Charlie Sheen challenges the notion that there is no such thing as bad press.  With the Middle East erupting in protest while Congress and state legislatures skirmish over the economy, the bad behavior of one TV star should not amount to a hill of beans in this world.  And yet Sheen is a huge story, with his number of Twitter “followers” skyrocketing.  Why?  How many times have you heard the term “train wreck” in connection with Sheen?  Are we that bored?  Do we enjoy watching someone’s life burst into flames?

A larger question is whether any good can come out of Sheen’s debacle.  Many ordinary people are afflicted with substance abuse and mental illness.  Will Sheen highlight the horror of those conditions and their effects on children, coworkers and others? Congresswoman Giffords and our wounded veterans bring attention to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  Will we learn something more important from Sheen’s circumstances than whether Two and a Half Men returns to the air?

People severely injured in accidents frequently experience TBI, PTSD, anxiety and depression.  Family courts are filled with victims of mental illness, with young children subjected to unstable, delusional or sociopathic parents.  Depression among the elderly is rampant.

Charlie Sheen can pay for repeated visits to rehab and a string of psychiatrists.  The vast majority of Americans with mental illness or substance abuse cannot afford care.  Mental health treatment is excluded or severely limited by most insurance plans.  Injured workers cannot find a psychiatrist who will accept worker’s compensation.  Public hospitals and clinics are overburdened and cannot begin to cope with the demand.  Commit someone with a serious mental illness, and he or she is quickly put back on the street.

We have seen what happens when a deranged person gets a gun.  How did all those killers escape detection?  Maybe they were detected, but there were no options to treat them or protect others from their rage.

Until we take mental health seriously and improve access to mental health care, there will be no change in a very sad and dangerous situation.