Education is one answer. Doctors and governments need to take the lead in explaining mental illness to the public. And sufferers should be better informed about where and how to seek help. A commendable example is the television ads that the Hong Kong government runs, depicting how ex-mental patients can rejoin society. The bigger change must be within each and every one of us.
Mental illness is mysterious and scary, and sufferers have long been shut away.
The Hong Kong ads were prompted in part by vehement and sometimes violent resistance by many neighborhoods to hosting a mental health clinic or halfway house. Of course, the public has a right to be protected from the dangerously deranged. But the vast majority are peaceful and have a right to rehabilitation, like patients recovering from any other illness. There will always be unfortunate incidents, and police officers and emergency workers may need better crisis training. Onlookers should remember that they are not watching a movie or a videogame.