Glee and the missing mental illness: schizophrenia
Dear Glee writers: I truly applaud your script this week, where Ms. Pillsbury finally comes to terms with her OCD. Dr. Stephanie Smith blogs beautifully about this here.
I loved the way Glee handled OCD in this episode- the stigma, the symptoms and the road to treatment. My only bone to pick: the psychiatrist played by Kathleen Quinlan - I'm assuming her vocation, as she was able to prescribe the SSRIs for Emma - spoke beautifully about acceptance in mental illness, mentioning every diagnosis except for schizophrenia. That, too, deserves an open forum. Come on, at least give it a mention!
Still, it's a start. Thanks, Glee. Someday maybe my Ben will may be proudly open about his illness. Maybe. But in the meantime, I'll remain thrilled that he is agreeing to treatment. So far, so good.
May is Mental Health Month! Here's a great resource for info at Mental Health America.