So I thought I'd start a dialogue going and break a cardinal rule and maybe even get a little personal in order to fuel a discussion about the state of mental health care in America. Now the whole notion is still stigmatized even though half the country is on meds and it took me a long time to even admit anything to myself until I was in my early 20's which sucks and discourages a lot of people from seeking help. Basically, I've always been shy to the point where large crowds other than mosh pits give make me extremely uncomfortable and meeting new people gives me the cold sweats. I've also always felt things very intensely where it takes me forever to get over things like fights and break ups to where I avoid those people and situations entirely and during bad breakups, suffer symptoms that can be categorized as evidence of a heart attack or broken heart syndrome. I also haven't been able to feel genuine, happiness lasting more than 4 hours since I was 11, haven't had regular sleep patterns since I was 15, and haven't had real energy since around the same time.
Now over the years I've coped, despite a few incidents where I've gotten so depressed where I literally haven't been able to move but have occasionally seen people who've all tried the talking cure, meditation, and exercise and all the other traditional crap that has never worked.
Then, an extremely talented shrink working with AmeriCorps looked at my family history, personal story, exposure to stuff like chernobyl, and ran a few tests and diagnosed me with General and Social Anxiety as well as dysthymia. The other two are common and well understood but dysthymia is basically a fancy way of saying "extremely long-term, low-grade, functional depression" typically brought on by drug abuse or exposure to toxic chemicals. I've gotten by ok but functional depression is a lot like functional alcoholism, you're quality of life is always less than satisfactory, you're never functioning on full power, and every mole hill is a mountain.
Now after kind of making a name for myself at two jobs, my position was eliminated a month ago and all my hard work was basically reapropriated and recredited (your tax dollars at work). Of course I lost my insurance and benefits because I'm completely unwilling to pay COBRA $750 a month on a policy that costs $180 a month on the individual market and am currently unable to afford individual insurance due to no income, a paltry severance, and a battle with UI after my former employer under-reported my work history, health care is a luxury I can't afford.
I've been taking tests, applying to schools, and applying to jobs but its been so difficult to focus due to the depression obviously intensifying under these conditions that I've decided to seek out a prescription for welbutrin and other mild-anti depressives through our wonderful social safety net.
Holy shit is this thing full of holes. Let's talk about mental health for the uninsured and let's leave out medicaid because getting that card is becoming more and more impossible as states swirl their budgets down the capitalist toilet. I live in a major city of nearly a million people. The number of public mental health workers serving these roughly 800,000 people is 12.
If you have an emergency you can call a crisis line...they'll send you a bill in the mail.
If you have a serious emergency you can go to an emergency room and have them charge you several thousand dollars for a waiting room chair, a 30 minute appointment, and maybe a prescription because even the "free" clinic/"free" hospitals mental health services come full price or do not accept you if you are uninsured. This translates to (in some cases) up to one thousand dollars per hour.
Now lets talk about run of the mill depression, anxiety, management stuff or I don't know, getting your meds if you're a bipolar or whatever. That falls under 12 people. You call in Monday at 8 am to schedule an intake appointment which is first come, first serve and the slots fill up in the first 10 minutes. Once you get into intake, you pay them sixty bucks to set you up with an appointment with one of these 12 people which can be anywhere between a month to a year and a half from now and amounts to a 10 minute session, costing $30 wherein someone asks you how you are, writes you a prescription, and makes you buy whatever meds you need at their pharmacy for a significant markup. Oh and you have to see them once every two weeks or as needed, $30 for five minutes in person or on the phone. It's pretty much the same for all other local cities.
So I'm shitty but I'll deal.
But think about people who have very serious problems, are suicidal, or potentially violent but not at the point where a state would institutionalize them (which considering the budget, often means send them to prison). Think about mental health services in your own city and how that affects public safety, your safety, and the general welfare.
Discuss.
__________________ Land of the free, home of the brave...
Do you think we will ever be saved?
In this land of dreams find myself sober...
Wonder when will it'll all be over...
Living in a void when the void grows colder...
Wonder when it'll all be over?
Will you be laughing when it's over?
Christ, that sounds awful. I can't believe you get charged all that.
I was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder last year. I must say, my experience here has very different, though I live in the UK. The NHS have been truly excellent with giving me various treatments, I've had numerous hour long sessions with a psychologist, cognitive therapy etc and they are still a continued support.
I really hope you find a way to get treatment and don't break the bank doing it.
I hope this is on topic (correct me if I'm off, Darth Jello) but I noticed that there's a general attitude about mental health in America: we don't think of it as being "serious business." We relegate it to second class illness and are not as sympathetic to those with issues.
Someone goes on long-term disability because they have PTSD and their coworkers think that the Vet is lazy, a crappy employee, and so forth. When, in actuallity, the Vet wakes up screaming in the middle of the night (because the Vet continues to see friends exploding and is helpless to save them), sweating, and cannot stop shaking and crying for several hours, and, yet, this person doesn't have a problem that should be taken seriously and they should "stop being lazy and get their ass to work"?
