[Michael W. Harris]

Now that I am back in the Veterans' Domiciliary here in Lake City, Florida I am safe. For the most part I am staying away from beer. But about three times the past month I have gone to the local bars that I once frequented a lot. I always stay too long and over drink so I know that I cannot go to those places anymore. The motivation is loneliness.

When I first got back down here I tried to get the psychiatrist at the VA to put me on some medication that would help me but he puts me on medications that do not do anything. So I quit taking them.

I do not have anyone to talk to about dissociative disorders and that drives the feelings of isolation and loneliness. I have told my psychiatrist that there is a VA in North Carolina which is now treating dissociative disorders. They have found that some of the Vets from the Gulf wars who got severely traumatized over there developed dissociative symptoms. But Dr. Delgado still will not talk to me about it and will not set up a treatment plan. I have decided that I hate the man.

Because I have a milder case of dissociative disorders, it would have been extremely easy for a mental health professional to help me. All I truly needed was a mental health professional who understood the mental illness to explain to my loved ones and bosses about the mental illness. Since 1992 I have not gotten to any mental health professional who would even admit that the mental illness was real. Because of this my mental health condition deteriorated. I got more and more paranoid and scared.

I am so mad at the mental health professionals at this VA that I have been writing medical malpractice attorneys trying to get them to find out what is going on in the mental health system when the professionals will not talk about a mental illness that is in their own Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel!

[Skeezyks]

I'm sorry you're having such a frustrating experience. But, sadly, I'm not surprised. I don't know how old you are. I'm pushing 70! And I've been kicking around the mental health system where I live since around the age of 50 or so. I've been hospitalized twice following major suicide attempts. I've seen a few therapists for brief periods over the years. It never amounted to anything.

I still have never been offered anything in the way of a diagnosis. I'm not on med's anymore. I do still have a psychiatrist I typically see a couple of times a year, just to keep my foot in the door, so to speak (except that his clinic has now cancelled my most recently scheduled appointment 3 times.) When I do see him, though, it's typically only for about 10 minutes. And about all he ever offers me is antidepressants & Klonopin.

My personal perspective is that once one reaches the age of 50 (perhaps sooner?) one just becomes excess baggage on the mental health railroad. Personally I've pretty-much just given up on the mental health system. But I hope your efforts to yet wring some kind of services from "the system" get you what you need.

[L.P.]

Just wanted to say hey and I hear you, listening. Also hoping today is a better one for you.

[Michael W. Harris]

Originally Posted by Skeezyks

I'm sorry you're having such a frustrating experience. But, sadly, I'm not surprised. I don't know how old you are. I'm pushing 70! And I've been kicking around the mental health system where I live since around the age of 50 or so. I've been hospitalized twice following major suicide attempts. I've seen a few therapists for brief periods over the years. It never amounted to anything.

I still have never been offered anything in the way of a diagnosis. I'm not on med's anymore. I do still have a psychiatrist I typically see a couple of times a year, just to keep my foot in the door, so to speak (except that his clinic has now cancelled my most recently scheduled appointment 3 times.) When I do see him, though, it's typically only for about 10 minutes. And about all he ever offers me is antidepressants & Klonopin.

My personal perspective is that once one reaches the age of 50 (perhaps sooner?) one just becomes excess baggage on the mental health railroad. Personally I've pretty-much just given up on the mental health system. But I hope your efforts to yet wring some kind of services from "the system" get you what you need.

I would love it if the psychiatrist would give me a prescription of Klonopin. I would only take it every once in a while to help me sleep. But he will not even do that for me.