouldn’t treat people that way. To clarify, no one should treat them that way, but especially not Christians. Near the end of the movie, Arthur poses this question: “What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a society that abandons him and treats him like trash?” His response: anger. violence. pain. As the church, we should be a society who is the complete opposite of what Arthur experienced. What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner seeking help with a society who brings him in with open arms, loves him, and helps him walk towards health in any way that we can? The response: joy. peace. growth. love. That is why the ministry that I work for exists. And there are plenty of others like it. Image: Warner Bros. The end of the movie shows that all Arthur ever really wanted was community, to be seen. That is the theme of the movie again and again -- he wants to be heard, loved, noticed. He longs for it, just like any of us would in his situation.
The way to fight for them is to bring them in and surround them with people who love them just the way they are. Choose for yourself what kind of attitude you want to nurse for the mentally ill. One that hates and crushes them or one that loves and lifts them up? What ways can you fight alongside them? Treat them with love when you meet them. Give them grace and patience. Be. Their. Friend. Support organizations and ministries dedicated to coming alongside them. They are people with hearts too. Let’s be a community that treats them that way. Love you all! I know this one was a bit long, so thank you for taking the time. If you want to support the educational ministry that I work for, it is called New Heights 4 Kids. I will include a link that will take you to their website. We work with at-risk and special needs students that society has left behind for a multitude of reasons. With grace and love from God, we help them catch up academically as well as socially, blending healing with learning. This takes a lot of staff who are intentional, patient, and willing to fight for the students in their care (even when the student gives up on themselves). I’ve had the honor to be a part of their team for almost a complete school year now. However, I was a student at this school for nearly all of my education. And I can tell you from experience, what NH4K offers works. I am only the person I am today because of the love and intentionality they poured into me. I am only alive today because they never gave up on me. Even if it is not NH4K, though, please consider supporting (whether financially, through volunteer work, or prayer) those that care for the mentally ill. NH4K’s website: https://nh4k.org/ Quotes from: Pierce, Tony. “A veteran mental health doctor shares the difference between psychopaths and sociopaths — and if that creepy laughing condition exists in real life.” Los Angeleno. 9 Oct. 2019. https://losangeleno.com/features/psychiatrist-analyzes-joker/. Accessed 15 Mar. 2020.
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October 2019
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