THE CLOSET MYSTIC

One of the greatest results of my education in Psychology has been deepened stores of compassion. I truly believe that hatred and intolerance fester “under the rock,” if you will, of ignorance. Through the process of learning, I’ve been able to attribute to a lack of wellness what I before would have attributed to an individual’s character.

Perhaps one of the greatest examples of this is in how my perspective of homeless individuals has shifted. Did you know that a third of homeless individuals have schizophrenia? The person talking to themself on the side of the street, for example: it’s so easy to simply write them off as a “crackhead,” or whatever pejorative we’ve been conditioned to refer to them as. We forget, however, that the psychotic symptoms those individuals may display can be the result of a mental illness that they are not receiving adequate treatment for. Often, it is a failure not of that individual, but rather a failure of the society that they are in. They may not have received adequate health care, for example, due to exorbitant costs. 

Consider, too, how someone debilitated from a severe mental health condition might be rendered all the more powerless to afford adequate healthcare because of their condition. They may be so mentally ill that they are rendered disabled by their condition, and thus cannot work. Then, because they cannot work, they cannot afford adequate healthcare; and yet, if they were to receive adequate psychiatric help, they would be able to work. 

That person that you see on the side of the street speaking in disorganized word salad, talking to themself, clearly delusional and psychotic — so often we forget that there is a person in there. We forget that they were a child with dreams. We forget that they were a child who may have been failed by their parents or the society they were born into. 

(Note: I will be using type two diabetes as an example to compare certain mental disorders against. Please understand I mean to offend no one and am merely attempting to use a commonly-accepted condition to demonstrate why the mental disorders I will cover should be more commonly accepted, too! Please message me personally if you’d prefer I alter wording to be more inclusive or if you have taken anything I said to be offensive!)

Those who would argue against these points would likely cite the personal choice of the individual as being responsible for the position they find themselves in. I am not arguing against that in totality; however, know that substance abuse disorder is a disease like diabetes, heart disease, or any number of other diseases that might have both genetic components affected by personal choice. We do not deny the type two diabetic healthcare despite there being the possibility that excess sugar in the diet is behind their illness. We do not deny the smoker care for respiratory disease. 

It is no secret that many homeless individuals may have issues with substance abuse. However, if you are to cast blame to them, I’d ask you to ensure that you’ve never been diagnosed with a health condition that you arrived at due to your own personal choice. I’d ask you to ensure that you are not setting yourself up to be dependent on the healthcare system in old age due to not taking adequate care of your health. 

Remember that regardless of your own personal feelings on the topic, substance abuse disorder is a medical condition. There are physiological changes in the body and its chemistry when one is dependent on a substance. These withdrawals, for some, can be lethal. Tell me: how is this different from what would happen to an individual with type two diabetes if they do not have their insulin? Both have found themselves in a state of dependence on an exogenous chemical to stave off death due to what is often a direct result of personal choice. 

It is generally known that personal choice directly impact a person’s likelihood of developing type two diabetes. Genetics play a role, too. This is the exact same as substance abuse disorder — a combination of genetic predisposition and personal choice make up the reason for the development of the disease. Why do we look at those with substance abuse disorder with such scorn, then, if we do not do that with type two diabetes? To be clear, obviously I am not saying individuals with type two diabetes deserve to receive that scorn; instead, I am saying that we rightfully do not treat them with scorn, and that we should not treat individuals with substance abuse disorder with scorn either.

And yet, remember this: not every homeless individual has a substance abuse disorder. There are homeless individuals with psychotic symptoms or a full-blown schizophrenia diagnosis who have never abused substances, or who first developed the psychotic symptoms and then began abusing substances in their weakened state. That is one of the most important reminders: there are homeless individuals who are quite literally sick from something that they have absolutely no control over who are regarded by society as being of poor character or, at worst, subhuman. The next time you see someone on the side of the street talking to themself, remember the human underneath the mental illness. Remember that they may be someone who is suffering and desperately in need of help.

This is something so damn important — to me and for our society as a whole. We must extend the suffering compassion. And I’ve discovered that learning never perpetuated hatred. Discovery never perpetuated intolerance. Rather, the depths of love and compassion I’ve had access to have only multiplied the more that my mind was fed.

I believe that ignorance and hatred are kin.

I believe that learning and love are, too.