MENTALLY ILL SEEK ACCEPTANCE, SUPPORT

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Daniel Dunlap of Cape Girardeau is among the two million Americans with a mental illness.

After years of silence, Dunlap and others with mental illnesses have decided to speak out and hope by doing so to become better accepted and better understood.

"Mental illness is very frustrating and discouraging," Dunlap said. "You want to be better. You want to be independent. You see the outside world and want that for yourself, but it doesn't seem to be within your grasp."

About 28 people from Cape, along with hundreds of others from across the state, met with legislators in Jefferson City last week to discuss mental illness and the support they believe it needs.

"The whole purpose was to bring attention to mental illness," said Denise Essner, a counselor with the Community Counseling Center.

Essner coordinates the Club House program in Cape Girardeau for people with long-term mental illnesses. Long-term mental illnesses include primarily schizophrenia, manic-depression and depression, she said.

"They want the same things you and I want, a decent home and a job. But for them, it's much more difficult to obtain because of the stigma of mental illness," Essner said.

"I think it surprises people to see these people out advocating for themselves," she continued. "In the past, we have always assumed that mental health professionals should advocate for them. But we really did them a disservice. It made them appear even more disabled."

Dunlap said people with mental illnesses often hide their illness because they fear negative reactions from the public.

"There is a lot of embarrassment and humiliation for someone to admit they see a psychiatrist or psychologist," Dunlap said. "I'm still a little bit that way. I'm not proud that I have a mental illness.

"A lot of people simply won't understand, especially when your level of intellect is fine, and you have no physical handicaps. And people have trouble differentiating between mental illness and mentally retarded."

Mental illnesses can be treated and controlled with varying degrees of success, but they cannot be cured.

Mike Seitz, who also has a mental illness, said, "I'm going to battle this until a cure is found. I'm looking forward to going out into society. I know I need a counselor, but I want a friend too.

"People are often scared of us," he said. "But we're scared of them too."

Dunlap said: "Mental patients heavily rely on their caseworkers, psychiatrists and psychologists. But it would be nice to have a big brother or big sister program, maybe with some of the churches. A lot of us don't have families, and it can get very lonely.

Essner said: "Because of the stigma associated with mental illness, it doesn't get near the support of other diseases, like cancer or even AIDS."

Research into mental illness, she said, also receives limited funding.

"Mental illness is a biological problem. It's not someone having a bad day or someone who needs a kick in the pants," Essner said. "We need research like other illnesses."

She said another top concern is insurance and Medicaid coverage. Many expenses related to mental illness, including some medications, are not covered.

Dunlap said insurance and Medicaid payments are important issues to those with a mental illness.

"If you don't have insurance to cover your needs, it puts a lot of pressure on you, and if you don't have the proper coping skills, that could lead to suicide," he said. "You become very depressed knowing you have that debt hanging over your head.

"We also need more scientific research. We need improved medication with less disabling side affects.

Essner said bureaucratic red tape also tangles people with mental illness.

"Any time you deal with a state system you run into a lot of bureaucracy and red tape," she said. "Programs are out there for people with mental illnesses, but often they are inaccessible because of the red tape."

"The better informed we are," Dunlap said, "the better off we are. We are our own best defense."