Bear with me.. this is gonna be a long one..
About a year ago when I first saw pictures/video of Maia Campbell on the internet. Most of me hoped that it all was just a hoax. Even though it was clearly her, you just never want to see anyone in such a state. Im not sure if its my psych degree or my optimistic way of thinking, but from the moment I accepted that it was her, my next thought was - what went wrong!?
I couldnt see for the life of me, Maia just being all cracked out just because. It definitely wasnt that I thought it impossible, I mean it happens to people in hollywood all of the time, but it just didnt sit well with me that Maia had fallen into the same trap. My research led me to a whole different side of the story. What I found explained everything Maia Campbell is bipolar. It is a known fact in the mental health world that people who struggle with mental illness often turn to substance abuse to cope.
It was rumored that Maia's mother the late auther Bebe Moore Campbell had written many books about mental illness, (72 hr. Hold among others) because her daughter Maia was struggling with it. Might have been really hard for people to believe the beautiful Maia Campbell from In The House and videos like Tyrese's Lately was aaccctuuuaalllyyy "crazy". Well it has now been confirmed that what you are watching when you see those videos of her is not just someone who chose to smoke a crack pipe & is now spiraling out of control, but what you are seeing is the outcome of years & years of an untreated battle with bipolar disorder.
I said crazy earlier becuase that is in fact what most people think when they think of mental illness. What they dont understand and what I am particularly sensitive to, is that mental illness is real, it is a sickness. I always try to assume that my years of studying Psychology give me a different outlook and therefore I have to be patient with people who are totally ignorant to mental illness. People have no clue that their bodies are such unique systems that run on hormones and chemicals in your brain called neurotransmitters. Just as a woman takes hormones to get pregnant or you take them NOT to get pregnant. These hormones & chemicals control everything from your body's physical processes to your feelings/emotions.
I could go on and on about this but I wont. I will just say that imbalances in these chemicals can cause all sorts of things to go wrong. A mental illness is no different than a physical one. Ask yourself this question, would Maia's videos be as funny if she had cancer? I think the black community most of all needs to educate ourselves on what mental illness is, so that we can better address it. BOSSIP made me so disgusted with their coverage of Maia's situation. Im opening up KayKiSpeaks.com soon so that people can help me post, but I promise there will be no idiots posting over here. It was so sad to see such a degrading post about a sick person.. now THAT is crazy.
Anywho, Im done. I will leave you all with this letter from Maia's Father & Grandma that may put this into perspective for you some more. They sent this letter into Essence:
Our hearts have been deeply touched by the outpouring of love that so many of you have freely displayed in the past several days about our beloved Maia C. Campbell. Our spirits have been lifted by your words of support and your acts of kindness and we have been encouraged to continue our efforts to assist our daughter and granddaughter to become whole again.
As a family, we have been struggling with Maia in her illness for quite some time. We continue to hold fast to our faith and hope that some day she will realize that healing will begin when she decides to reach out and accept the help and treatment that have been offered to her. We all have challenges in life that we must face, but when compound problems such as mental illness and substance abuse are prevalent, it can appear that there is no way out. However, our sustaining faith and trust in God compels us to believe differently. We strongly believe that Maia will be healed.
We also know that Maia’s mother, the late Bebe Moore Campbell, who devoted much of her later years in life to mental health awareness and education, along with her family members and friends would welcome your prayers and support for Maia’s sustained recovery. In addition, we urge your support for efforts to diagnose and treat mental illness in our community.
We ask that you not only pray for Maia’s wellness, but also commit to understanding this insidious disease, which is devastating our loved ones and community. Help erase the "stigma" of mental illness, which is a very serious barrier to treatment, so that we can help those with the disease to live wholesome lives. Call for more treatment options and prevention strategies, have compassion for those stricken with this illness, and help guide those who have been unable to find their way to appropriate treatment. Additionally, support those families who are struggling to cope with loved ones with the disease because mental illness affects the entire family.
Finally, we ask that you support Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, which was established by Congressional Resolution, H. Con. Res. 134, in April 2008, and is celebrated during the month of July each year. It was established to enhance public awareness of mental illness, especially within minority communities. Please join us in this effort to bring attention to this problem, to identify resources and to strengthen the focus on treatment along with research relative to minorities and mental illness. This is the work that we continue on behalf of Bebe Moore Campbell.
Let us move forward, face our challenge, and turn that challenge into victory and a celebration of life.
To God be the Glory,
Sincerely,
Ellis Gordon Jr., Father
Doris C. Moore, Grandmother
September 6, 2009
Read more: Click For Essence Write Up
Hope people will look at this for what it is. Lets pray for Maia, when you laugh you just look/sound like an idiot. :)
Thank you so much for this...
ReplyDeleteIt was very enlightening and gave me a different perspective.
You're doing an awesome job!!!
Smooches,
Missy
Thank you for this post on Maia. I'm sorry for her and her family and hopes she makes it through. My family, too, has been struck by mental illness and noone understands just how much it takes a toll on a family, or how sad it is to see your loved one ridiculed or misunderstood for something they cannot control. Unfortunately, just as in the case with Maia, many of the outward sugns of mental illness mimic the symptoms of drug abuse, so people condemn the mentally ill as illegal drug usrs, even though they are not. Their sickness manifests just like cancer and is an actual disease having nothing to do with the use of crack, cocaine, heroin, etc. Mental Illness is the most misunderstood disease in all of America. And I admit, I was just as ignorant and held onto many of the same stereotypes about "crazy people" until it struck my family. I now understand their struggle and how much the mentally ill person suffers. They don't want to be sick, they don't want to be abnormal, or "crazy, or anything else, but there are no resources of any worth for the mentally ill, and still no really worthwhile medical care available for them. Thanks for addressing this issue.
ReplyDelete