HE IS SADDENED when he hears anyone being called mad by society – just because the person did something “abnormal” or “extraordinary”. But he understands, for “people don’t know the difference between mental health and madness”.
And because this inhumane behaviour by some Barbadians haunted him and provoked him every day, Winston Sealey determined that it was time for him to “make a move or this behaviour would never be removed from society, people would never understand the difference between mental health and madness”.
This move led to today’s MONDAY MAN becoming the president of the Barbados Mental Health Association formed in 2008.
Stop stigma
“The department recognised that there was a need for an association to lobby for patients’ rights and to stop the stigma and discrimination going on in this country when it comes to people who have ill health. The main purpose of the association is to educate and sensitise the Barbadian about mental health and the difference between mental health and madness,” said Sealey.
When asked to clarify the difference between the two, he said: “Mental health properly describes a sense of well-being; the capacity to live in a resourceful and fulfilling manner; having the resilience to deal with the challenges and obstacles which life presents.
“Ill health is when you cannot cope with everyday society; ill health is when you cannot meet the challenges on a day-to-day basis. Ill health is when you cannot cope with other human beings.”
Myths
This 62-year-old educator and social worker declared that in order for the Barbadian society to become a healthy, sensitised and educated society on how to sustain mental health and try to help those who have ill mental health, there are “myths which have been around for years and I strongly believe it’s time these myths are erased and eradicated from society”.
“Some of the myths are that because you behave strange or you act strange or you look or dress strange people say that you are mad. Barbadians need to realise that people have choices; if I like red, I like red; if I like blue . . . . If I want to put on a pair of red shoes and a green shirt, it’s entirely up to me; it’s my choice.
“But when you do something that members of society are not accustomed to seeing, people say that you are mad, which is not true. It’s a matter of choice and perception,” he said.
He added: “Right now, the association wants to align mental health with all other diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, respiratory disease . . . . What the World Mental Health Organisation and the World Federation For Mental Health are saying now is that mental illness is a chronic disease rather than a separate disease by itself.”
When questioned if the current worldwide economic crisis could cause countries across the world to see an increase in people developing mental ill health, Sealey said “yes”. He said that this was why it was important for Barbadians to learn stress-coping strategies.
“The association tries to help people to understand that they need to cope on a daily basis. Counselling is one of the integral parts of intervention of mental ill health. You need to [be counselled] and get to understand the person and their problems.