It Shouldn't be a Lifelong Curse

     Mental illness, or health problems in general, should never be lifelong curses, crippling opportunities or breaking dreams and futures indefinitely.  I feel that, in our society and in humanity as a whole, more often than not this ends up being the case. 

  

   Our medicine and healthcare is really good at treating problems or symptoms of illnesses, but really poor at successful preventative care and even less successful at outright curing afflictions. It's hard to incentivize people to take care of themselves or compel people into being active participants in society or in the health and well being of those around them. 

 Its a lot easier (and unfortunately a lot more profitable too) to just treat chronic problems indefinitely instead of finding permanent solutions to where treatment is no longer necessary. This problem often leads to a stagnancy in the development of cures and permanent fixes and solutions. It's a hell of a lot more profitable to treat continuously than to cure, and health care is a multi-billion dollar industry. 

 Unfortunately, mental health falls under that category of indefinite treatment. Curing mental illness is exceedingly difficult once it sets in, and because of the lack of understanding and unpredictability in its course and prognosis, treating mental illness has a challenge unlike any other in medicine. The fear and stigma compound this challenge, and create an environment where the trauma and symptoms of a mentally ill person are often exacerbated by the persecution and discrimination they face in their daily lives.

        Preventative care given our current level of understanding would be the most ideal avenue of addressing the problem. Preventing illness makes treating and curing it unnecessary.

Unfortunately, mental illness, especially severe mental illness, is one of the most socially, economically, and interpersonally crippling afflictions any human being can suffer from. It destroys relationships, destroys careers, and destroys lives, often in ways that had it been addressed earlier much of it could have been prevented. 

 Another tragic component is the stigma and fear that comes from the mainstream of society. There is also a hatred factor that plays in as well. Society as a whole discriminates and persecutes the mentally ill to a high degree, often leading to impoverishment and low quality social outcomes.  Insanity is also weaponized, as the label of insanity or mental illness is used to degrade and dehumanize people in ways that also cripple economic and social prospects.

Society is often far too unforgiving, and what someone has done during an episode of an illness can have lifelong consequences to their reputations and opportunities. Society needs to give more chances and opportunities of redemption and the ability to rebuild lives after mental illness cripples or breaks lives apart.

It's not just mental illness that society has a problem stigmatizing and ostracizing. It's mistakes in general. Society is too combative and condemning, and they see certain things as unforgiveable and irredeemable that they turn what could be temporary problems into lifelong curses. Life's to short to condemn someone to an entire lifetime of stigma and rejection. I have my feelings at times that even God himself condemns people eternally far less than many condemning and aggressive Christians and religious people think He does. 

Eternity is a LOONNG time to be condemned. I think God extends a level of mercy that would surprise many people. Maybe we should start doing so, too.

Illness, mistakes, and failures should never be lifelong curses.