Image via WikipediaMy amazing photographer friend Nyani Quarmyne has recently done a photo essay and accompanying exhibition on Mental Health in Ghana. The images are evocative, technically stunning and beautifully understated. It's a powerful series of images and the stories behind each of the individuals is tragic. These are people who have been treated in ways we, in developed nations, would consider hideously cruel even for animals.
It reminded me of a story from my own family. My mother's uncle was said to have gone mad after practising a complex form of breathing and stotras in yoga without the guidance of a guru. The story goes that his arrogance led him to believe he was sufficiently versed in the practice of yoga to attempt these techniques unguided. In yoga, there are stotras that can lead either to growth or deterioration. Even those conducted for growth, if done incorrectly, are said to lead to disaster. Apparently, my great uncle thought it wise to defy popular belief and attempt these practices on his own. It led, in turn, to his downfall. The poor man was said to have gone mad and begun attacking those around him including his own family. He was chained to his bed in due course and remained there for many years. His wife was the only one who could enter the room to bring him food. He would attack his own children and the rest of his family could only peer at him through slits in the door as his mental health rapidly deteriorated. Healers were brought to the house and a variety of traditional remedies were tried to no effect. Through all of this, he remained chained, unable to leave the room or even reach the door. Eventually, his attacks diminished, he was deemed cured and released from his chains. But I wonder how he reconciled that period in his life. I wonder if the chaining made him fall further into his mental illness and how he endured that dark period.
It also leads me to ponder how societies deal with deviance from the norm. It would seem that we humans have little tolerance of deviance and little capacity to deal with it in respectful, humane ways. We're getting better at it I guess, but it's definitely a work in progress. The shunning, hiding, disenfranchisement and mistreatment of those with mental health issues is decidedly something to be castigated. But what is the way forward? I believe we can only move forward by shining a light in dark places. This is what I think Nyani is doing with his expose of the conditions endured by those Ghanaians with mental health issues. I hope you'll take the time to look through his powerful work.
It reminded me of a story from my own family. My mother's uncle was said to have gone mad after practising a complex form of breathing and stotras in yoga without the guidance of a guru. The story goes that his arrogance led him to believe he was sufficiently versed in the practice of yoga to attempt these techniques unguided. In yoga, there are stotras that can lead either to growth or deterioration. Even those conducted for growth, if done incorrectly, are said to lead to disaster. Apparently, my great uncle thought it wise to defy popular belief and attempt these practices on his own. It led, in turn, to his downfall. The poor man was said to have gone mad and begun attacking those around him including his own family. He was chained to his bed in due course and remained there for many years. His wife was the only one who could enter the room to bring him food. He would attack his own children and the rest of his family could only peer at him through slits in the door as his mental health rapidly deteriorated. Healers were brought to the house and a variety of traditional remedies were tried to no effect. Through all of this, he remained chained, unable to leave the room or even reach the door. Eventually, his attacks diminished, he was deemed cured and released from his chains. But I wonder how he reconciled that period in his life. I wonder if the chaining made him fall further into his mental illness and how he endured that dark period.
It also leads me to ponder how societies deal with deviance from the norm. It would seem that we humans have little tolerance of deviance and little capacity to deal with it in respectful, humane ways. We're getting better at it I guess, but it's definitely a work in progress. The shunning, hiding, disenfranchisement and mistreatment of those with mental health issues is decidedly something to be castigated. But what is the way forward? I believe we can only move forward by shining a light in dark places. This is what I think Nyani is doing with his expose of the conditions endured by those Ghanaians with mental health issues. I hope you'll take the time to look through his powerful work.
Asha, I think you're right. Education and transparent openness in all our communications seem to me to be the only ways to make a difference to ills like bigotry and inhumanity. The stark reality of your friend's photos helps to shine that light for sure.
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