When Carol Gotbaum headed to the Phoenix airport, she undoubtedly had no idea that the airport's interior would be the last thing she'd ever see. News outlets around the world have repeatedly run the video and accompanying story of her arrest and subsequent death at Phoenix's Sky Harbor. For some, it raises the question "what were the police thinking, leaving a woman alone who was clearly so distraught?" For Kathy Scott, however, it raises a different question: where was Gotbaum's family?

"I do not know her family or the intimate details of their situation, but because I do understand the view many take of mental illness, I can surmise. The family simply did not acknowledge the stranglehold mental or emotional illness has on an individual, and like many others, simply wanted Gotbaum to be provided with the rights and dignity afforded to any other grown woman to make her own decisions and to chart her own course of action. If she chose to travel alone, they let her."

The problem, Scott goes on to say, is that those who suffer from mental and emotional disorders are often in states-of-mind that prevent them from making good, wise decisions. Though friends and family members may cringe at the idea of restricting a loved one's "freedoms", those restrictions can keep them on a safe path toward recovery.

Labels: at_risk, emotional_issues, mental_health