| 'Who put the boys in the club house? You did, baby, | | | | futility, a wariness that prevents fair assertion of our |
| you did.' | | | | wishes. Countless so-called advocacy organizations |
| The song 'Keep a Lid on Things' by the Crash Test | | | | work in the short term, never daring to jeopardize |
| Dummies sums it up. Psychiatric rehabilitation | | | | their funding by pursuing the big picture, the dream. |
| organisations are often there to simply keep a lid on | | | | 'Consumer' organizations fare no better. Consumer |
| things (clients' behaviour) rather than to get them | | | | organizations are beset with ineptitude not because |
| back in the mainstream of society. Their stated aims | | | | of illness, nor because of lack of skills and intelligence. |
| are often vastly different from the actual outcomes. | | | | The one thing that undoes the political work of |
| Does the ghetto keep you sick? So it seems. Last | | | | consumer organizations is the prevalence of |
| year an Australian research team interviewed people | | | | victimhood. These organizations include many people |
| who had bipolar disorder, and one of the findings was | | | | who have been actually victimized, but too many are |
| stunning--people who did not use psychiatric | | | | stuck in the ghetto and exhibit ongoing 'victim |
| rehabilitation services tended to stay well longer than | | | | behavior'. If you cast yourself as a victim, your |
| those who did*. | | | | requests will never be taken seriously--you're too |
| If you're coming out of a bipolar crisis, perhaps just | | | | easy to say 'no' to. |
| out of hospital, it's worth questioning the value of | | | | I believe this is a reason that mental health funding |
| rehabilitation. If the only place you go is the mental | | | | around the developed world is far lower than funding |
| health clinic, you surround yourself with others who | | | | for the equivalent level of burden of disease in |
| are sick. It becomes comfortable, you make friends, | | | | general health. For example, In Australia it is only 8% |
| there's no challenge, and you will find over time that | | | | of the total health budget compared with the OCED |
| you become nervous about venturing into | | | | average of 12%. |
| mainstream activities, like ringing up about a job, or | | | | SANE Australia reported last year that stigma was |
| going back to your sporting club. The longer you are | | | | the villain of the piece, and produced startling |
| inside the ghetto the harder it is to break out. Your | | | | evidence to support the view. |
| confidence disappears. People share stories of being | | | | In Australia there have been eight State or national |
| victimised and discriminated against and this shores up | | | | inquiries in the last twelve years. Each time puny |
| your growing sense that it's too hard 'out there'. You | | | | progress is made but the underlying flaw (lack of |
| conclude you should stay in rehab. | | | | funding) is perpetuated. As Einstein supposedly said: |
| The religion editor of my city's broadsheet wrote this | | | | 'Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again |
| last month: | | | | and expecting different results.' We need to do |
| 'Victimhood is a bad address. It's a dangerous and | | | | something different. Here is my suggestion:o Get out |
| delusory place and definitely the wrong side of the | | | | of the ghetto and into the mainstream.o Do stuff |
| tracks. Unfortunately, far too many people live there. | | | | that doesn't involve mental health.o When you have |
| Even if you really are a victim, you have to move | | | | gotten rid of your victim outlook, start demanding |
| out. Victimhood offers an odd but counterfeit | | | | fair funding for mental health in your country. Follow |
| comfort, where nothing is your own responsibility, | | | | up, don't take no for an answer, and incite all your |
| where life is something that is done to you by | | | | friends and relations to do the same.o If your |
| others, and is beyond your control, yet you can | | | | consumer organisation has a victim outlook, you could |
| enjoy the moral high ground... It's a short step from | | | | try to change it, but expect resistance. People can |
| victimhood to paranoia.'** | | | | be codependent on their organizations. |
| Zwartz was writing about race riots in Sydney, but | | | | *Russell, S J and Browne, J L 'Staying well with bipolar |
| these words resonated with my experience of the | | | | disorder' Australian & New Zealand Journal of |
| mental health lobby. Victimhood leads to a sense of | | | | Psychiatry 2005; 39:187-193. |