Attitudes Regarding the Mentally Ill

by Lida Prypchan

Many of my master classes are given at the Bárbula Psychiatric Hospital.  When entering the psychiatric hospital the students already expected to see some of the mentally ill residing there asking for money.  The response is always laughter and giggles.

There is a patient who usually comes up from the back or side and puts her arms around the person’s neck before asking for money.  She is loving and kind, but students do not seem to understand this and for this reason a few days ago an unpleasant situation occurred.  The professor presenting that day had not yet arrived and consequently many students were outside of the room in the hall.  What surprised me was seeing the students desperately running into the lecture hall as if fleeing the sick woman.  Once inside, the previously tranquil atmosphere turned to excitement concerning this woman.  All she had done was what she did out of habit:  ask for money.  In the end, the response of the students was laughter, entertainment, fear and disgust.  Some reacted with fear, as if expecting that she was going to hit them.  Others went along, or joked with her or with their peers about her.  Most interesting was to see the reaction of each student upon her approach and await the reaction, whether they burst into laughter or said something to her.  A shouted exchange occurred between the spectators and the person being accosted with little importance attached to what the patient felt.  I admired the attitude of some who remained in place as if nothing had happened, as if a fellow human being was present.

One might excuse this attitude because contact with the mentally ill was new for all of them and thus unusual, given the image we have about the mentally ill.

It is understood that there is a lack of information, but what I wonder is this: Where is their humanity? Or is it that these patients do not feel the contempt and rejection of others? Is there something in the students that makes them forget another person’s humanity when regarding the ill, who more than anyone, need understanding, love and acceptance?

What happens is that we have social barriers that those whom we call "crazy" don’t have.