I am at work today (not internship) and we in a meeting discussing new intakes for the programs. My coworker was discussing a man with schizophrenia who is on Risperdal and Lithium. The MANAGER of the partial hospital program says, "He's on Lithium? That's strange. That's rare these days. Lithium is old and not prescribed much anymore because of the blood level testing and no one wants to be bothered with that." I wanted to burst out laughing because I am on Lithium and it is very manageable. Once stabilized, the blood level testing is barely once a month-- hardly enough to interfere with my life so much that I would get annoyed. Plus, I cannot believe he would make a statement like that because although Lithium is an old drug, it is still widely used. I see that all the time at my intership.

It also made me angry because being in the field, I get tired of hearing about the stigma-- how awful people with personality disorders are-- how people with bipolar disorder can't function well in their careers-- I hear it all the time, and there I am, sitting there diagnosed with borderline, bipolar, and GAD..... how no one will even stop and think that perhaps someone in their meeting or in their classroom could BE on Lithium or HAVE a personality disorder. I mean, how stupid. So many of us who go into the field do so because we have experienced these things ourselves and can offer great empathy for others.