People are Clueless when it comes to Mental Disorders

I am not an expert on what makes people CRAZY. In fact, crazy is something we all suffer from at one time or another, unless you are locked in an Ivory Tower. It just isn’t anything people want to talk about. Coming unhinged is something that isn’t spoken of in polite circles, and is often ignored. That makes being nuts all the more difficult. Mental disorders affect everyone in some way.

I worked with a girl once, who was manic-depressive, also known as bi-polar personality. She would go for months, as a happy person. There was always a smile on her face. Then came the depressed person, who would sulk in a corner, never speak to anyone, and would literally disappear for hours on end. One day, when the behavior was “off”, I informed my supervisor of the “change” in my co-worker, and I was “dismissed” as being imaginative, as well as one having a “problem” myself! (She actually told me I was a NUT!) Folks, my friend was indeed having an episode. She was in a depressive state, and I was correct. A day after I informed the supervisor of my friend’s change in behavior, she had to be hospitalized. (No one apologized to me for having astute observational skills, and NO ONE spoke about her hospitalization.) It was as  if she had never had a problem. Would you believe I was working at a hospital at the time? Even medical experts fear “CRAZY”. (My supervisor did NOT handle the situation well.)

My co-worker stopped by the hospital after she was released from the “Psych” unit. She hugged each of us, as if she was saying “good-bye”. Then she went home, took her dad’s gun, and shot herself in the head! It was one of the ugliest days of my life. I cried a lot… I know my co-workers did too. We had no counseling afterward, and there was no discussion of the matter. The “incident” was completely hushed up, as if my friend NEVER existed. Her illness was the cause of her demise.

Ignoring a bad situation does not make it go away. I believe the whole department could have used counseling, yet after the death of my co-worker, nothing was offered. The saddest part of the story was, I worked at a medical facility at the time. We were employees of a Community hospital, and the staff should have done something. We were invited to my friend’s memorial service, and that was it. I lost respect for my supervisor after the loss of my co-worker. I forgave her and the others, because of their ignorance. We aren’t taught to discuss mental illness, so when it becomes part of our lives, most of us do not know how to deal with it. I hope in the future, better protocols are put in place to help assist grieving co-workers and families.

 

Related articles

• Psychological Symptoms: What Is Manic Depression? (depression.answers.com)

Last Night Leno Trashed Bloggers

English: J.K. Rowling reads from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone at the Easter Egg Roll at White House (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Surprise surprise, last night Jay Leno trashed bloggers on his show during the monologue. He said “Bloggers are people who have nothing better to do than blog because they are chained downstairs in their Mother’s basement.” That crack was penned by some arrogant “TV writer“, who obviously considers a blog some sort of joke. I think writing in any form is a kick-start to a writing career, and to put down bloggers is a low blow. ALL WRITERS ARE TAUGHT TO KEEP JOURNALS AND WRITE EVERY DAY, and that is what a blog is. However, a blog has a new dimension. It gives bloggers an opportunity to be noticed and read by hundreds of people.

I don’t pretend to know all about every blog out there. However, the ones that I have visited lately are extremely well formated and professional. If I wanted to say rude things about bloggers, it would be like putting down members of my family. The fellow bloggers I communicate with, have been very kind, and have encouraged me along the way. (You know who I’m talking about, & I love you guys for it.)

Before I started this blog, I had written a couple of un-published books, three screen plays and many short stories. I have submitted my work to various publishing firms, and received many rejection notices. I have also submitted and pitched ideas to HBO, Fox, and various Television shows. I have enough rejections to wall paper a large bathroom. For years, I just gave up writing and considered myself a loser. I found renewed hope by writing my blog, and my sincere wish is that you too, feel that way about yours. The writers that found success never gave up, even with people telling them they were not good writers. Here’s the thing, we NEVER start out doing great work. It comes with time and determination. It also helps to ignore harsh critics. If critics believed in themselves, they would be at home writing “The Great American Novel“, instead of whining about the work of others.

I remember hearing about J.K. Rowling who wrote the Harry Potter novels. Her work was submitted to every publishing house in England. One person after another rejected Harry Potter, they told her it was too wordy, and much too long. Then one day, someone picked up the book and actually read it, and came to the realization that Harry Potter was indeed a special book. (The rest, as they say, is history.)