“The accused were considered guilty unless proven innocent.” ― Nancy Rubin Stuart, Isabella of Castile: The First Renaissance Queen

I wish mental health wasn’t such a “judgement word”. I wonder if it’s that judgement that keeps those affected by mental illness from seeking the help they so desperately need. It amazes me at the number of people who suffer one or more of the many mental disorders that will not seek help, or take needed medication.

I have found out from having a family member with Borderline Personality Disorder and Bipolar Disorder that mental illness also affects those who love and try to live with the mentally ill person. While I’m sure the person affected with the disorder is suffering in ways those of us not affected could never imagination, family and friends are affected in ways the mentally ill person can not see.

I have seen lives ruined during a mania episode that set in motion a destructive action that caused irreparable harm to the person unlucky enough to be at the other end of that mania. The person at the rage end of this illness have had their own character and their name damaged or in some incidents, irreparably destroyed, careers were lost, marriages were destroyed, and babies were growing up in a unsafe home, an unstable home, with a dysfunctional family.

Knowing someone personally who is dealing with this as a victim, I have seen them arrested, and convicted, and a no contact issued, and has two small children. A false claim of assault call was made to local police by his spouse, and only she was asked anything. There was no evidence of any assault, but instead he was loaded into the police car without even a shirt on in winter weather. She would threaten to do that every time he said or did anything she didn’t like, and that was almost daily.

This incident got me wondering how many men are serving time, or living ruined lives because of false assault allegations. In researching this, I also noticed everything out there that speaks of abuse and assault, the articles are speaking to the woman. In this particular situation, the husband is the victim of verbal and emotional abuse every day. He suffers indescribable indignities every day. His children hear all this. He has become so beat down, the life of him has been literally sucked out of him. He is a shell of the man he once was. Why does no one care about the abuse of men?

I would love to be an advocate for those men who have truly been falsely accused and convicted of assault without concrete evidence it ever really happened. I would like to see the accuser to be required to serve the same amount of time as the man she falsely accused.

Don’t misunderstand me. I know there are women who have truthfully been assaulted, abused etc., and my heart goes out to them. They deserve justice. I just know there are others who claim abuse but never experience it. They should be ashamed to make a mockery of those who really suffer. Excuse me for saying this so bluntly, but a friend once told me her son made the statement he was never going to win against his children’s mother because he has a p—-s! I wonder just how right he is!