"Punishing the Mentally Ill: A Critical Analysis of Law and Psychiatry" by Bruce A. Arrigo is a book on the recent system of the laws concerning the handling of mentally ill people. I checked this book out from my campus library. After reading Elyn R. Saks book, "The Center Cannot Hold," my interest in the law has increased. Like Elyn Saks, I have found that is it vital for all people with a mental illness to know their rights. This means every person with a mental illness, not just those who commit criminal activities (and no, those two are usually not correlated to each other).
In the last entry, "Skizzy Lizzie," I describe being restrained against my wishes without reason. In this book, "Punishing the Mentally Ill," I found the exact response I should have said to that EMT. "Sir, you are violating my 14th amendment right, which states I have the right to freedom of movement and freedom from bodily restraint."
If somebody had just told me that I have a right to refuse restraints (and no, I wasn't trying to punch him, escape, or any sort of illegal activity), I would feel a lot better about the treatment practices in my own country.
Though the book goes on to discuss the mentally ill criminal, an aspect of the law that does not pertain to my personal experiences, the first chapter, "Civil Commitment and Paternalism" has been eye opening for me. I strongly encourage people to read this book. It is crucial that we, as law-abiding patients, understand that nobody has the right to violate our constitutional rights when no crime is being committed.
As our freedom of movement and freedom to exist out of captivity depends on what a doctor scribbles on his pad, I feel that it is vital that we have evidence of the "allegations" made by doctors, such as "danger to self", "danger to others", "gravely disabled" and so on. This is as simple as providing a witness when the doctor is in the room while the patient's statement is taken. I cannot reiterate enough how all humans are subject to errors of judgment and errors of comprehension---one of my triage doctors himself made an error---not the only time an error has been acted on. On a personal note, in the past I have had to get a doctor's statement decertified, something which I am positive was only done because I called my rights' advocate and requested that somebody examine the surveillance tapes that had proof of what I said and did not say, did and did not do.
Yes, you are probably thinking "doctors are never wrong" or "wow, she sounds paranoid", or, "whatever, you're clearly a nutcase." If so, you are ignorant of the reality of the hospitalization process. I forgive you, as you are taking the time to read this. :)
Here is a link to the book on which I have commented on, available for only 15 dollars on amazon dot com!
"Punishing the Mentally Ill" by Bruce A. Arrigo
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and I encourage you, the reader, to celebrate this day by taking a moment to thank those who have worked tirelessly on the rights of the mentally ill population.
Thank you for reading!
In the last entry, "Skizzy Lizzie," I describe being restrained against my wishes without reason. In this book, "Punishing the Mentally Ill," I found the exact response I should have said to that EMT. "Sir, you are violating my 14th amendment right, which states I have the right to freedom of movement and freedom from bodily restraint."
If somebody had just told me that I have a right to refuse restraints (and no, I wasn't trying to punch him, escape, or any sort of illegal activity), I would feel a lot better about the treatment practices in my own country.
Though the book goes on to discuss the mentally ill criminal, an aspect of the law that does not pertain to my personal experiences, the first chapter, "Civil Commitment and Paternalism" has been eye opening for me. I strongly encourage people to read this book. It is crucial that we, as law-abiding patients, understand that nobody has the right to violate our constitutional rights when no crime is being committed.
As our freedom of movement and freedom to exist out of captivity depends on what a doctor scribbles on his pad, I feel that it is vital that we have evidence of the "allegations" made by doctors, such as "danger to self", "danger to others", "gravely disabled" and so on. This is as simple as providing a witness when the doctor is in the room while the patient's statement is taken. I cannot reiterate enough how all humans are subject to errors of judgment and errors of comprehension---one of my triage doctors himself made an error---not the only time an error has been acted on. On a personal note, in the past I have had to get a doctor's statement decertified, something which I am positive was only done because I called my rights' advocate and requested that somebody examine the surveillance tapes that had proof of what I said and did not say, did and did not do.
Yes, you are probably thinking "doctors are never wrong" or "wow, she sounds paranoid", or, "whatever, you're clearly a nutcase." If so, you are ignorant of the reality of the hospitalization process. I forgive you, as you are taking the time to read this. :)
Here is a link to the book on which I have commented on, available for only 15 dollars on amazon dot com!
"Punishing the Mentally Ill" by Bruce A. Arrigo
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and I encourage you, the reader, to celebrate this day by taking a moment to thank those who have worked tirelessly on the rights of the mentally ill population.
Thank you for reading!
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