People mocking mentally ill people in public (warning, not nice to read)

[Autumnlife678]

The other day I was on a bus and a woman got on, she was shouting lots of stuff about how we're all evil and we should all die etc. She was clearly very unwell.

But what was so upsetting was the reaction of other passengers. A few people laughed, and a couple of other people started arguing with her, telling her to shut up etc. They were being very sneery and ridiculing her.

I wish I'd spoken up myself and told these other passengers to shut up themselves, but it might have escalated into a bigger argument. So I just sat there and quietly said something to the woman next to me about how awful it was that people have such a lack of compassion. She agreed with me, but I wish I'd spoken up and told these other passengers to shut up themselves.

I know these things have been going on for a long time, but considering all the publicity and speaking up about mental health that there's been over the past few years, I would've liked to have thought people wouldn't still react this way. How awful that people can be so nasty. A serious illness can happen to anyone.

This. Even if you're more than willing to access help, getting it is not easy and if you're not well chasing it up and following the inevitable signposting might be beyond you.

I am glad to hear that. I take it you have a lot of support.
Most of the friends I have with bipolar have been sectioned, and can not work at all.

@XenoBitch

There are two different subtypes of bipolar. One is more severe than the other, and is coupled with active periods of psychosis usually whilst in the manic phase.

Of course, but the people OP is talking about will not be people that are less severe.

Did you ring the emergency services?

@XenoBitch

Agreed. Whilst I am not meaning to invalidate anyone’s struggles here there is a whole world of difference between the two types of bipolar, certainly in terms of their stigmatisation within society. My uncle has bipolar and has been sectioned many times throughout his life. The first time he was ill he ran down the road naked convinced he was Jesus.

It's hard because psychotic disorders by definition mean those with them will break social norms. What about the children or vulnerable people who are being told they are evil? Ultimately however much we try society will have group norms of behaviour even if the boundaries of those change over time. So I can't really see the stigma of serious mh diagnoses which impact behaviour reducing very much in the minds of the general public. Especially when any murder is said to be madness etc. Any crime not in their right mind. Criminality and mh are clearly not the same!

I agree with almost all of what @MissWings said with the exception of it being ok to have OCD. The only OCD that is acceptable is the fake one where you like things neat and tidy and might be a bit scared of germs. The one which gets you called r*d in public, shouted at, and doesn't allow you to cross the road/walk in a straight line/manage personal care - not ok to have, and actually not recognised because everyone's 'a bit Ocd' lining up their cans neatly in the fridge.

@Boomboom22

Yes I agree. The reality is most people who are in a psychotic state of mind due to a genuine mental illness are not a danger to others, neither are they violent. They are statistically very likely to just harm themselves as opposed to others, and become very withdrawn into their own homes.

What I will say is we have a huge problem in this country and that is drug induced psychosis. The latter being a significant factor in violent crime.

@OneFrenchEgg

Yes. That is a good point. It was only yesterday someone told me of their OCD whilst describing their clean and tidy house 🤦‍♀️.

Sometimes it's a nervous reaction to something out of your comfort zone

I totally get where you're coming from OP,but as a previous poster said,it's not nice and can actually feel quite threatening being told that you're evil and should die. There is a guy who occasionally gets on a local bus that I frequently use who behaves in a similar way,ranting and raving,and quite often singling out a particular person on the bus for his attention. It makes me feel quite nervous to be honest, especially if there are very few passengers on the bus. As a middle aged,disabled woman,I'm often seen as a 'soft target' for trouble makers and drunks on public transport. I am NOT saying that this man is a drunk,or a deliberate trouble maker,but all the same,I'm always mightily relieved when he gets off the bus.

@ALongHardWinter

Totally normal reaction from yourself being relieved to get off the bus. You’re right, it isn’t pleasant. I think the issue was people openly laughing etc. I know people who have filmed mentally ill people in the city I live in and plastered them all over social media.

Nobody should have laughed, but I don't think someone going around saying people are evil and should die should have to be tolerated either, nobody knows the circumstances of why she was doing it but it's scary and intimidating behaviour, especually if there were children around, so she should have been dropped off at the nearest stop and the police should have been called to assist her.If they determined that she was mentally unwell then they could then follow correct procedure to get her supported as necessary.

Infuriating, but I've given up my crusade against it. I've just joined charities and donate instead to help with campaigns.

I do MHFA and it was really good for my confidence in managing my reaction and interactions in these situations.

With all due respect, its not their job. Its social services job. What should they do? Arrest her? Take her to hospital? They have literally hundreds of calls a week they can't babysit. They have lives to save. I've heard from close family members in the police that the majority of their calls are welfare/mh calls. Exactly the reason they don't have time to find the culprit of your stolen bag or figure out who hit your son on a night out. Damned if you do, damned if you dont

Filming people is gross. I think for many it's natural to laugh when you are nervous. I nervous laugh in the worst of situations and I don't even mean it, even if I'm scared or upset. Coping mechanism I guess.

If someone told me I was evil and about to die I’d probably laugh in their face, or tell them to fuck off.

Exactly this.
I have huge sympathy for those who have addiction problems. Maybe they had a tough life.

And then they stab you.

Sorry but - really?? This person was shouting terrifying, awful things. The bus passengers were probably scared, I would have been! Their poor responses were probably a way to deal with a scary situation? They’re not mocking the woman for being mentally ill, they’re scared of being attacked by a person behaving violently. We aren’t all saints and sometimes fear can make people forget to respond to everything in the perfect way?

OP, she could well have been mentally ill which is why it's always best for people to react with empathy, even when someone's acting in what sounds like a pretty terrifying manner.

But I do think you've made quite an assumption there because there are many preachers in my town who act the way you describe, and it'd be strange to assume they're all mentally ill, rather than extremely brainwashed.

Ok so to turn this around -

I have ocd. Not the 'oh I like my house to be clean' but seriously debilitating 'can't leave my shithole because I actually hate cleaning house at the moment' ocd. It's all centred around intrusive thoughts to do mostly with death.

If someone started shouting that at me, it would absolutely trigger me. I wouldn't be on public transport to begin with these days but I tend to really go into the 'fight' mode of flight or fight if I feel triggered and I would either be telling her to shut up having an absolute meltdown somewhere. If I were with my husband, he would be filming the situation to protect me. It would also potentially render me absolutely incapable of anything for days after.

Of course it's not nice to react like that to any form of mental illness but if someone is acting in a frightening way, people are going to react. For some people that's laughing,others are going to film (for their own safety perhaps). And I say this as someone who is regularly at the butt of jokes for having a mental illness.

I'm not saying laughing or swearing at people with mh issues is the right response but unless u have the knowledge of mh u probably won't know this person needs help. Let's be honest a lot of people know nothing about mh. I myself didn't know anything about it until I started working in that sector. Then I begun to understand and recognise it.

Nevertheless with years of experience it still makes me uncomfortable when I see a person with mh issues clearly displaying distressing behaviour (to themselves and others) on the streets, bus, shops etc.. I do not want to be the centre of their attention, I do not want them to speak to me let alone shout or threaten me. And most of all I do not want my or any children to witness it.

Don't get me wrong I do have so much empathy with people struggling with mh otherwise I could never do the job but because of all that I know, learnt and witnessed its better to ignore them and call for help if u think they need help. People with mh issues can be unpredictable and even the most harmless looking can become very dangerous in the "right" conditions.

On a bus would you be nice to a schizophrenic man. You keep distance as he's potentially dangerous. Yes it would be lovely if everyone was perfect but in reality that unknown person on a hysteric state is a danger.