Making Realistic Plans and Taking Action

Dealing with adversity requires that people be able to think clearly. For most of us, this is difficult in a crisis. Emotion may cloud our thinking. It may act as a filter through which we view our world. For those in this society with a severe emotional illness, the filter seldom comes off. Being able to see what is, rather than what we would like or what we fear, is part of the skill. Being able to take action proactively rather than reactively or impulsively, being able to behave assertively rather than aggressively or passively are critical to our ability to survive adversity and to bounce back from tragedy.

One of the characters in Reaching Home, Howard, illustrates the impact that a chronic mental illness can have on an individual's life. In the story, Howard is homeless. Thirty years ago he would have been a patient in the State hospital. But Howard receives no treatment. He has consistently rejected efforts to involve him in community-based treatment.

Howard wears large glasses with black plastic frames. He is slightly balding. He is dressed in gray coveralls and a pair of old workboots. A long chain runs from his belt to his wallet in the rear pocket of his coveralls. A toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste and an assortment of pens and pencils are tucked tightly into the coveralls outer breast pocket. Howard has been on the street for years.

Most of Howard's family is either dead or will have nothing to do with him. Howard has been diagnosed a number of times as being mentally ill. He has been treated in institutions and placed on medication, which upon leaving the institution, he has refused to take. He once had a wife and children, but they are gone now. The children are in foster care or adopted - he's not sure which. He just knows he doesn't see them anymore. He doesn't know where his wife is.

In the story, Howard has spent the night on the floor of the Good Will store. When the bus came to the shelter yesterday to evacuate its residents, he refused to leave. He ran away. Most of the residents of the city in which Howard has lived most of his life are gone. They have left because of a nuclear accident at a facility near the city. At least, that's what the police are saying, but Howard doesn't believe them. He thinks they're just trying to scare people to get them to leave and not come back.

Howard's paranoia and his mental illness have compromised his ability to make plans and take actions based on reality, yet his intelligence and street smarts have helped him to survive, even when acting on a perception of reality not shared by those around him. As the story unfolds, we learn that Howard, despite his mental impairment, is much more resilient than he first appears. Howard, in his way, plans for the future and takes action. He also communicated and attempts to solve problems. He tries to find meaning in what is happening and to make sense out of his world.



Dr. Ron Breazeale

Author, Duct Tape Isn't Enough