[Yoda]

Why is it that everybody stereotypes mentally ill people? Being mentally ill doesn't make me stupid. I was told recently when I was talking about wanting to start working in critical care again that I should look for an easy desk job. I don't want a freaking easy job, I want to make a difference in the world. My RN board score was in the top 1% of RN candidates in 1986 and I didn't get stupid when I developed PTSD.

And once I was talking to a therapist after a group therapy session and she said, you should hurry so you don't miss the bus. I said, I drove my car. She looked at me in amazement and said, you can drive? Uuuummm, yeah, I can drive and I even used to drive an ambulance sometimes when I was a paramedic. Duh!

And my current problem - mentally ill people are always addicts and drug seekers. Ask a doctor for some pain meds and try to convince him that mentally ill people have pain like everybody else. In 2009 my family physician gave me a prescription for tylenol with codeine. I got 30 tablets at the end of February 2009 and I tried to make them last. I took my last one a week ago. So 30 pills lasting over a year - not much of an addict I think. But I called my doctor's office Friday and told his nurse that I needed some pain meds. I explained to her that I have no dental insurance for ten years and I have been driving six hours round trip to a school of dentistry because student dentists are much cheaper than licensed dentists. I explained to her that the students will not be in school until August 23 and my student told me the last time he saw me I probably need a root canal. I just wanted enough pain meds to use until Aug 23. The nurse said she would tell the doctor. I checked Friday evening and he had not called any prescriptions into the pharmacy. Nor did I get a phone call from his office to say that he would not order meds.

He has been my family physician for about ten years. I don't ask for meds if I don't need them. I have a pretty good tolerance to pain but I would like to have some so I can sleep without waking up from the pain. I am going to call the office Monday and ask the status of my prescription. If he refuses to prescribe something I think I will fire him. If he can't help me when I need him there is no point to keeping him, right?

Another thing that bugs me about him - I started taking metformin in 2007 for my diabetes or prediabetes, whatever you want to call it. So the last time that I saw him in the summer of 2009 I asked him if I could get a glucometer to check my glucoses at home. He said, you don't have one?, assuming I already was checking them. (My Pdoc was the one who started me on the metformin). So my family physician wrote me a prescription for a glucometer and I submitted it and the company called his office to get authorization for the glucometer. I got a voice mail from his office nurse saying I don't have diabetes and my glucoses and A1c were normal. So I was wondering if she was saying that my glucoses/A1c were normal prior to 2007 or normal now that I am taking metformin. I was thinking if she means they are normal now then that means the metformin is helping. Then a week later she called and left another voice mail saying I don't have diabetes I have hypoglycemia. What? Then why am I taking metformin? So I bought the glucometer with my own money and thought I would talk to my doctor at my next visit and ask what the heck. But I haven't been back to see him since last summer.

Is it just me or is something awry?



</rant>

It happens.

Because I have a mental illness, any time I am angry or upset, the automatic question on anyone's lips is, "Did you take your medication today?" Everyone knows, a person with mental illness doesn't ever have a *genuine* reason to be upset. It's all a symptom of being emotionally disturbed, isn't it?

My family often relies on my memory. All the time, they're calling me to ask the name of that neighbor we lived next door to in 1974, or what were the words to that song we liked in elementary school? But when I recall an episode of abuse, "it didn't happen like that." I'm remembering it wrong. All mentally ill people have delusions, you know.

As for working, there is one sentence I am thankful to God I no longer hear. I used to be on SSI, but it was discontinued after I married my husband. He makes too much money for me to qualify. But when I was on it, any time I wanted to enter a program designed to get me back into working, I'd hear, "Be careful not to earn too much money. You'll lose your SSI." Grrrrr. You know what? If I'm doing well enough to make that much money, then I don't NEED the stupid SSI, do I? If I can work instead of sitting around drawing government assistance, I'd rather.

Which kind of leads to another stereotype--that all mentally ill people are on government assistance, or homeless. I am now working with a program to get me job-ready and assist me in the search. The program also offers assistance in searching for housing, free bus tickets, etc. Because mentally ill people all need those things, right? I've been offered bus tickets on a couple of occasions, so that I can get to this or that service. The irony is that I, of all people, am the last person to need transportation assistance. Married to a bus driver, I get to ride for free.

Unlike the poster above, I am not able to drive a car. Poor vision, not mental incompetence, is the reason for it. This bit about assuming mentally ill people can't drive, well that's new to me. I'd never heard it before--but I certainly believe it. My husband says that many of his passengers are competent people riding to or from work. Maybe they care about the environment, and they want to cut down on auto exhaust. We live in a state capitol, and a lot of government employees ride the bus. But I do know the stereotype, that bus riders are people who are either not competent to drive, or too poor and strung out to afford a car, or had their license suspended. Bah!

