You can't punish a disease

[amickeyfan]

Originally Posted by amickeyfan

sentence them to where they will get help, not to a prison where there are no facilities to help them overcome their addictions and face their mental illnesses. They need to learn to accept the thing they cannot change and and change the things they can change. They learn nothing sitting behind bars. If you don't help them, once they get out, they will more than likely go right back to their old ways... it is an illness.

My son is Bipolar, he does self medicate. He doesn't see he is bipolar. He has gotten mental heath counseling (he was dx'd 7 years prior to his arrest) since going to prison. He was arrested for trafficking (he was the middleman who made the phone calls to the dealers) in a drug sting. he was a strung out junkie shooting up 3-4 times a day. The State Attorney's Office were willing to drop all charges on him if he worked as an informant for them. He refused. He went to prison. He hurt no one but himself. He isn't getting drug counseling either. He has been locked up since Feb 2009. He comes home in Sept 2011. I am petrified that he is going to go right back to drugs. Why, because he is still Bipolar and always will be. He still doesn't see that he is. He seems to think that he is "ok" and has already said, he may not go back to "roxies" anymore, he will just drink and have joint here and there to "relax".. so what has prison taught him? What has isolation taught him I haven't figured it out yet.. I don't think it has taught him anything.. other than, maybe not to shoot up roxies or help sell drugs.. but it hasn't helped him see drugs are not the way to go.. he is still an addict, he still doesn't see he has a mental illness....

While I know the addict must want to be clean for it to work, the person with the mental illness first must see they have an illness to get help. the only way they are going to see that is if it is thrown in their face, every day. Being forced into counseling and group therapy would help him see who he is.. but instead prison doesn't do that.. they throw you out on the side of the road to work.. then back behind the bars to sleep...

it should read,"he has not gotten mental health counseling since in prison"
He stops his meds each time he feels better because he thinks he isn't bipolar.. he has been on various meds.. while going for counseling. Then he stops.. because he thinks he is better.. oh, and you don't "spread" Biplar.. that is not contagious..