The ostrich is well known for peculiar behavior: if pursued
it buries its head in the sand, based on the belief that if
it cannot see the predator, the predator must no longer exist
or cannot see it.
Why this behavior is associated with the ostrich alone is
unclear, for sometimes humans exhibit this same futile
behavior as well.
Among the many examples is the tendency to disregard
emotional or mental problems manifested in children at a
young age, thinking if we don't see the problem it will go
away, and in some cases deliberately neglecting to treat an
illness or to deal with difficulties requiring treatment, due
to a failure to come to terms with the reality while
consciously looking the other way.
This article will focus on a problem rooted in large segments
of the public—closing one's eyes to difficulties,
problems and even mental illness.
*
In numerous cases, a child/adolescent/adult sends out
messages indicative of mental distress and those surrounding
him ignore these signals entirely because they cannot bear
the thought that their loved one has a mental problem.
It takes many years before they are willing to seek advice,
more years until they seek treatment, and perhaps a whole
life phase before they are willing to consider drug
treatment.
It often goes like this:
For years the people who know and love the person with
problems ignore signs such as tics, bouts of depression,
instability, outbursts, self-submersion, irregular behavior,
and extreme mood changes.
They do not seek counselling — certainly not treatment
— and won't even hear about drug treatment.
Instead they invest their energies in concealment. As long as
nobody knows, nobody suspects. This concealment takes its
toll on the sick person and also on those surrounding him or
her because they live their lives with constant tension,
worry and anger which gather within them like a pressure-
cooker at a boil.
Eventually the eruption comes.
An outburst not in the right time and place but in public,
and all of their efforts to cover up and hide, not to see and
not to let anyone else see, and all of the toil invested in
concealment — get erased.
And then, within a week or two they do everything they should
have done for years.
This is so painful because sometimes it can involve a
talmid in whom days and nights were invested in his
studies, but his parents ignored his compulsive behavior, his
prolonged periods of depression or extreme mood swings. They
simply buried their heads in the sand.
Had they treated it in time, the matter might have been over
and done with at an early stage while it was still
developing, without even having to turn to a mental-health
professional, but rather someone from the community or an
educator familiar with the workings of the mind.
There are innumerable cases of very low-key treatment
bringing children and young adolescents back on track without
leaving a trace.
And there are cases where the problem is more serious but is
addressed, and then the child or young adolescent receives
treatment either through professional counselling or drug
treatment.
*
No other matter has such a great taboo surrounding it, and
that is why the head-in-the-sand reaction is very common.
Apparently somebody once came to the conclusion that the
greatest catastrophe that can befall a person is to receive
assistance through medication.
It may not be a light matter to need pills, but it is far
worse to be in need of them and not take them.
This must be drilled in well. He who does not take his
medication does not become transformed into a person who does
not need medication. In fact sometimes not taking the
medicine can exacerbate the problem and transform him into a
person who needs medication but doesn't take it.
A person who takes his medication has a good chance of being
balanced, leading a normal life, building a family and
eventually marrying off his children with dignity.
A person who needs medication but doesn't take it generally
has no chance of being balanced, no chance of leading a
normal life, and even if he succeeds in building a family
there are serious chances that he won't be able to keep it up
forever; even if he does his state of health is liable to
have an effect in the future.
A bit of inquiry reveals that generally people who take their
medication regularly manage just fine. Everyone can come to
terms with taking medication, but by no means can everyone
come to terms with abnormal and harmful behavior stemming
from not taking medication.
*
Those who are close to this issue see clearly how the
behavior of a child or young teenager not given properly
prescribed medicine for a certain period of time alters
drastically, very often becoming deviant and unbearable.
One article is unlikely to change patterns of thinking, but
if the message is repeated again and again there is a chance
that a change will take place and many of us will stop acting
like ostriches, will come to terms with the problem and will
treat it rather than avoiding treatment.
It's enough to look and see what happens to
children/adolescents who are not treated in time to be
persuaded to run to treat the problem as soon as possible and
in a consistent manner in order to prevent more serious signs
from appearing, and to bring the child/adolescent to a normal
state of equilibrium.
