Proclamation 5698 --
Mental Illness Awareness Week, 1987
By
the President of the
A
Proclamation
Mental
illnesses afflict the rich and the poor, the young and the old. They respect
neither race nor gender, robbing millions of Americans of full, productive, and
happy lives. Millions more -- relatives, friends, and co-workers -- share the
pain.
This
pain is all the more regrettable because much of it is needless. Stigma, rooted
in fear and ignorance, keeps many mentally ill citizens from getting the help
they need. Adults in the prime of life are incapacitated by symptoms that could
be prevented or ameliorated with appropriate treatments. Children, our most
important resource for the future, are unable to reach their full potential
because early symptoms are ignored and manifestations like alcohol and drug
abuse often go unrecognized. Elderly citizens, the fastest growing segment of
our population, are prematurely relegated to long-term care facilities due to
improper diagnosis and lack of treatment.
The
costs of inappropriate or inadequate response to mental illness are enormous.
Economic losses alone can be measured in the billions of dollars, but the cost
in human suffering is incalculable. Untreated mentally ill adults cannot work,
ignored mentally ill children cannot learn, and misdiagnosed older citizens
cannot contribute. Worst of all, young and old, bereft of hope, sometimes take
their lives. Appropriate treatments can relieve suffering and save lives. They
can also restore productivity and increase independence -- helping Americans to
continue contributing to, rather than become dependent on, society.
Americans
can avoid the temptation to stigmatize those with mental illnesses by learning
more about their causes and treatments. They must recognize that mental
disorders are not due to personal weakness, but are heavily influenced by
environmental stresses, genetic vulnerabilities, and biochemical and brain
dysfunctions. Americans should know about, and use to its potential, the
scientific progress that has brought an array of new treatments. Symptoms that
once disabled can be alleviated. Dysfunctional behavior and thinking patterns
that once crippled can be corrected. Psychological disorders that once undermined
personal happiness can be ameliorated through counseling and therapy.
Further,
Americans can take hope in a future enlightened by today's research. New
technologies permit study of the living brain, shedding light on the neurochemical processes that underlie emotion, behavior,
and thought. Genetic studies delve into the very substance of life, opening new
insights into the causes and possible prevention of some of our most
devastating mental illnesses. With knowledge, there is hope. With hope, there is
progress.
In
recognition that Americans need to know more about mental illnesses and their
treatments, the Congress, by Public Law 100 - 81, has designated the week of
October 4 through October 10, 1987, as ``Mental Illness Awareness Week'' and
authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in its
observance.
Now,
Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the
In
Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of September, in
the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-seven, and of the
Ronald
Reagan
[Filed with the Office
of the Federal Register,