GrouchoMarxist's recent activity

  1. Comment on I have severe and persistent mental illness. I now work as a public mental health professional. Ask me anything. in ~health.mental

    GrouchoMarxist
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    Are you looking for clinical language to make the therapist understand what you’re experiencing? Or just general better ways to express yourself and describe it?

    Are you looking for clinical language to make the therapist understand what you’re experiencing? Or just general better ways to express yourself and describe it?

  2. Comment on I have severe and persistent mental illness. I now work as a public mental health professional. Ask me anything. in ~health.mental

    GrouchoMarxist
    Link Parent
    Oh of course! Sorry I neglected to factor in that the work you were doing was crisis-related. A lot of that will of course not apply in that situation. That’s a big part of the reason I avoided...

    Oh of course! Sorry I neglected to factor in that the work you were doing was crisis-related. A lot of that will of course not apply in that situation.

    That’s a big part of the reason I avoided crisis work in the beginning of my career. It’s a really intense situation to jump in to when you haven’t yet built the skills to protect yourself. Funnily enough, crisis is now what I do - I respond in person with a clinical team and sometimes law enforcement when someone is suicidal or potentially dangerous to others. It can get intense, and there’s no way I could have done this work when I was just starting out.

    So maybe start smaller? Look for a community organization that supports people day-to-day, and not just when they’re at the end of their rope.

    1 vote

  3. Comment on I have severe and persistent mental illness. I now work as a public mental health professional. Ask me anything. in ~health.mental

    GrouchoMarxist
    Link Parent
    It’s so hard to normalize asking for help for some people. Education helps. Maybe offer to go to a therapist with her for the first couple visits? Just to support her and ease the anxiety. Also,...

    It’s so hard to normalize asking for help for some people. Education helps. Maybe offer to go to a therapist with her for the first couple visits? Just to support her and ease the anxiety. Also, let her know that these angry outbursts are affecting you as well as her, and that at least looking in to some help would be a wonderful gift to you and to your marriage.

  4. Comment on I have severe and persistent mental illness. I now work as a public mental health professional. Ask me anything. in ~health.mental

    GrouchoMarxist
    Link Parent
    That’s not the norm in my experience. Professionalism is really strongly encouraged for behavioral health workers, regardless of their lived experience.

    That’s not the norm in my experience. Professionalism is really strongly encouraged for behavioral health workers, regardless of their lived experience.

    2 votes

  5. Comment on I have severe and persistent mental illness. I now work as a public mental health professional. Ask me anything. in ~health.mental

    GrouchoMarxist
    Link Parent
    I practice really thorough self care, and see a therapist regularly. One thing that’s nice about peer work is you’re able to communicate with clients on a level a therapist can’t. If something in...

    I practice really thorough self care, and see a therapist regularly. One thing that’s nice about peer work is you’re able to communicate with clients on a level a therapist can’t. If something in their behavior is triggering you: “I’m feeling a little anxious right now. Can we talk about it?” If they’re sharing trauma that’s too close to home: “I’m so glad you trust me enough to share this, but I’ve got a little trauma of my own in this area. Could we leave out the details and talk about how it made you feel?” Doing it in the moment like that not only protects me, but demonstrates to them how to protect themselves.

    I have an intermittent FMLA approval in place - if you don’t know, the Family and Medical Leave Act can be invoked with documentation from your doctor, and grants you up to 12 weeks of medical leave for a serious medical condition, for which an SPMI qualifies. Taking it intermittently means basically if I have severe symptoms at work, I can go home, no questions asked. I can take a day off when I need to for my mental health. I highly recommend this for anyone with a diagnosis, whatever field you work in.

    Finally, I lean on my coworkers. We’re all fucking nuts, have to be to get the job. We laugh it off, blow off steam, and advise each other on how to get through the weird shit.

    I’ve had really bad mental health days on this job. But the victories more than make up for it.