My point is, we need a large social shift in our perceptions of mental illness. A mental illness, like severe depression, is a very real problem and it can be every bit as debilitating as a severe medical issue. I just don't like the bias Americans have for "it's just in their head." I would like to see a change in the people which would also see a change in legislation.
I know, right. Maybe the early 20th century shrinks had the right idea: straight-jackets, lobotomies, shock therapy, and dunking nutjobs into ice water was the way to go. Because the modern-day methods of pills and a slap on the wrist don't seem to be working too well.
Back then they were also quicker to notice and act on crazy people and their symptoms; they didn't ignore "red flags" which our digital, PC society does. Had they lived in the 1920's, the Tucson shooter and Virginia Tech shooter wouldn't have gotten as far they did. They'd be lobotomized long before getting their hands on a firearm.
There are a lot of people that have OCD, which makes it hard to live with someone like that and the Bi-Polar commercials are all over the TV commercials. And you don't want to get on their bad sides. lol, they just are too compulsive in their thinking and won't let it go to the point of revenge. I think it's something in the foods which is why I try to go organic. There was a time when I had depression which was hard enough, but I worked through that.
Many people won't get on medications because they are gun owners and you cannot own a gun if you have any sort of mental illness and those people DON'T need to be owning a gun!
Others I know have lost their health insurance and have to function in the state of agitation. Others have gone to the streets to find other types of drugs that would alleviate their symptoms. Some people sell their prescription, but a bit higher prices.
Of course if you are caught selling or having a prescription that is not in your name, for every pill it's a felony drug charge. But with many of the mental facilities closed down some years ago, you have many people out in the streets and in the jails. They are homeless.
There are many types of exposures that can screw up your brain chemistry and I think going organic, if possible, and stay away from stressful people could help. Get rid of the energy vampires. Be good to yourself. Sometimes you have to put yourself first.
__________________ Deja Moo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before.
Energy Vampires are people that seem to suck the life out of you with their own problems, needy, not respecting your boundaries, making you feel guilty with false guilt, very controlling, demanding and can be totally narcissistic in nature. You are left feeling so drained. They are people who take without giving much in return.
Avoid these people like the plague!!
__________________ Deja Moo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before.
Last edited by Deja~vu on Feb 13th, 2011 at 12:42 AM
Oh I agree! narcissistic in nature... but think and feel they give so much..
these kind of people you should not answer let them have the last word Oh think they are so intelligent and they make a point of telling you over and over again..
I'm sorry but what a load of bullshit. Will not let it go until the point of revenge? eh, have you met any people with OCD or even know a thing about it...
And a lot of people have it? here in Britain it's thought that 1.2% of the population has it. That's for people who are actually diagnosed.
Unless I misread your sentence there.
****. What? I can't be the only one who thinks that...
Last edited by MildPossession on Feb 14th, 2011 at 09:53 PM
The only irritating people with psychological or neurological disorders I've met have all been autistic. I'd say that's because of some sort of "uncanny valley" of not being so obviously disabled to garner immediate sympathy.
__________________
Graffiti outside Latin class.
Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
A juvenal prank.
Yep they can be. One of my parents worked with all kinds of people during the 60s/70s, even psychopaths, and she had a wonderful time working in various hospitals and found most of them to be fine.
see if there is any cognitive behavioral therapy around, go to group if necessary (I have social anxiety pretty bad too, crammed on a bus right now and crazy anxious, group might be intimidating, but easier access). call your local universities to see if there are any studies being done on depression/anxiety and try to get involved.
the idea of a "cure" to a mental health problem is largely mythology. regardless of what happens, these are things that will probably be with you forever, but things like cognitive behavioural therapy tries to teach you ways to deal with issues as they happen, and how to use different forms of thinking about situations to reduce anxiety. it's effective in like 30-50% of people, as good as meds in a lot of cases.
Meh, tried it, not much success. As said before, the main cause of my issues is injury due to exposure irradiation. It's not a matter of cognitively refraining the situation, I'm well aware of when I'm feeling irrational. It's a matter of correcting a chemical imbalance the physiologically prevent me from feeling correctly.
__________________ Land of the free, home of the brave...
Do you think we will ever be saved?
In this land of dreams find myself sober...
Wonder when will it'll all be over...
Living in a void when the void grows colder...
Wonder when it'll all be over?
Will you be laughing when it's over?
KMC Community Forums
Feb 9th, 2011 01:40 PM
I know, right. Maybe the early 20th century shrinks had the right idea: straight-jackets, lobotomies, shock therapy, and dunking nutjobs into ice water was the way to go. Because the modern-day methods of pills and a slap on the wrist don't seem to be working too well.
