Loving a Schizophrenic

leesjuanpat on December 25th, 2009 6.32 am

Kudos to you Raymond A. F. for your untiring effort to higlight the difficulties faced by patients and caregivers. And i must really take off my hat to you for the dedication, care and love bestowed on your wife, Doris.

The cold-faced society of ours has much to do with the octracism. The social stigma as you said, attached to it, is another heart-shattering reality.

A country like Singapore, with a high cost of living, can be even more stressful, to the sufferers and the care-givers given that minimum support is available. Our government may not be doing much in this area to alleviate their lives.

Public awareness of mental illness and schizophrenia is least understood. And superstition also plays a part in the illiterates, to view this illness as a possession by some sort of evil.
Greater empathy and compassion must be shown and social acceptance is the first step to integrate these sufferers back into society. It has to begin with employers lifting the barrier, to accept employment for them.

In the early years of my childhood, we were brought up by grandmother’s tales of not going near a ‘mad’ person because they are dangerous. Those were the days of absolute ignorance. In today’s world with medical science and cure, sufferers can lead a normal life with the right medicines. Society should change the mindset on these people.

The cosmic vastness of creation brings forth lives into this world where many treasure it as a gift of God.

We are living in an era of the extremes in this modern world. Many a life seems worthless, with daily death and terrorists suicide attacks. Many innocent lives perished.
And many who want to live a decent life are not given a fair chance. Sufferers of mental illness are not criminals and for all fairness, they are as human as we are, they have a right to be among us.

Raymond, loving a schizophrenic is not a crime and for that matter your wife of 35 years from day one and before. I salute your greatness of mind and spirit. Love her through eternity.

“We love the human race, it is the human that betrays many a human”. ---leesjuan

patrick lee s juan
(first written as a comment on theonlinecitizen.com)