Mental health

Is it me or is all of the system of mental health agencys revolve around on common result of treatment?
That is Oppression!
I had a great job with a commercial licence and plenty of endorsement on it till they shared with the state that I had taken some antidepressants and suspended my commercial priveleges.
When my daughter was born from two of us client the family adoption services were all over us till they took her away for twenty years.
I was to get married and every divorcee in the system had a good reason not to be in love.
I went to college and picked up a student job and they took away my disability payments for a part time minimum wage job. 25 years later they said I was entitled and gave it back from that time period when I was denied coverage.
Does the second amendment apply to all of us?
Do residential health care facility's ever give you any privacy?
Are consenting adults always bad for your treatment?
Why are photos not allowed on Psychiatric wards?
Does the introduction of parkinsons desease to my system VIA major tranquilizers really calm me down?
Does over working my liver and pancrease and kidneys really cure manic depression/ or just lead to dialisis and weight problems and shorten my life?

[pennst8r]

Wow, you've really been put through it! I'm so sorry to hear of how poorly you've been treated.

Who shared with the state about your anti-depressants? If it was a doc, or a treatment provider, that is a very serious offense.

Losing 20 years of your daughter's life is absolutely heart-breaking. Did you have visitation at least? There are many people who live with depression and more serious challenges who are quite successful at raising children. I see it all the time in my county & state.

I was not aware that photos are not permitted in psychiatric wards. Do they perhaps think looking at them might make you miss your loved ones more and therefore increase depression?  Just wondering out loud here.

I know that many, many psychotropic meds damage organs and induce parkinsons symptoms, or tardive dyskinesia over many years of treatment. I am hoping that science can develop something that will help without the long term damage. Conditions that are chemically caused, though, are helped with these meds. It becomes a balancing act of what is the minimal dosage that will achieve therapeutic effectiveness and yet cause the least amount of long term damage to the organs. I am so sorry you are caught in this.

Please write again. I am here to listen. I only wish I could take away some of the heartache you've had to endure all these years. I am hoping this forum will become a place where people will come to support each other and also to get support.

God bless you.

Penn

[freddy3rd]

I am so sorry I filled the board with such negative stuff. I was the clinic I have gone to on and off that also advocated the closed adoption of my daughter that told the DMV they had a skitzoeffectivr driver. I have lost many jobs but for the most part I am usually upbeat and happy.
I was told to go through a training recently to become a voluteer for a music therapy group. I was proud to pass all the tests and security clearances and receive my badge. Only to be sent home that same day with a explanation that I could not be a volunteer being an ex-client.
There was a time I had been in the state hospital (now shut down Thanks to Governer Cody) and they induced me with tranquilzers to the point of a 103 degree fever and I had a grand mall seizure in front of the Judge during a committment hearing. He discharged me on the spot and hollarded at the sick doctor that messed me up. Luckilly I only have a tremor left from the experience and a bad memory.
The ordeals we have to tolerate in order to get better would fill a library and I wrote around sixty pages of life experiences about it and copy wrighted it.
Hope you have better luck than I did getting help.
Freddy

[pennst8r]

I am glad you are feeling better. I was concerned. You really have been through a lot.  It's okay to vent every now and then - we all need to do that. That's what the forum is for really. Somwhere to vent and someone to listen.

I do not have any diagnoses; I have worked in the field for over 20 years here in PA. I am not one of the types you've encountered though. I have a tremendous passion for helping people, whatever their struggles are. I would do my job for free if I could keep my mortgage paid!

I am, however, in a fight of my own that seems to be multiple sclerosis, but it takes quite a long time to diagnose. That's my personal struggle.

Take care and keep in touch.

Penn

[frankduff]

This Is just my own short version after my divorce I went from being a businessman who owned a business in Crystal River When I was married i had a Manic episode caused buy stress I took care of my father in law for 3 years he had alzheimer's and I was recovering from brain Tumor surgery, Every thing was tolerable until I quit drinking My wife didnt want me to quit that was her control over her nice looking husband she was over weight and not having sex with me mental Harassment for over 6 years she would tell me who she was sleeping with and they were better than me, She hated that I was sober for 4 moths before I left with nothing then I was homeless My AA Sponsor took me to Gainesville, Fl to the VA they didnt keep me but a week and then threw me out I got arrested on trespassing I didnt have my meds they let me out the nest day in



Gainesville I was also arrested in Homosassa Fl near crystal river for trespassing at a motel I thought my Business Bank account was still good my Ex wife= took the money out wrote her self a nice check, Anyway i WENT to Atlanta I called my dad I was at the Holiday Inn in Gainesville and he paid for the room and I stayed until he got there the next day my ordered food and ate and slept then after I got to Atlanta he got in an argument with me he was on morphine and he wasn't the same dad I knew he locked me up in dekalb county Jail for 3 months off and on Finlay I got out went to Florida and The VA her helped me get my back Pay Social Security I got a car and a Apartment on a Homeless Veterans Program that pays part of the rent so now I am somebody Again i have a Car that paid for furniture that paid for and everything but I am very lonely now I don't have a girlfriend lt has been over 4 years after my divorce I meet One lady online and she lied to me and MY roommate Melissa that lived her for 8 moths Melissa was very protective of me I was her best friend she took her back home I did ride with her and I said good bye and that was it that was 6 months ago I have been with another women for over 6 months and I am getting egged and I don't want to do something wrong Like a hooker I can afford one not even a 40 dollar one, I don't do that I have done that after my divorce In Atlanta that was almost 5 years ago I had no sex br=before that for almost 6 year's am just being honest here to all of you I need help I don't know what to do and I have told my Case manager I was frustrated she just said you will meet someone You are a great guy My roommate said that too but these women that said that don't want me??

