| Psychology and Mental Health Forum | |
https://www.psychforums.com/blog/Sunnyg/index_sid-a56d6d2d9567ef3c0ebb36a76ecbd611_start-5.html |
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| Author: | Sunnyg [ Mon Nov 02, 2015 4:53 pm ] |
| Blog Subject: | Stigma from the worst place - among psychologists |
It was Halloween night, and a few friends of mine convinced me to attend an annual house party in Brooklyn. Each floor of the building had a different theme. DJ, live music, a backyard for chatting. I stepped out to have a smoke, and found myself surrounded. Everything from a person dressed as a google drive, to a Goth character whose name was too cool for me to know of, to a woman in a white shirt with her sleeves tied behind her. I swallowed hard and hoped she wasn't what I thought she was trying to go for. "So what are you dressed as?" I asked. "Oh, I'm Frued's patient, you know, like a schizophrenic," She said with her broken English. She was not an American. "You mean like in the olden days, back when they didn't have medication," I replied. She laughed then added, "Actually, I'm a psych grad student," She said trying to assert her authority on the topic. But to be honest, her teachers had failed to show her the value of compassion, and the need to empathize and humanize the condition she wore on her sleeves. I was disgusted by her, her profession, and the value system she carried. I wish I had told her she should be ashamed of herself and taken a photo of her. She had no idea who she was talking with. She was talking with me, a person with schizophrenia who she was misrepresenting to the world. She thought she was safe with her stigma hanging with the "cool" kids. I was annoyed, and quit her company shortly after that. I didn't have the will that night to engage in the dialogue to fight the pervasive mindset that she assumed her stigma was ok. But I haven't been able to forget her bad costume. She should know better, she's studying to be a professional. I left the party shortly after that. My daughter was at her dad's, so I didn't need to rush home, but I was angry that this idiot thought it was ok to stigmatize mental illness with her terrible costume, just because she's taken a few classes and has authority on the subject. I think she totally lacks insight into living with mental illness, and clearly doesn't appreciate recovery. |
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| Author: | Sunnyg [ Sun Aug 23, 2015 8:03 pm ] |
| Blog Subject: | The problem with guns, mental illness, and the police |
I was reading this story and had to respond... http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/08/23/city-san-jose-seizes-guns-from-woman-prompts-lawsuit/ The problem with guns, mental illness, and the police is that nothing good can come out of this trio. But, I'm going to hold my nose and stand up for the rights of people with mental illness regarding the second amendment. 1. You cannot take away the second amendment rights without stigmatizing treatment for mental illness. * Stigmatizing treatment for mental illness is a HUGE problem. 2. People with Mental Illness may already fear the police, now they fear their loss of autonomy if they are evaluated as paranoid that someone will take away their guns. 3. Taking away the second amendment rights is problematic. Is having average citizens have guns the answer? I don't know, but I like to think if the good sane people have guns then the police will be less likely to abuse their power. As a country we were formed on the power of the gun. It is part of American culture. I've even read some propaganda from the NRA that people in Vermont where almost every home has a gun have much less violence with guns then places where only police and gangs/criminals have access. 4. As a person with mental illness, I do not choose to have firearms, but I'm not sure that limiting my access to firearms helps the issue. I'm in treatment, I'm sane, I do not have a history of violence, but because I take medication to keep me well, should I have my rights taken away? It is safe to say that I'm not a threat to myself or others. *I don't like guns, but I don't believe removing the rights of any people, even based on a diagnosis of mental illness is the answer to preventing tragedy. I do think early intervention and treatment is the answer. If that diagnosis is paired with being a threat to yourself or others and involuntary commitment, it isn't a good idea to have guns, but at what point is it societies role to make the decision of who has rights and who doesn't? |
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| Author: | Sunnyg [ Wed Dec 31, 2014 11:34 pm ] |
| Blog Subject: | after thought |
I was on the train one evening heading home from Manhattan and I sat next to an Egyptian woman. She was super friendly, must have been almost 50 years old, anyway, we talked for about 40 minutes, and she gave me lots of life advice. Now, she was a nice woman, and we had a positive connection, but we live very different lives. She told me I needed to be married. "A young woman like you needs a man." She said. I mean, I can't argue with that, I told her she'd get along well with my grandmother, who says the same thing. But what she doesn't understand, and I couldn't quite translate to her on the subway ride was that today, living in New York things aren't so simple. "But I have friends" I said. "But you need a man." She replied. We talked about kids, and their future. The importance of an education and career, and I gave her the website for my soon to be published book and we parted ways. I wonder if she'll understand when she reads the story synopsis on my website. |
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| Author: | Sunnyg [ Wed Dec 31, 2014 11:09 pm ] |
| Blog Subject: | Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015! |
Every New Year's Eve I like to sit and reflect on the passing of the year. This has been an amazing year. I finished writing my book, and greatest of all, I've sorta watched myself redefine my source of hope. Previously I believed the love of someone I'll never have would save me when I'm old and grey. In the past few months, I've changed. I've chosen to trust the reality that my family and friends have described. But better than that is this freedom to be. I don't need to be saved by the love of a man. Instead, it is the love of all my friends and family that defines me. I'm ok. Now if my health will just stay with me, then the rest will be fine. |
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| Author: | Sunnyg [ Tue Nov 25, 2014 8:55 pm ] |
| Blog Subject: | NIH wasted money - now (2015) they've changed their strategy |
*This study is equivalent to a survey of the type of facial tissue that was best for people living with allergies.* This is an example of a waste of federal tax research dollars: Do people with schizophrenia have difficulty anticipating pleasure, engaging in effortful behavior, or both? Gard DE, Sanchez AH, Cooper K, Fisher M, Garrett C, Vinogradov S. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25133986 This study article was not written with a clear understanding of schizophrenia and the positive and negative aspects of the disease. This is a disease, not "behavioral health". The diagnosis of schizophrenia consists of a cluster of signs in a range of behavioral symptoms. It is being studied wrong. Surveys are not a useful methodology to understand the biological basis of the disease. Who is responsible for allocating these funds? This is a biological condition. The negative symptoms such as lack of motivation have a physiological basis. This is a physiological illness. Please treat my disease like a medical condition rather than a behavioral issue. Stop wasting tax dollars on studies conducted by people with little insight into the condition of living with schizophrenia. Focus on the biological basis, not behavior interventions. This study is equivalent to studying the type of facial tissue that was best for people living with allergies. We can do better. I'm not impressed by this article, and recommend your supervisors review the allocation of study funds for such soft science. If your going to spend funds on studying my disease spend it on basic science research. Or give your funds back to congress to fund education so my child's generation will have hope to solve this disease and others. Who is managing the quality of research at the NIH? This is a wasteful example of research. Sunny |
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