Re: Mental Illness in Cohousing & Society | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: Tree Bressen (treeic.org) | |
Date: Sun, 6 Oct 2002 02:08:04 -0600 (MDT) |
Hi Zev & others, >I was just curious, of those of you on this list who are already living in >cohousing, how many of you have members of your community who have some kind >of mental illness that is under the supervision of a doctor. Obviously no >names should be given but I am curious to see how many communities are >dealing with the specific challenges this situation can bring on. >The reason for my initial question about community members with some >"officially diagnosed" mental illness is two-fold. > >First, I am wondering if cohousing is attracting a disproportionate number >of people in this situation, and secondly, and much more problematic, is how >might a cohousing community in its development stage, openly have >discussions about this as the future members are getting to know one >another? These types of questions frequently arise in intentional communities other than cohousing as well. I think of mental health as one of the topics that comes around regularly, like pets, guests, food preferences, etc. Having lived in 3 different communities and visited over 70, my impression is that community living does not attract a higher than usual percentage of people with mental health problems, but that mental health problems are more common in society than many people realize, and that sometimes the intensity of community living brings out problems that were previously latent. Since joining community in 1994, i've lived through situations including: (1) a member with serious years-long depression making it difficult for the person to fulfill community responsibilities; (2) a serious relapse on a morphine addiction followed by abrupt detoxing with the community thrown into caring for that person (without having been asked first, and in a community that has a clear rule about no illegal substances even allowed on the property); (3) the suicide of a community member; and more. As to how to have discussions on it, i agree that it is quite a sensitive area. I think the topic should be approached with care and compassion, in a setting (such as the "salons" recently mentioned on this list) that promotes safety and allows for emotional expression as well as thoughtful analysis and explanations. It might be helpful to start out with some anonymous methods, such as conducting a no-name survey on people's history with final data reported only in aggregate, or allowing people to write questions anonymously that a facilitator reads out during a sharing session. When faced with a particular situation, the communities i've lived in have occasionally invited a medical professional to make a presentation to us so that we could better understand the situation and the possibilities. Watching how dysfunctional the culture we grow up in is, seeing lots of my family and friends rely on (legal) psychoactive drugs for months or many years, and having experiences over the years with people in a wide variety of states, i've come to see mental health/illness as a continuum rather than a category, and one that many of us occupy different places on at different times in our lives. I've found that the policy which serves me best is to continue to relate to each person as a full humyn being, while trying to accept whatever their limitations are. Rather than putting someone in a box, i strive to maintain a real relationship that can provide a solid basis for communication even during difficult situations. Hope this helps, and best of luck to you, --Tree ----------------------------------------------- Tree Bressen 1680 Walnut St. Eugene, OR 97403 (541) 484-1156 tree [at] ic.org http://www.treegroup.info _______________________________________________ Cohousing-L mailing list Cohousing-L [at] cohousing.org Unsubscribe and other info: http://www.communityforum.net/mailman/listinfo/cohousing-l
- RE: Debilitating Mental Illness in Cohousing & Society, (continued)
- RE: Debilitating Mental Illness in Cohousing & Society Casey Morrigan, October 2 2002
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RE: Mental Illness in Cohousing & Society Rob Sandelin, October 2 2002
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RE: Mental Illness in Cohousing & Society Diane Simpson, October 3 2002
- Re: [C-L]salons Laura Fitch, A.I.A., October 3 2002
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RE: Mental Illness in Cohousing & Society Diane Simpson, October 3 2002
- Re: Mental Illness in Cohousing & Society Tree Bressen, October 6 2002
- Re: Mental Illness in Cohousing & Society Sharon Villines, October 6 2002
- RE: Mental Illness in Cohousing & Society Forbes Jan, October 3 2002
- RE: Mental Illness in Cohousing & Society Forbes Jan, October 3 2002
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