Frank Duffey

[pennst8r]

This makes me sad ro read. I think a large part of your issue with women is that you need to like yourself beofre you will: 1)  seek out a decent woman and 2) believe you can forma relationship with that caliber of woman. You will only appraoch women who will use or otherwise mistreat you until you stop mistreating yourself. Have faith in YOU. You are worthy of respect - from yourself and others. Keep telling yourself that until you believe it. Women can "read" how a person looks at themselves very well. If you exude confidence, you will be perceived by women in a very different way than of you exude disrespect for yourself. Does that make sense?

Please try it.

Penn

[MJIthewriter]

It is good to speak up and speak out regardless of how dismal it may seem. As long as you stand up for the truth and let people know how it is, that is the only way we can expect change. People need a wake up call.  Society needs to change.  I'm sorry to hear all that you've went through...

My life has just begun and we are waiting for the results of our SSI court hearing...On the outside to the normal uninformed person, I look and speak rather normally. People think I'm rather intelligent...  But they don't see that I blunder through social situations because I am unable to fully read and understand other people's emotions. I have to think through their stories, make a mental movie of what they are talking about if I want to try to understand. It takes a bit longer, I have to ask for a lot of “seemingly unnecessary details” and I get perceived as being slow or a "retard"...  When I express my anxiety, people go "big deal... I get anxiety to going to Wal-mart or [insert situation here]” for whatever I try to explain.

One misconception that people seem to have is because I can speak rather well "Am great at speaking the English language" and seem to be a good problem solver, that I can “think” my way through my problems. What you get is someone better able to explain the experience of an anxiety attack to the normal world, but not necessarily someone who can get through that attack, just by logical thinking alone.

People don't understand just because I am intelligent (tested to have a normal IQ) that I am exempted from the same hang-ups that someone with "lower functioning autism" (what people tend to call non-verbal autistics). That's not true. The only difference is I can speak in an understandable language and analyze my anxiety to a great degree.

I find it neat when some of the non verbal autistics learn to “speak” through typing or some other media. We get to see even they may have normal intelligence. I think it is quite fascinating when people become able to speak up and advocate for their rights.

[freddy3rd]

Hi and thank you for that,
I know sort of where you are coming from, My old farmer boss never understood why they gave out so many drugs to me to the point of countless side effects. And my friends all said countless times I did not need them, so usually I would stop taking the stuff till I heard a totally different message after going back in the hospital.
Even my own family was divided on the subject some of them knew I was out right crazy and others said it was all in my head. LOL.
After a while the board of Freeholders appointed me to the Mental health board in Our County and the State put me on a few consumer advisory committees. I served as a liason and an at large representative and held a couple executive board positions for various agency's. even went to Washington to plead my case over my long lost daughter and homelessness on social security.
That being said life experience had paid off !
But as conflicts of interest in delegating funds to agency's that I received help arose I stepped down in 2003 with a blanket e-mail to all seven organizations I was involved with. And asked they give the same respect to folks who step up in the future.
I think Frank would benefit from fighting the oppression in this way and fight the good fight.
The system is a mess and they look at me as a trouble maker but after years of trying I am happily married and compliant clean and sober and I feel I am pretty rational most of the time.
I worked under cover with some polititians of today in yesteryear identifying drugs being brought into community's from state employee's. The result was the closed down my old almimada and at this time they are targeting partial care programs that charge up to $1000  DAY TO A BROKEN MEDICARE SYSTEM. oopa.
any way that is my rant for now

[ILADVOCATE]

First of all let me put some factual information in this. As for healthcare now of course there is Medicare Part D if one has Medicare. That when supplemented by Medicaid provides fairly complete coverage as I have. However, when denied or cut off from benefits the key word is appeal! That's what I advocate for people with disabilities in my main area of my volunteering at the non profit I'm a part of and can provide people with information. As well there is the Medicaid Buy In for Working People with Disabilities which is in most states and a person can work as little as an hour per month and still recieve Medicaid if they have a qualifying disability. There are also the network of independent living centers that can help people with these benefits issues. There is one in every county. Additionally, as for current treatments, Clozaril is the only anti-psychotic not generally known to cause tardive dyskinesia and for some people its an option but it has its own severe set of side effects such as blood dyscreias. However, there are new antipsychotics in development such as the glutamate antagonists which will not create tardive dyskinesia or diabetes, both current risks and promote a fuller recovery. I am on glycine, a Phase II antipsychotic that is a glutamate antagonist in FDA study and have been identified as making a full recovery. The results will be documented by my psychopharmocologist in a psychiatric journal. I appreciate everyone's well wishes to each other but to me neither hope nor luck got me anywhere but advocacy did including my advocacy now for myself and other people. I can provide advocacy and information as regards benefits issues and participate in advocacy for change regarding benefits laws and regulations. And as for new anti-psychotics in development I've been advocating within the system to have the public find out more and have them go through the various phases of studies, fast tracked so that other people can have the mental recovery I did without the severe tardive dyskinesia and tardive psychosis (which I am in study for) that I developed. If anyone wants to find out more they can contact me.

[pennst8r]

I am always happy to "see new faces" on the forum and welcome any information people want to share. I hope that you will continue to offer helpful information. As the Community Leader, I do need to clarify that information should be offered without disrespecting others who have offered support in their own way. Information is an important part of support, but please do not diminish the importance of moral support. It is every bit as important. In many cases, just knowing that someone understands and is praying for you is exactly what posters are looking for. I choose to believe that it was not your intent to minimize the supportive posts from other members...I do feel that this point needs to be clarified so that others are not offended.

You have some good information and experiences to share, and I hope that you will share it in a manner respectful of others.

Thanks so much

Penn

[darkstar120]

hay. i no how you fell .hang in thare thing are going to get better for you... take care