74 Insane Asylums: The Kirkbrides 

Yes, one of my primary goals behind producing all of the videos about all of the old historic facilities in this series is to simply bring across the truth that I was able to share toward the end of this video. Almost without exception, things gradually and eventually ended up in bad ways at most of them...and yet, you can't look at the greatness of all they attempted without being somewhat humbled, because today we have no efforts or systems that can even begin to compare with it today. I want for people to understand that, once upon a time, our country really TRIED. Because today we're simply placing bandaids on bullet holes in efforts designed to only ease our own consciences in regards to how we're otherwise completely failing our nation's mentally ill and mentally disabled. I honestly believe that if we were to apply today's knowledge, technologies, and resources with the level of effort and commitment that they displayed back then, that we would then finally be able to adequately treat and deal with our nation's mentally ill and disabled by combining the best of both eras, today and yesterday. Sometimes, the best way forward is rooted in the lessons that we've learned in the past, and in applying those lessons toward today's challenges and struggles. And thank you so much for having taken the time to watch this video and comment upon it, too. This things mean more than you know and accomplish more than you might realize.

My mind goes back to the poor unfortunate Chinese sailor who became separated from his ship in New York City back in the early 1900s and, not being able to speak any English, became understandably upset and distraught with the people trying to talk to and question him. The authorities were hurriedly called in, they then quickly decided that the man must be mentally unbalanced, and he was then committed to the Willard State Hospital. Unable to speak English, unable to understand what was being said, and unable to be understood by those confining him, he would spend 30 very long years being committed at Willar before the truth was finally deciphered, and they realized that he had never been insane at all. But by the time the truth was finally known, all of his friends and family back in his homeland had aged and died, and he no longer had anywhere else to go. As a result, after having spent 30 years at Willard, he would then have to turn right around and spend the rest of his life there, as well. And yes, the history of mental health care - and especially that which took place in earlier times and eras - is full of such unfortunate, unimaginable truths and accounts. But, really, when we look at all of the mentally ill who are today lost in homelessness, and the scores more of mentally ill now being warehoused in today's prison system...can we really say that we're doing all that much better today than what they did yesterday? And this is one of the truths and one of today's realities that I strive to bring to awareness in each of these videos. When we look at all that was done yesterday and how things were, we can't help but come to the sad conclusion that, in many ways, things haven't really changed or gotten that much better at all - at least not for most of today's mentally ill and disabled. We now have the knowledge, technologies, and resources to finally allow us to treat our mentally ill and disabled on a much more positive, effective basis, though...if we can only commit ourselves to trying on the same level that are nation once did in times now long past. And you own past is very similar to mine, too. I was born in 1968 having seizures at birth and with blue skin due to oxygen deprivation. I would ultimately be diagnosed with an "undiagnosable brain dysfunction, spend have my childhood on a strong mind altering drug because of it, and then go on to be committed at 5 different psychiatric facilities in 3 different states before finally being placed upon a strong psychotropic drug cocktail that enable me to achieve and maintain a degree of equilibrium between my circumstances and symptoms. So I am able to identify with your own history on a very personal level, and I am very grateful for your continued presence within the ongoing progress of the channel here, too.

Thank you so much for having watched this video and for having taken the time to comment upon it - these things mean more to me than you know, and they accomplish more than you might realize. I have been and continue to be very humbled and deeply touched by all of the comments and support that these videos are receiving, and the knowledge that they are having such a positive impact upon so many people touches my heart more than I know how to say. My goal is to produce positive, needful tools for remembering yesterday, creating a better day today, and securing a better day tomorrow for all of our nation's mentally ill and mentally disabled. There's so much to be shared and so much to be learned in regard to their history, much of which is very long and very sad. And in all of my efforts, I always strive to do their memories and former lives proper justice, and to give them all of the respect and remembrance that they deserve and, to a large degree, have always failed to receive on a historical basis. Along these lines, it's quite possible that there is actually more going on within each of these videos than a lot of people may realize, and one of my primary goals in producing them is to provide a means to gradually bring these histories, truths, needs, and possibilities to the minds of viewers in ways that they might then be positively acted upon in a common basis. So thank you so much for your comment and kind words here - they really do mean more than you know and are quite possibly accomplishing more than you might realize.

