Siggy's Blurbs: Siggy's Edge of Country …

The mentally ill in prisons don’t get good treatment.  They use the cheapest drugs to treat them. The mentally ill in jails are disposable.  And what does that say about us?  I learned about this from a lady who spent time in jail.  They had her strapped down in a chair for days.  She went cold turkey from all her medications and convulsed.  She could have died.  She did not even belong in jail.  They made a mistake arresting her.  Her psychiatrist gave the jail hell for what they did.  Then I found out how poor treatment the mentally ill get in jails.  They don’t really care about them.  It is only now they are beginning to address the problem.  And there are more mentally ill in jails than in hospitals.  That is a travesty.

Tags: medications, mental health, prisons, psychiatrist, The Mentally ill in jail, the poor treatment of the mentally ill in jail
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It is a travesty there are more mentally ill in prisons than in hospitals.  Part of that is there are few state hospitals and often the money disappeared.  It, often, did not go for the necessary community services to provide the support some people needed.  In fact, the budget for service for the mentally ill already bare bone keeps getting trimmed.  What ever happened to the idea we are our brothers’ keeper.  Now the jails are being forced to treat the mentally ill.  And they want to use as little money as possible, use the cheapest drugs when other new ones would be more appropriate.  If you are manic they force you to take Thorazine for it is a cheap but is an outmoded treatment.  If you are a prisoner and happen to be mentally ill you have no civil rights or say about the matter.  It is really disgusting and inhumane.

Tags: civil rights, community services, jails, medications, mental illness, our brothers' keeper, prisons, state hospitals, the mentally ill in prison, Thorazine
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What I remember about Greystone (going back forty years) is the locked doors.  Each one led to another dismal ward.  Of course, I did not have any of the keys.  I had no freedom.  Everything was taken away from me.  I was told when to get up, when to eat and what medications I had to take.  In those days when you were in a manic state they always pumped you up with Thorazine, which was a real “downer”.  It felt like punishment.  It was not even my fault.  Almost all the drugs to treat bipolar disorder now did not exist then.  I remember very well having almost all my civil rights taken away from me.  There was not even a phone on the ward.  I needed special permission to go downstairs and make a call.  I was treated like a prisoner.  Those were some of the memories I had of my hospitalization.

Tags: 40 years ago, bipolar disorder, civil rights, dismal ward, Greystone, locked doors, manic state, manic-depression, medications, no freedom, no keys, no telephone, prisoner, psychiatric hospital, psychiatric institution, Thorazine
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I have to ask, again and again:  Are we our brother’s keeper?  You read repeatedly how state after state is slashing their budget for mental health services.  Sure, states can’t afford to continue to pay for upkeep of their mental health hospitals so many of them are closing.  The services in the communities are often not supported; even services that have proved to be cost effective like peer centers.

People will still suffer.  The jails, not hospitals, now contain the largest population of the mentally ill.  Many are in for minor offenses.  Is that right?  As if the politicians don’t know that?  This population is the most vulnerable.  ER’s are increasingly being filled with those in crisis and it is very difficult to find an appropriate place for them to go.

We will be judged by how we treat the weak and vulnerable.  I will ask the politicians, again, are you your brothers’ keeper?  It costs a lot of money to treat the mentally ill in jail.  The money could be better spent in the community.  The mentally ill do not belong in jail.

People are suffering unnecessarily.  The general public is also complicit in this situation.  There was a reason state hospitals were often in the country.  Out of sight, out of mind although it is true decades ago they were called rest homes.  There were none of the medications available and often all some of the people in crisis needed was some peace and quiet and time to regain their equilibrium.

The public and the politicians need to ask themselves are we our brothers’ keeper?  And support the services that are needed to humanely treat the mentally ill.  By all means the states need to spend their money wisely.  But acting as if the problems will vanish and expecting the jails to treat the mentally ill is not right.

It could be your loved one?  After all, one out of four have been diagnosed mentally ill in their lifetime.  And you would want proper and humane treatment for your loved ones.  Or even you?  So we have to keep asking ourselves (and the politicians) are we our brothers’ keeper?

Tags: budget, community, cost effective, country, crisis, equilibrium, ER, general public, God, health, hospitals, humane treatment, jail, lot of money, medications, mental health, money, most vulnerable, one out of four, our brothers' keeper, out of sight out of mind, peace and quiet, peer centers, politicians, rest homes, services, state hospitals, suffer, the public, your loved one
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We have been home (from the Jersey Shore) less than 24 hours and what I most appreciate is the quiet here.  All I hear here is the ?crickets or is it the ?cicadas.  And the occasional “whoosh” of a car passing nearby.

The bed and breakfast we stayed at for three nights was on a busy road.  It was very difficult to make a left hand turn.  It was only a block away from the ocean.  New Jersey just had too many people.

For some reason I become very unsettled in crowded areas.  It is not my fault.  I just do.  I will appreciate my house better.  It is not on a main fare.  I watch the birds come to and fro my feeders all day.  Especially the hummingbirds who never fail to delight me.

There is a reason mental hospitals always were situated in the country.  They used to be called rest homes.  Many years ago the array of medications to treat mental illness did not exist.

People who had nervous breakdowns were sent to hospitals in the countryside to recuperate and recover.  There is nothing like the calm found in nature to do so.

I will appreciate my home better.  It is just a relief to be here.  My trip to the Jersey shore reminded me how fortunate I am to be on the edge of country.

Tags: Atlantic ocean, bed and breakfast, bird-feeders, bird-watching, birds, calm found in nature, cicadas, country, crickets, crowds, edge of country, home, hummingbirds, Jersey Shore, medications, mental hospitals, mental illness, nature, nervous breakdown, New Jersey, quiet, recuperate, rest homes
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It is a small thing but I date every med change.  I put it on the calender.  I find out my memory is not always good.  That way I have a reference point.  Most meds take five to ten days to work.  If enough time has gone by and there has been not much change or any, I can inform my doctor of this.  There is something called a therapeutic level.  Most drugs I take it is usually ten to fourteen days and there should be some change in five or six days.  Writing the drug change on the calender helps me keep track of this and enables me to tell my doctor when the dosage is too high or the medication is not the right one.  It is one way I am a responsible patient.  The doctor can do so much.  The rest is up to me.

Tags: doctor, drugs, med change, medications, therapeutic level
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I don’t have to feel or think perfectly to thrive.  I have a bipolar disorder and I know certain symptoms persist but I ignore them and realize it is my brain tricking me.

People who are older understand this perfectly.  Their mobility may have become limited and also have other diminishing illnesses but that is okay.  You do your best and you do not complain.

Sure every disturbing thought of mine can be extinguished but at a heavy price:  I no longer would be able to function at the drug regiment (???) that would accomplish that.

I just know my subconscious can annoy me with disturbing thoughts that make me anxious but so what.  I do take the meds that lower this threshold.

I refuse not to do the things that I enjoy simply because my brain (or subconscious) is not totally cooperating.  I still do what gives me pleasure as much as I can realizing fully there are times it will be more difficult to do certain things.

At certain times I avoid crowded areas particularly restaurants fully aware that in certain states it will be more difficult to deal with my thoughts but If I have to go out to dinner I just go.

Somewhere your personality can be found in that “book” some psychiatrists use but so what.  Every person is different and flawed.  You (and other people) simply have to accept that.

Tags: accept yourself, anxious, bipolar disorder, brain tricking me, crowded areas, disturbing thoughts, do your best, drug regimen, everyone is different, everyone is flawed, illnesses, medications, meds, my thoughts, older people, pleasure, psychiatrist, subconscious, symptoms, think perfectly, thrive, your personality
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