Wrestling Through Adversity

From the dark ages, the treatmentof those mentally ill has progressed from chaining to a wall those afflictedwith mental disturbance who never saw the light of day. However, in USemergency rooms, our young people on the brink of despair are held hostage forpsychiatric care.We have been bound to theantiquated biomedical model of mental health care. It is fortunate that we, asa society, are experiencing a mental health crisis of enormous proportionscurrently only in the sense that we are beginning to hear a wake-up call as wewitness a total breakdown of our mental healthcare system regarding the mentalstability of our youth and other groups of everyday people.Healthcare professionals andsocieties are beginning to understand that mental health is integral to overallhealth and is more than the absence of symptoms of psychological distress. Themastery important to us all includes the acquisition of the capacity toreflect, to relate on a deep level with others emotionally, and to empathize inthe face of change or stressful situations. Resilient young people who possessthese qualities and the ability to wrestle through adversity when they have theskillsets to do so, lead more successful lives when they know how to makelemonade out of lemons.