holiday suicide

[Swanee]

It's the day after Christmas and I keep thinking of the patient I was working with who jumped in front of a train 2 wks ago. I saw the signs, got him admitted to the hospital, but he was discharged in the same condition into the same environment. Psyche homecare isn't working for the treatment resistant pop. They need intensive case management. Todays version of intensive case management is a visit once a wk from a social worker. In the mean time, these people are home alone, mismanaging their lives and suffering. I've been watching the deterioration of services for these folks and the hospitals keep pushing them out, expecting them to initiate services. Anyone want to donate a group home? If DMH followed the model that DMR uses, these people would be living in supportive housing and would be involved in some kind of program. I can't do this work any more. I need to be involved in a solution, not a bandaid. Thanks for letting me share.

[Jo Dirt]

Of all the sicknesses there are, it seems that mental sickess is the worst kind of sickness there is. As someone who has struggled with debilitating depression since a young child, I have a special place in my heart for these people. But, unfortunately, I know all too well what you mean by how so-called mental health services are lacking. Here in Tennessee, there are virtually no mental health services. What they call mental health services are a joke. A few years ago, I was in a situation where I needed "crisis intervention." I was sent on a wild goose chase and given the runaround more times than I could keep up with. Finally got ahold of what they called a "mobile crisis center" and was told the only way they would get involved was if the police were involved first.

I have a friend who is severely bipolar and when she realizes she needs help can't just check herself into a mental health hospital. She has to resort to dramatics, like ingesting pills in a suicide attempt. Even then, she is usually discharged after a couple of days.

Depression and mental illness hurt as much as any physical ailment people suffer from. It's too bad there is such a stigma attached to being mentally ill. It's like looking down on someone because they have cancer. It's just a disgrace.