Are You One of the 271,025,952 Mentally Stable Americans?
I have been challenged to explain why I write so frequently about negative human interaction and crisis situations.
Perhaps I put the cart before the horse and should have written this bit first. I will now try to explain some of my topic choices.
I am not a person who dreads to interact with others for fear of a horrible incident. However, I believe that being prepared for the unexpected and unpleasant makes it, at worst easier to take and at best possible to avoid.
Let’s take a look at one of the many causes for a persons erratic behavior that we might encounter in a typical day.
Schizophrenia is in the news a lot lately and it is a topic of interest to me. I will start there.
Schizophrenia is, a chronic severe and disabling brain disorder that affects about 1% of the people all over the world. People with schizophrenia sometimes hear voices others don’t hear, believe that others are broadcasting their thoughts to the world, or become convinced that others are plotting to harm them. These experiences can make them fearful and withdrawn and cause difficulties when they try to have relationships with others. read more…
If 1% of the world population is affected with Schizophrenia then one of every hundred people you encounter in a day is part of that 1%.
Let’s break that down into something we can wrap our brains around.
How many cars did you encounter on the drive to work today?
How many people did you meet on the bus/subway/airport?
How many people came into your place of business today?
How many customers and staff were in the restaurant in which you ate lunch?
Did you cut any of them off in traffic, line or at the newspaper stand?
Is it starting to sink in?
If you live in a city of 225,000 people that is 2,250 people in your city impacted by some form of schizophrenia (bye the way, schizophrenia is NOT split/multiple personality disorder).
In reality, Schizophrenia is just one of many disabilities or diseases that can directly impact behavior and conduct.
Now for the real eye opener. According to the surgeon general’s report approximately 20% of the U.S. adult population is affected by some form of mental illness in a given year. Folks, that’s one out of every five people you meet.
This figure does not including a big chunk of the population that demonstrates maladaptive behaviors as a result of a learning or behavioral disability.
These are some of the reasons I write about strategies for intervening early and effectively with incidents that are outside the norm.
In order to provide for the welfare and safety of ourselves and others, it is imperative that we have a plan for contingencies.
In light of this information, to not have a plan is, at least, irresponsible and at worst (in some cases) actionable.