Persons with mental health diagnoses must be able to seek immediate professional assistance

Aug 14, 2011 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Firstly, I want to comment on the relationship attached to domestic violence and alcohol use/abuse in the Guyanese community.  Recently, this topic has generated a number of comments.  Some comments highlighted that there is strong link between domestic violence and alcohol use/abuse.
I would like to state very clearly that the behavior of the abuser is learned and that behavior is all about power and control.  Alcohol use and abuse relationship to domestic violence has to do with the acceptance by the public of the abuser’s behavior when he or she is drunk. There is a saying that goes like this “what a sober mind conceives a drunken mind reveals”.
The drunken mind’s participation in domestic violence is accepted in Guyana.  This acceptance is based on fact that the abuser does not hit or verbally abuse anyone when sober. Over 75 percent of the alcoholics in a society do not participate in domestic violence.  The abuser is often someone who drinks enough alcohol to cover the shame of his or her behavior.  The excuse used is that the abuser was drunk and he or she did not know what he or she was doing.
The abuser will promise that he or she would not drink again and everyone believes him or her.
In many instances, the abused person did not recognize the cues leading up to the abuse. The abuser’s behavior is learned and there is a pattern to his actions.  The pattern is the abuser becomes upset and angry over minor issues in the home. The abuser becomes very demanding and even threatening to the children and other persons in the home.
The abuser engages in activities that he or she seldom does, such as drinking and staying out late.  Then the abuse occurs and he or she claims that he or she was drunk. The abuser knows that engaging in domestic violence was wrong but everyone will forgive him or her because the abuser was drunk. In some instances the abuser stops drinking and he or she is accepted and forgiven by all.
The conclusion of one of the studies on domestic violence was that women and men use alcohol and drugs as means of coping with domestic violence.  Sonia Austrian a well known professor at Columbia University wrote that women or men are more likely to abuse alcohol when they are abused by their mates.
This shows a reversed relationship between alcohol/drugs and domestic violence.  Alcohol is a downer, meaning that alcohol has some of the effects as heroin on human beings.
Users of cocaine use alcohol to mellow out and this helps them to function as normal as possible.  Heavy users of alcohol rarely become violent and engage in abusive behavior.  These users lack the energy, the body coordination and the mental capacity to engage in activities that require their attention. A good example is the drunken driver.
Secondly, alcohol plays a major role in allowing persons to cope with serious mental health issues. Persons diagnosed with bi-polar and other related mental health issues use alcohol and other drugs to cope with their demons.
It is very easy for the politicians and those in power to blame alcohol and drug use for problems related to homelessness, rejected lifestyles, suicides and other social ills.
The general public buys into the politicians reasoning resulting in these situations getting worse and going unattended.  Social workers need to rise up and advocate for this underserved population. Social workers can lead these people to a brighter day by engaging them around and exposing them to much needed mental health services. We will return Georgetown to being the beautiful city it was in the past.
Recently, the Minister of Health suggested that persons with mental health issues seek out obeah to help end their agony.   I am a Guyanese and I know obeah is a part of our culture.  Also, I am aware that many sick persons, mentally or physically seek out obeah after the medical providers were unable to end their pain and suffering.
I have heard people saying to others “‘girl/boy you have to go outside because this ain’t natural, the doctors can’t find what is wrong with you”. People go to the doctors to end their sufferings and they would seek other means to obtain that goal if the doctors cannot bring an end to their sufferings.
The persons with mental health diagnoses must be able to seek immediate professional assistance.  These persons must have regular visits with the professional. These visits would determine the effectiveness of the medication and allow the professional to engage the patients around their bio-psychosocial functioning.
My professional advice is that there must be a complete assessment done when a patient visits the hospitals to receive medical service. The assessment must look at the physical health of that person, the person’s mental health, and the person’s social health.  Any other method of engagement will not catch/highlight mental health issues.
Clyde Clarke

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