MEDIA WATCH GROUP (mission statement)

Members of the group will discuss items in the media about mental illness/mental health.
The facilitator (Jon David Welland) will take notes and lead the discussion. Then he will contact the source through e-mail with a reply, drafted from the members’ opinions and concerns.

THIS WILL BENEFIT MEMBERS BY:

1) Providing them a chance to speak freely about the issues that effect their lives
2) Helping them draft editorial replies which will promote their interests

I hope, by politely correcting erroneous or distorting articles and praise articles that are responsible and factual, we can create an on-line dialogue with the media that can serve as a conduit for the member’s concerns.


FIRST MEETING
Feb. 16/05

TOPIC- “Diary of a Mad Author” by Alexandra Gill. The Globe and Mail Apr.21/04

The article discussed was the story of a science fiction writer who had become delusional after the publication of his first novel.

The plot for this novel was very strange and surreal, but any judgment that the book was, in fact, delusional would probably be colored by the knowledge that the author was mentally ill. If the readers hadn’t known about the author’s illness, it may have been perceived differently.

It was pointed out that there is a great deal of fiction that seems strange or bizarre nowadays, and that some of such work is very well written and very popular. That fact that the author was mentally ill does not make his work any better or any worse than any other science fiction writer.

The article went on to report that the author had just completed a book based on his own experience of mental illness.

The members all agreed that it is important for writers to inform and educate the public about mental illness by telling their own stories. Many popular books and movies were mentioned. These may be topics of future discussions.

SECOND MEETING
Mar. 2/05
TOPIC: “Magical Mystery Cure” by Danielle Egan. THIS Magazine Jan/Feb 05
Contact Information: www.thismagazine.ca
info@thismagazine.ca

The article was about a resurgence of the practice of psychosurgery by psychiatrists, commonly known as “lobotomies”. Their reasoning is based on the progress that has been made in understanding of the human brain. They believe they know enough now to perform the procedure properly, whereas before it was very crude and risky.

All the members were aghast at the prospect. Some of the words used were “horrifying” “gruesome” and “catastrophic”. Some of the members were old enough to remember people they knew who had undergone psychosurgery. It usually didn’t work and it caused them permanent damage.

Most people with a mental illness can be treated with medication and counseling. Surgery is considered a “quick fix”, an alternative to paying for long term care. It is said to be used only as a last resort, and only with the patients consent, but this is a slippery slope. If patients are considered not to be able to make the choice for themselves, can a family member or a hospital committee make the decision for them?

It was decided that a letter should be drafted to clarify these points and to commend the magazine for the fair and balanced way these issues were presented.

The following letter was published in THIS MAGAZINE in the May/June/05 issue

I would like to compliment you on your fair and objective treatment of mental illness in “The Magical Mystery Cure” which is something we at the Media Watch Group want to encourage. The members of our group are ex-psychiatric patients who are concerned about the portrayal of mental illness in the media. Many know people who have undergone the surgery described in your article. One still has haunting memories of conditions in mental hospitals in the 60’s. The words she used to describe this procedure were “horrifying” and “gruesome”.

The fact that there are still doctors who practice lobotomies is a sad reflection on how our society treats the disabled. Perhaps fifty years ago such measures could be justified, but now there are very effective medications to treat such conditions as depression, schizophrenia and bi-polar mood disorders. Once the proper medication is prescribed, all a patient needs is counseling and time.

Unfortunately, most of the new, more effective medications are still under patent protection, so the drug companies can charge very high prices, prices that most people with these conditions cannot pay.

The high cost of medication and of long term care has led some doctors to take money saving shortcuts straight through living brain tissue. Often the procedure doesn’t work, leaving the patient no better off than before and with extremely impaired higher brain functions.