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My name is Don Lane. I am a mental health advocate and consumer of mental health services. I have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and have been coping with symptoms for over 20 years.

“My worst days in recovery, are better than the best days in relapse.” This is a quote by Kate Le Page that reminds me of my intense struggle to get much needed mental health services on Maui. The ongoing lack of services in Hawaii allows the suffering of individuals who otherwise could further their own recovery. These people are my peers, and they are dying.

I didn’t realize the necessity for more psychiatrists in Hawaii until I spiraled into a state of psychosis. I was hospitalized, released and set on the seemingly simple task of finding a Maui psychiatrist to continue my medication management plan.

I did everything I could not to drift away helplessly into space. I asked my then girlfriend to chain me to the ground as I placed a couch on my chest. In my psychosis, the sun caused my skin to melt and I could only communicate via cryptic words written on a notepad. Although this sounds like an excerpt from a science fiction novel, to me this was reality, and my mind was shutting down.

I remember glimpses of feet passing by as we walked toward the hospital on Oahu. After being admitted, I was given medication that helped correct my distorted reality, delusions and hallucinations. I was released a week later and told to contact a psychiatrist to refill my prescriptions.

Once back home on Maui, I attempted to contact several psychiatrists. Those who returned my call explained they would not be able to see me for two to three months. I ended up in the emergency room at Maui Medical Center twice to refill medications, still desperately trying to schedule an appointment with a psychiatrist.

The second time I went to the ER, the medical doctor on staff refused to write a prescription. I was told the hospital was not a pharmacy and that I was not trying hard enough to get an appointment with a psychiatrist.

The second time I went to the ER, the medical doctor on staff refused to write a prescription. I was told the hospital was not a pharmacy and that I was not trying hard enough to get an appointment with a psychiatrist. My anxiety was building again, dangerously close to the beginning stages of psychosis.

I frantically called Mental Health America, Maui County. Their executive director raced down to the hospital to advocate for me. What about the hundreds if not thousands of others in our community who do not have such a support base? Should they be dismissively allowed to relapse again to suffer, and in extreme cases, possibly commit suicide?

Later, I learned about a bill that would allow trained psychologists to prescribe a narrow formulary of psychotropic medications. I educated myself and became a strong advocate for . I have given testimony in person three times over two sessions and continue to meet with state senators and representatives to ask why the bill has not been passed into law.

Doing nothing allows the continued distress of those suffering with mental illness. This bill would greatly alleviate the lack of access to care and save lives in Hawaii.