“I haven’t always been here. I mean before… I was normal.”

This quote is from the striking French animation short film Skhizein (2008), written and directed by Jérémy Clapin. It tells the story of Henri Debrus who departs from himself precisely ninety-one centimeters as a consequence of having been struck by a 150 tons of meteorite.

The title of the movie gives us a clue about Henri’s situation.

The term schizophrenia comes from the Greek words “skhizein” (to split) and “phren” (mind) which can be put as “split mind”. Henri has a mental disorder, but the film indicates more than that. The strong metaphor that has been used also shows us the effects of the alienation of a person to his own being. During this thirteen minutes short movie, we witness Henri’s deep loneliness because of this alienation, by being 91 centimeters from himself (and the distance gets even more with the second meteroite strike), Henri is not where he is supposed to be. Despite the fact that he is suffering from schizophrenia (and careful audiences will notice the signs that proves his delusion), the case here is not just a matter of having a mental disease, the metaphor also indirectly brings up the question of an existential matter which can also be evaluated apart from pyschological aspects. Since Henri is not “normal” anymore as he used to be, we see how he has been dragged into a crisis as well as having difficulties with keeping on his daily life. Despite his despair, his therapist claims that “there is no actual damage after all”. So we clearly see the gap between two different approches, one is experiencing the existential turning point as a facet of alienation, whereas the other is analyzing it without its philosophical depth since its only a matter of a disease that has to be cured. Not being understood by anyone, Henri is thrown into a solitude that he does not seem to overcome it.

Whether social or psychological, the concept of normality is open to discussion since the legitimacy of the authority which decides where exactly is the border between normality and abnormality is uncertain. Skhizein leads us to think about this borders as well. It is interesting that Henri actually measures the distance (precisely ninety-one centimeters) between normality and madness. By calculating the unmeasurable,  we sense a subtle irony in this film, which points out the mental, social and philosophical dephts of human mystery/misery. One wonders if this ninety-one centimeters is whether a mere symptom of a mental disorder or an existential dislocation which “normal” or not anyone may encounter.

Skhizein is an amazing film that has won seven awards. It pulls the audience into an abyss of the mental struggles by focusing on this bizarre and touching inner life of a man out of his mind. It’s an outstanding animation that definitely worths to watch over and over again!

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Even when something goes horribly wrong, as it did that September day in Tucson, the mental health budget of states are the first to be slashed.  The mentally ill usually do not have large lobbying groups or funds to help direct the voting in Washington.  The mentally ill are not known to be a voting bloc that lawmakers have to fear, such as senior citizens.  The severely mentally ill are usually relying on state and federal funding to survive because their mental illness disabled them to the point of not being able to work.

According to a study from the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors’ Research Institute, states have cut $2.1 billion from their mental health budgets over the last three fiscal years.  And they are likely not done.  More spending cuts are expected in the coming weeks as states finalize their 2012 spending plans.  Another study from the National Alliance on Mental Illness finds that between fiscal years 2009 and 2011, 16 states and the District of Columbia cut their mental health budgets by more than 10 percent.

The reality is even worse than those numbers.  Up to now, federal stimulus money has helped soften the blow by sending in $103 billion to states through Medicaid since early 2009.  The money has helped to keep state-run health insurance program surviving for the past two years, but the money will end this summer.  Meanwhile, because of the economic crisis, the need for mental health services continues to grow.  With more and more unemployed and uninsured, more people are in line for public services—including mental health services.  “The safety net,” says Marylou Sudders, former Massachusetts commissioner for mental health, “is shredded.”

Mental illness is the leading cause of disability in the United States and Canada.  Nearly 6 percent of the U.S. population has a serious mental illness like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.  People with severe mental illnesses are more likely to have low incomes because their education was interrupted by the disease, says Elaine Alfano, deputy policy director for the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law in Washington, D.C. It is difficult for people with severe mental illness to get a job, but add the historic unemployment rates and employers are not going to hire someone with a mental illness.  Their unexplained behaviors can alienate friends and family. Their conditions can be expensive to treat, which puts a hefty burden on the government if they qualify for public support.

According to the state directors’ survey, in fiscal 2010 and 2011, roughly half the states reported reducing the number of hospital beds in state run psychiatric hospitals. They’ve limited the amount of money they pass on to out-patient providers and cut staff everywhere. A third of states say they’ve had to reduce the number of people their programs serve.  The numbers become even more distressing when you look at them state by state.

Mental illness has traditionally been unfunded.  Many of the psychiatric hospitals have closed, but money has not been redirected to community mental health centers in order to provide outpatient care.  We closed the hospitals and then closed our eyes and just pretended the mentally ill did not exist.  Community programs have done the best with what they have.  But, in the end, there is not enough staff to handle the outpatient demands.  This just leads to more hospitalizations, which is expensive.  If we put the money into funding mental illness in the first place, we would save money in the long run.  I know… a novel idea in Washington.  Sometimes you have to spend money to save in the long run.

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Amid two wars, the United States’ military is having a difficult time with mental illness.  Extended terms and repeated deployments contribute to the rising mental illness and suicide rates in the military.  One such example can be seen with Pfc. David Lawrence, 20.  Lawrence allegedly shot and killed a captured Taliban member on last October.  The prisoner was sleeping in his cell when he was killed.  Lawrence faces premeditated murder charges and, if convicted, could face life in jail or execution.  What does the military need to do differently?

For starters, it needs to take mental illness far more seriously.  Should a person with a serious mental illness be in charge of prisoners or be given a gun?  Lawrence was on a prescribed anti-depressant at the time of the shooting.  In the weeks leading up to the shooting, Lawrence had revealed to family members that he was hearing voices.   During a military court hearing held in December, testimony revealed that Lawrence had asked for and received help from mental health providers in Afghanistan.  However, when he returned to his unit, he was not given any additional supervision.  Instead, according to Lawrence’s civilian attorney James Culp, he received longer-than-normal shifts on guard duty.

Despite the evidence to the contrary, prosecutors suggested he was faking mental illness in hopes of getting a lighter sentence.   They said Lawrence didn’t tell Army officials until after the shooting that he was hearing voices, and that after his arrest he spoke of “playing the crazy card.”   At the hearing, prosecutors also described Lawrence as a zealot bent on killing the enemy. They said his words and actions indicated he deliberately arranged to be the only guard on duty at the prisoner’s cell.

This case is a representation of the problems with mental health in the military.  “I think what this case shows is there’s these complex, contradictory needs in the military,” said Barbara Van Dahlen, a clinical psychologist and founder of Give An Hour, a nonprofit that provides free mental health services to returning troops and their families.  “On the one hand … we have to look out for these folks,” she said. “On the other hand, we have to keep control of our forces.”

Lawrence’s father and attorney describe David as a young man with a family history of schizophrenia.  Schizophrenia is often triggered by a stressful event.  Lawrence was badly shaken by the death of two friends in Afghanistan.  Van Dahlen said a trained mental health provider will be able to determine whether David Lawrence has schizophrenia.  “You can’t really fake being schizophrenic … not when an evaluator is looking at this,” she said.

Last month, Army psychiatrists certified Lawrence as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia.  Even so, the US Army has notified the Lawrence family they are proceeding with the court martial. If convicted, David Lawrence faces at the least life in prison up to the death penalty.

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