    1 vote

  6. Comment on I have severe and persistent mental illness. I now work as a public mental health professional. Ask me anything. in ~health.mental

    GrouchoMarxist
    Link Parent
    I wish I had more personal experience with pregnant/new mothers experiencing MH issues, so I could more directly address this. But I can refer you to an amazing resource in NAMI (National Alliance...

    I wish I had more personal experience with pregnant/new mothers experiencing MH issues, so I could more directly address this. But I can refer you to an amazing resource in NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Here’s a piece on maternal mental health:

    https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Treatment/Mental-Health-Medications/Maternal-Mental-Health

    2 votes

  7. Comment on The UK's NHS mental health review will fail to answer its darkest secret in ~health.mental

    GrouchoMarxist
    Link Parent
    Thank you for sharing this. Absolutely tragic. Outsourcing to for-profit care orgs is a shitty way to approach the behavioral health epidemic.

    Thank you for sharing this. Absolutely tragic. Outsourcing to for-profit care orgs is a shitty way to approach the behavioral health epidemic.

    2 votes

  8. Comment on I have severe and persistent mental illness. I now work as a public mental health professional. Ask me anything. in ~health.mental

    GrouchoMarxist
    Link Parent
    That means so much to me, and I’m so sorry for your loss. As far as hard work and perseverance, I had a lot of help. :) We all need help. No one does this alone.

    That means so much to me, and I’m so sorry for your loss. As far as hard work and perseverance, I had a lot of help. :) We all need help. No one does this alone.

    4 votes

  9. Comment on I have severe and persistent mental illness. I now work as a public mental health professional. Ask me anything. in ~health.mental

    GrouchoMarxist
    Link Parent
    Define “unstable”. A lot of people who decide to work in substance treatment have their own history or are close to someone who does, yes. But I’m curious how the professionals were behaving that...

    Define “unstable”. A lot of people who decide to work in substance treatment have their own history or are close to someone who does, yes. But I’m curious how the professionals were behaving that made you think they’re unstable. Were they smoking crack in the lobby?

    6 votes

  10. Comment on I have severe and persistent mental illness. I now work as a public mental health professional. Ask me anything. in ~health.mental

    GrouchoMarxist
    Link Parent
    I meet a lot of people who have had negative experiences with “the system” and don’t trust or believe in the help being offered any more. My advice would be encourage him to keep trying. There are...

    I meet a lot of people who have had negative experiences with “the system” and don’t trust or believe in the help being offered any more. My advice would be encourage him to keep trying. There are good therapists and shitty therapists. (And, importantly, there are good therapists who just aren’t the right therapist for YOU. Trust and rapport are crucial.)

    Remind him that these people work for him. He is allowed to fire and replace them if they are not serving him. Yes, even in the public system.

    Finally, the sad truth is that mental health treatment is largely trial and error. It sometimes takes a lot of time to find what works for a particular person. What helped me was taking an active role in that process. I finally asked my shrink “What have you diagnosed me with? What does that mean?” Then I went home and got on google and learned as much as I could about what he’d told me, and came back to him with more questions. And suggestions. Lo and behold, I’d been misdiagnosed. Educating myself, and taking a leading role in my treatment team made all the difference.

    Best wishes for both of you, and thank you for supporting him.

    15 votes

  11. Comment on I have severe and persistent mental illness. I now work as a public mental health professional. Ask me anything. in ~health.mental

  12. I have severe and persistent mental illness. I now work as a public mental health professional. Ask me anything.

    ~health.mental Ask
    Symptoms from my diagnoses of bipolar 2 and social anxiety disorder kept me from working, socializing, forming relationships, and living independently for more than a decade. I worked my ass off...

    Symptoms from my diagnoses of bipolar 2 and social anxiety disorder kept me from working, socializing, forming relationships, and living independently for more than a decade.

    I worked my ass off to improve my wellness, and for the past 6 years I have worked as a Peer Support Specialist for 2 different public agencies. I tell my story to other people with mental health and substance issues as part of my work. If anyone’s interested, I’d love to share it here too.

    41 votes