In the podcast, “The Problem with the Solution,” men’s ways to have tried to solve mental illnesses or any types of problems- were discussed. It is in the human nature to want to give a solution to a certain “problem” that arises. However, concerning the mental illnesses of human beings, it is not possible to create the most healthy solution for each other, for those that have a mental illness. There, a woman who saw the problem in a common solution to treat mental illness, Ellen Baxter, researched to find the solution to the solution of the original problem. She learned that in Geel, Belgium, villagers had a foster care system for mental patients, which the “cure” was to help the patients embrace their mental illnesses and habits that most people wanted to “fix.” This only seemed to have worked for non-family members because the foster families did not care to “fix” their boarders (those who were getting foster care) as much as they would have for their family members. The level of “care” and being able to accept each other’s differences was what helped the patients in Geel find a more stable mental state.
The miracle from Baxter’s experiences, the “cure” of having no solution to one’s mental illness brought a solution and a wonder to why human beings need to feel satisfied only when there is a solution to everything. When Baxter worked out a false diagnosis to live in a mental hospital, there was order, but not a solution or an answer to solve the problems of the patients. In Geel, boarders were welcome “as they were” and they felt much more balanced since they did not drown their systems with medication. This was a better “solution”- not having a solution.
As seen through the podcast and Baxter’s research and her effort to put people together in New York City despite their mental states, providing affordable housing for those who desperately need it, it is clear that mental illnesses should not be a bother to each other if the reasons are selfish to those that were not diagnosed a certain mental illness. The solution should be about making the “diagnosed” better, not to satisfy those that live around them. The “want” to satisfy those that were medically “sane” made the problem bigger and did not give the “insane” the chance to take time for themselves or for their brains and bodies to rest.
The solution to mental illnesses is to stop being “nosy” and to accept and love each other’s differences rather than judging that something is wrong. That is why the bigger issue becomes the fact that there are no solutions to anything because everything can be considered a problem in the human society.

Works Cited:

“The Problem with the Solution.” Audio blog post. Invisibilia. NPR, 1 July 2016.