Mental health

Wanted: Psychiatric Specialists in the Emergency Room

by Bill Brenner April 20, 2011 Medicine

A friend directed me toward a disturbing story on NPR’s website about the mentally ill languishing in ERs. Mood music: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkJOZOOXJWk&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0] Here’s the first few paragraphs of the report by Jenny Gold: As he lay on a gurney in the emergency department of Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, Erik grew increasingly upset. He had called the police to report a theft from his apartment, but wound up being taken to the hospital. The ER…  [Read More]

Reinforcing the Stigma Instead of Breaking It

by Bill Brenner April 20, 2011 Mental disorders

Lost in my most recent tirade against employers who discriminate against the mentally ill is a point that’s very important: People like us have a responsibility to prove we’re up to the challenges we seek. Mood music: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QanVuQIXU5s&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0] In my opinion, employers have no legal right to deny someone a job simply because they were diagnosed with a mental illness. They do, however, have the right to pass over a candidate who doesn’t seem…  [Read More]

The World of “Crazy Mike” (Knowing Who You Pick On)

by Bill Brenner April 20, 2011 Communication Skills

Got a lot of comments on yesterday’s post about the mentally ill guy in Haverhill people call “Crazy Mike.” Read on and you’ll know him better. Mood music: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYyK-ZvpR_M&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0] The most insight on Mike comes from Katherine Doot, an old friend of Erin’s and recent discoverer of this blog. She lives in Arizona now, but as a Haverhill native she got to know Mike pretty well. Here’s what she had to say: Mike in…  [Read More]

“Liking” The Crazy Mike of Haverhill Page is Sad and Stupid

by Bill Brenner April 19, 2011 Communication Skills

Here’s the part where I lose some of my Haverhill friends. I don’t care. In any city there’s a guy like “Crazy Mike.” The stereotype is usually a long beard, ratty clothes and the fellow is usually living on the street. He talks aloud to no one in particular and falls asleep on playground equipment. People like to laugh at him. I’m no saint. I’ve made my share of fun of people like this, and…  [Read More]

Firing Someone For Mental Illness Is An Outrage

by Bill Brenner April 19, 2011 Children's issues

If someone does a lousy job at work, they deserve to be fired. If someone does the job well but is fired because they have a mental illness, that’s an outrage. Mood music: [spotify:track:0OGwOky2l941SPRkE56kU9] This morning’s tirade brought to you by this comment posted on the LinkedIn NAMI group discussion board: I lost my job as Director – Communications from a regional Chamber of Commerce after disclosing my 30 years of living and working with…  [Read More]

Coffee With My Therapist, Part 3

by Bill Brenner April 14, 2011 Addiction

I had mixed emotions as I drove to my therapy appointment this morning. On the one hand, I was pissed that half my morning was getting blown out for the appointment. I wasn’t happy about all the tasks bearing down on me, either. On the other hand, the coffee I got at Starbucks was pretty damn good and the ride allowed me to get my fill of vintage Ozzy and Randy Rhoads. Mood music: [youtube…  [Read More]

Wear That Depression Like A Friggin’ Grown-Up

by Bill Brenner April 12, 2011 Depression

Two of my closest friends, God Bless ’em, always think they can read my mood in real time based on something I wrote in this blog a day, week or month ago. But sometimes the written word is just a snapshot in time — a feeling that either intensifies or goes away in short order. Mood music: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXahja5V9Wo&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0] The conversation usually goes something like this: Friend: “So, you’ve been kind of down lately, huh?”…  [Read More]

Run For Your Life (Action Re-Defined)

by Bill Brenner April 11, 2011 Mental disorders

A huge challenge of learning to live life in the middle lane is that much of my spiritual growth and sobriety-abstinence has come to revolve around the belief that like a shark, you either swim or you drown. Or, to earn my recovery and faith, I have to run for my life. MOOD MUSIC IS, APPROPRIATELY ENOUGH, THIS RARITY FROM MOTLEY CRUE CALLED “RUN FOR YOUR LIFE” To run for my life is to always…  [Read More]

Guilt: The Blessing and the Curse

by Bill Brenner April 7, 2011 Children's issues

Everyone struggles with guilt from time to time. Guilt is good in that feeling it means you have the desire to right a wrong. But when you mix it with OCD, the results are catastrophic. MOOD MUSIC: “Step Outside” by 360s I’ve always had a powerful guilty conscience. For the most part it has served me well. In my moments of anger, hatred, depression and despair, it has kept me from going too far in…  [Read More]

When Does It Get Better? (A.K.A. Happiness After Suicide)

by Bill Brenner April 5, 2011 Coping tools

I got a note last night that moved me enough that I need to get it out here. It was from a woman who was close to Zane Mead, who I wrote about a few months back. Mood music: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NlGbLbUl_w&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0] I don’t remember Tammy Digan from back in the day, but that doesn’t surprise me. I was mostly a loner back then. Except for a few close friends, I kept to myself. But I…  [Read More]

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