UNDERSTANDING MENTAL ILLNESS

The length of time in a mental hospital and the amount of medication a person takes should not be the reasons for depriving him or her of their freedom and their home. Work - paid or unpaid - and being at home is what most people enjoy. Nest has found over the years, that the reasons for a person returning to hospital care are rarely to do with their illness.

It’s important to encourage a person to take medication prescribed and to make sure that the person visits their clinic regularly. They should be allowed to have a private discussion with their doctor and fully understand their medication.

WHY PEOPLE ARE SENT TO INSTITUTIONS AND LEFT THERE

When a person is labelled ‘a burden’, ‘a shame’ or ‘impossible to live with’ that person is conveniently removed from sight. The family pick on a place where ‘responsibility’ is taken away from them. They rarely visit; sometimes visits stop altogether. The state has made it easy for the family to disappear. The person languishes for an indefinite period cut off from the world - institutionalised.

Instutionalisation can also occur at home. For example, a person is hidden in a room at home, deprived of any social function, even exercise. The person is fed and clothed.

A child could be as young as 6 years old when caught by the Police for stealing a Thambili, for example, (coconut with water inside). Older ones sometimes commit a minor offence such as absconding from school (this often happens when parents are away from Sri Lanka for employment). The child is remanded, taken to Court, and sent to a Certified School or Detention Home, many miles from where they live. Transport is often difficult for family visits. The child is rarely wanted back because of the stigma and shame brought on relations. Sometimes the child is abandoned and loses sight of family. The grown-up child leaves at the age of 16 - 18. What skills have been learnt? Where will he live, find employment?