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I AM PLEASED TO SAY THAT MY LETTER APPEARS IN TODAY'S EDITION [31.1.2008] OF THE SOUTH WALES ECHO
Below is a letter I have today written to the letters page of my local newspaper which I hope they will print.
Following the tragic death last year of a little boy killed in his father's arms when he fell from a hotel balcony in Crete, I am horrified at the comments people are making in the media. Will mental illness ever be understood and accepted as an illness by the public in general? Thank God that the justice system in Greece was able to see beyond the tragedy of a little boy dying. Of course it was appalling that a little boy died, no one can deny that, but for goodness sake, his father was suffering from a psychotic illness!! Had the father been suffering from a visible illness people might have been more sympathetic to the tragedy of it all. People are saying "he got away with it". No he did not. He will live with it for the rest of his life, a far worse punishment than any court could impose on him. The man is in turmoil, there is a proven history of mental health problems within his family, two of his brothers apparently committed suicide. His wife knew this and must have know that he had a very fragile personality. He thought he was about to lose everything he loved in this world, his wife and his two children - it's no wonder he was tipped over the edge. I assume that he must have known she was going to leave him as she has already remarried. I am not judging her here by any means but he must have been aware. Until people stop stigmatising mental illness, such inflammatory statements as are being bandied about on the radio and on TV will continue. On the radio today a man said "I would chop his head off myself". Really. Well let's hope he or none of his family ever suffer mental illness in that case, but when you consider that the statistics say that one in four of us will suffer mental illness at some time in our lives, people should show a little more compassion. Sympathy is offered to people with cancer and other life threatening illnesses, people with broken limbs etc. but very little if any for mental illness sufferers. I'm sure we all know someone within our circle of friends who have mental health problems and it should be talked about, not swept under the carpet as if it is a dirty word - it's an illness, as cancer and TB are illnesses. Please, please have some compassion
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