Thank you so much for having watched this video and for having taken the time to comment upon it - these things mean more to me than you know and accomplish more than you might realize. And yes, I will continue to produce more videos on individual insane asylums and mental hospitals, too. If anything, my most recently produced and posted video - “74 Insane Asylums: The Kirkbrides” - has helped me to understand just how much more work still needs to be done in this regard. These are true pieces of history and real people that we must continue to remember and seek to do proper justice for. We have come so far, learned so much, and accomplished so many things for the mentally ill and the mentally disabled…and yet, sometimes, and in some ways, as far as we’ve come, it seems like we still have even farther to go, and even more still needing to be accomplished. And sometimes, in order to truly move forward, we must remember the past, the people that went before us, what things were learned, what things were accomplished, and all that people had to go through on the path that has become “today.” And much like you, my own initial interest in this history stems from the simple fact that, had I been born as little as ten years earlier myself, then I, too, would have quite possibly ended up having to spend much of my life in such an institution. But the overwhelming majority of today’s mentally ill and disabled have now either been abandoned as this country’s homeless or are currently being warehoused in today’s prison system, and under conditions that too closely resemble the fates of those that were committed to the insane asylums of the 1800s that would evolve into the mental hospitals of the 1900s. So, as a country, we have yet to reach the point that we can sit down, pat each other on the back, and be content with all of the work that we’ve done and all of the progress that we’ve made. No, right now and today, we need to roll up our sleeves once more and to continue working toward all that still needs to be done for our country’s must vulnerable citizens. They continue to depend on us…and we can’t afford to let them down.

Thank you for both having watched this video and for having taken the time to comment upon it. And your kind words and support touch my heart more than you know and accomplish more than you might realize, too. I am very happy that the courses of our lives have been able to come together in this way and at this time, and I hope that you are able to remain with the channel as we continue to grow and move more and more into the future. In terms of the proper treatment and care of our nation's mentally ill and mentally disabled, we have come so far, and yet we still have so much farther that we still need to go...and we walk the tallest when we walk together.

A lot of work is going into each video in this series, but, yes, I have to admit that a lot of extra work went into this one. Toward the end, this video actually grew to such a level of complexity that it over-taxed my computer's processors to the point that it became very difficult to work on. Between the content, all of the effects, and all of the timings, the entirety of this video came together like a Chinese puzzle. Even after it was largely produced, I spent 8 rather long days simply screening it and making corrections and adjustments after each screening. So thank you so much for your comments and kind words - they really do mean a lot to me. And like you, I wish that it were possible to go back in time and interview those who worked at these old facilities just to have a record of their own personal histories and experiences at them. I did uncover one such audio archive while researching the old Willard insane asylum/state hospital, and the things that the former employees of the facility shared where both memorable and haunting. And I wish you all the best with your daughter, as well, as it sounds that the journey she is on somewhat mirrors my own. On average, it takes 10 years from the time of the initial onset of symptoms to when people start aggressively seeking treatment. Even then, and as was the case with me, I probably spent another 10 years of searching and suffering before finally being prescribed a psychotropic drug cocktail capable of allowing me to achieve and maintain some degree of equilibrium between my symptoms and my circumstances. To be totally honest, I had nobody in my life to help and encourage me on the level that you're daughter has you, though, and most people suffering from mental illness experience very similar circumstances in their own ongoing ordeals, as well. So your presence and influence within your daughter's life is definitely a very strong plus in her favor. I wish you all both all the best, and please know that neither one of you are ever alone. We walk the tallest when we walk together.

@atouristinthelandofreason5284 Thank you. I'm not without my own issues. I have been diagnosed with anxiety and depressive disorders, ADHD, plus PTSD as well as MS and fibromyalgia. Some of the medications that are used to treat those conditions are also used for mental health issues. My daughter is 35, and her issues have just begun to seriously manifest only over the last few months, necessitating the prescribing of new medications and the subsequent adjustments that go along with them. She also suffers from debilitating migraines and is doing her best to continue to work and function in spite of them. Once again, our government and the health insurance companies are next to useless, as she makes too much money (according to the insurance company) to have her prescriptions fully paid for, and the copay for the newest migraine medication is $130-too expensive to be affordable. We try to help her out as much as possible, but we're both retired, and I'm disabled and on a fixed budget. It's shameful that our country can and does support other countries while leaving our own to starve or languish away in jails or on the streets. 😥

My best friend had debilitating migraines until menopause, they just stopped - maybe your daughter could see if hormone therapy could help?@@terrisomers7843

@@terrisomers7843 For what it’s worth, you’re doing everything right, and your daughter is a truly amazing warrior. In terms of your own mental health history, there were no doubt times in your own past when you had to agonizingly wonder why you were having to suffer the things that you were suffering. The reason for that has now been made clear, though - it was all so that you could understand your daughter and to assist her as she now faces her own difficulties and struggles. And sometimes, being able to understand why things happened in the ways that they did allows us to handle them better and to become better as people ourselves. And the rest of the world at large may never recognize the courage and the conviction with which your daughter is now having to approach her own mental health struggles, they may never realize the ways that she is having to suffer in doing so, and they may never appreciate the victories and triumphs that she achieves in the process…but you know, you understand, and YOU appreciate it. And sometimes simply having that one person in our life can make a whole world of difference for us.

Of all the videos that I've produced here on the channel, this video is one of my favorites, too. The history is so strong, the scale of what they accomplished was so immense, and there is so much worthy of being remembered. I'm planning on self-publishing a couple of books pertaining to this channel and what can be found on it, and this video will be the basis of one of them.