Sensitivity issue

To the editor:

Working at Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, I read the article about the closing of the psychiatric unit at Lawrence Memorial Hospital with avid interest. This was sad news to read about, knowing the number of people who have benefited from having this facility available in an emergency.

One thing about the article really jarred me, and I wanted to address that. In it, Betty Visser was referred to as “a schizophrenic.” This was a terrible labeling. It is like saying “so and so, a dyslexic” about someone who has trouble reading. It labels a person by the problem they struggle with, and thus diminishes who they really are. I know Betty. She is a wonderful, gifted, articulate woman, who is an artist, and who struggles with schizophrenia. She has spoken to volunteers in Compeer, hoping to help them understand what it is to live with a mental health problem day in and out.

I think the reporter was trying to find a shorter word to describe the condition this person deals with. However, shorter in this case was not adequate, and I think we all need to be sensitive to words we use, and use those that respect the humanity in us all.

Julie Trowbridge,

Lawrence