Minions,
Been a long time since I last posted, I know.
It has come to my attention lately, actually since sometime now, the fact that people generally in Oman are not properly aware about the different (mental) disorders. To them it's either 'crazy' or 'fine'.
Before coming to the Netherlands I had no idea about Dyslexia.
Maybe you did not know about it either? Here's an insight about it:
"Dyslexia is a learning disorder characterized by difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words. Also called specific reading disability, dyslexia is a common learning disability in children.
Dyslexia occurs in children with normal vision and intelligence. Sometimes dyslexia goes undiagnosed for years and isn't recognized until adulthood.
There's no cure for dyslexia. It's a lifelong condition caused by inherited traits that affect how your brain works. However, most children with dyslexia can succeed in school with tutoring or a specialized education program. Emotional support also plays an important role."1
People also are not aware of schizophrenia
"Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that generally appears in late adolescence or early adulthood - however, it can emerge at any time in life. It is one of many brain diseases that may include delusions, loss of personality (flat affect), confusion, agitation, social withdrawal, psychosis, and bizarre behavior."2
People might recognize 'Bipolar' but still don't really understand what it is:
"Bipolar disorder, also known by its older name "manic depression," is a mental disorder that is characterized by serious mood swings. A person with bipolar disorder experiences alternating “highs” (what clinicians call “mania“) and “lows” (also known as depression). Both the manic and depressive periods can be brief, from just a few hours to a few days, or longer, lasting up to several weeks or even months. The periods of mania and depression vary from person to person — many people may only experience very brief periods of these intense moods, and may not even be aware that they have bipolar disorder.A manic episode is characterized by extreme happiness, extreme irritability, hyperactivity, little need for sleep and/or racing thoughts, which may lead to rapid speech. A depressive episode is characterized by extreme sadness, a lack of energy or interest in things, an inability to enjoy normally pleasurable activities and feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. On average, someone with bipolar disorder may have up to three years of normal mood between episodes of mania or depression."3
There is also Epilepsy:
"Epilepsy is a group of related disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent seizures. There are different types of epilepsy and seizures. Epilepsy drugs are prescribed to control seizures, and rarely surgery is necessary if medications are ineffective."4
Funny story here, so once I went to a trip with the school (public school) and one of my classmates pointed at a girl, and said 'When this girl rides one of those rides that are fast and go upside down her demons come out' She meant to tell me that the girl is possessed by the devil. Little that she knew that girl suffered from epilepsy.
So there are so many other disorders, which we don't know about normally. However, in other countries, people seek help somehow, or when they're diagnosed it's okay, people understand that they need help, but from where I come from people jump to one conclusion : S\HE IS CRAZY and that is sad. Moreover, the judges and whispers start.
I mean to say, we're human beings. A human is not perfect, such unfortunate things can happen to anyone, anytime.. Instead of laughing at it, or at the people we should be more understanding.
We should be helpful to them instead of calling names.
Encourage seeking help instead of letting them suppress their feelings and suffer alone.
Don't let these people feel alone, misfit, or different.
I hope the point I'm trying to make is clear, and you minions get what I'm trying to say, perhaps change your view about this matter, and help change the overall view of others about it too, because it is serious.
Let's make the change instead of waiting for others to do something.
In the references below you can find the links to some of the disorders I mentioned, and you can read about others which I haven't mentioned.
Laters!
References:
1. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dyslexia/basics/definition/con-20021904
2. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/36942.php
3. http://psychcentral.com/disorders/bipolar/
4. http://www.webmd.com/epilepsy/
