The Madness of Laura IV

2 July 2016

            Over the last month we have seen Laura diagnosed and treated at different times in history. We have also explored how mental health care differed between the rich and poor. But how does that compare to the world she would live in today? If Laura were in modern New York City would she have access to the kind of care she needed?

           If Laura were to seek help as wealthy person in New York city she would have access to c large number of options. At eighteen years old, Laura would most likely still be on her father’s health insurance plan, or be able to afford her own. She would have access to private counseling as well as both public and private inpatient treatment. It is very likely that Laura would receive the best care available and live a fairly normal life.

             As an individual living in poverty Laura would probably not have adequate health insurance. She would not have access to even public mental health care. Laura, like so many others who are mentally ill and poor, might find herself in jail. This might provide her wit he some minor treatment, but would be no help when she was out of jail. Laura would be facing a very difficult road ahead. Work would be difficult to find and she may even face the prospect of being homeless.

C.L.

For the past few posts we've been focused on the past but today we will take a look at the present, specifically present day New York City. Here we will look at my character, the Narrator, when she is in poverty and when she's wealthy. If the Narrator was poor she would be homeless, living on the streets of New York. This would be because her unstable mental state would not permit her to work and therefore she would have no money to find care or shelter. She would possibly be a spectacle for those who passed her on the streets because of her lively episodes. When her delusions get severe she might turn to drugs sold on the streets to calm them. This way of life would be very dangerous. On the other hand, if she was wealthy she might go to a nice facility where she would have access to some of the best treatments. The accommodations provided by the hospital would make her very comfortable and hopefully she'll be able to recover quickly!

This entry is one where we did not have readings going into it, but rather we have been given the task of hypothesizing on how we would think our character would live today in New York. Personally, I think that a rich person would be able to afford to get care from their own psychitrist. If they were a celebrity, they might ignore the signs and even get addicted to drugs, which would be a big scandel. It would be hard to get out of the stress of the publicity and work.

As a poor person, they would not have it much better, as New York is an expensive place to live. They would probably be among the many homeless people living in NY, and would not get the care they need. Their only hope would be if they were lucky enough to see someone if they end up in jail. As long as mental health is not properly viewed, it's an issue for anyone.