IMO, Yoda, the therapist who was shocked that you can drive is without excuse. The nurse might be, as well. Talk to your MD as soon as you can. You don't have to put up with being treated second class just because you have a mental illness. If they don't treat you correctly, find a doctor who will.

And get a job that makes you happy. Me, I'd like a desk job, and I think behind-the-scenes workers can also make a difference in the world. But if you want to go back to being a CCU nurse, do it. No reason why you shouldn't.

By the way, I've got a cousin by marriage who is the head nurse in an ER, and he's a veteran with PTSD who takes psych meds.

[Fresia]

Yoda and Lovebirdsflying, I can relate to all that you have brought up. I also get tired of hearing from those who know about my illness, "Can you handle it / this or are you up for it," and usually followed by, "Are you sure?" Despite the fact that who ever knows the answer to this in all cases, I have to try and being questioned all the time is frustrating, as if I don't question myself enough as it is! To me, it creates additional doubt and are negative questions, the last things needed when depressed and not fully functioning. I know it is a sign of caring but I have not heard of anyone normally bringing this up regularly to others other than minors and the mentally ill; I am an adult who granted has not always made the best decisions but have to learn from my mistakes as well. If I don't try, I'll never know just like anyone else, mentally ill or not.

I was told school was impossible for me with BP. My earlier record used as proof against me. With meds and support, this round has been successful so far. I had no idea if was truly "up for it" but had to go for it to find out. I still get this and so do friends, no matter what it is, "can you do this?" try; goals even if it is getting out of bed in the morning are important. We may not know if we are "up for it" but ignore the naysayers and never, never stop trying.

[Yoda]

Thanks for the post, lovebirdsflying.

My sister can't drive well because of vision problems and that is a shame because it makes her dependent on the sister she lives with. Without her glasses she is legally blind. She totaled a car once and she has been taking driving lessons but she never practices driving. She is too scared to try again. She lives in a rural area nowhere near the bus line.

That is cool that your cousin is successful despite the PTSD. I initially thought I would want to work in the ED because I liked being a paramedic but I found I liked cardiac more. Interesting about mental illness and being competent - one of the doctors I worked with had schizophrenia but he was still a very good nephrologist. Sometimes it was a bit confusing because he talked to his hallucinations and I had to learn to work with eccentricities.

[Yoda]

I agree with you, Fresia. My sisters and mother don't think I am competent to work as a nurse again and think I should not try.

Yes I will have to refresh my learning but I have been reading medical and nursing journals and getting my mind ready. I still am waiting for the IRS to clear my debt though so probably won't attempt to work until 2011. I had been working on some research but had lost my folders in all my clutter and just found them again a few weeks ago. I had presented my research findings at the hospital when I was working and the doctors changed the practice of using Trendelenberg position based on that. I would love to submit it to be published in a nursing journal. That would look really cool on my resume.

Yoda, I also once had a psychiatrist who himself was bipolar. The only reason I don't go to him now is, I moved. Sorry, but 3000 miles is too far for a doctor's appointment.

[Nupoet64]

Yoda, reading your post was almost like seeing my own story. I have had PTSD ( looking bk @ symptoms) since childhood. But I was very functional until the end of 2007. I too was an RN, my fields were ER, ICU, & Hospice. I loved the ER, it is where the "rubber meats the road" so to speak. A plce where I could truely make a difference for others.
I knew when to pull myself away from nursing. I was ahving trouble focusing and haveing flashbacks & panic attacks. They started when a patient with schitzophrenia was admitted to the floor for a "UTI" that he did not have. He attacked me. After the attack and all the admin people showed up, police took photos of me, etc, I learned that he had been in crisis when he was brought in, he was sedated adn admitted. (I was Charge on med/surg floor that day). There were no labs in his chart to support the admitting diagnoses.
I began having panic attacks when I would come in to work, I was referred to the employee help line, an appointment was made, I was in PT thru the occupational health center. I was unable to function at work and needed time off. I was terminated for this.
It is sad and infuriates me that the "system" that intrudes in our family time, holidays, and demands we give 200% even when we are more ill than our patients, can turn it's back without a second glance and see us as weak and disposable.
I am very happy that you want to return to nursing. I, myself, have removed me from that circle. I will not be returning. I am intelligent and scored well in college. I can do anything....if i have no anxiety. I have been asked if I am "up to it" before. I get frustrated adn tell them that I can do ANYTHING! That the only reason I cannot fly a jet, is because no one has shown me how...but i could do that too!
I know i am rambling, been having alot of stuff coming up lately. But I am glad that you want to bk into your chosen field! Kudos! Do NOT let anyone stop you. Some of the people I have met with the most mental illness are the Doctors and people in other fields of authority.
I pray you find a spot that is well suited to you. And like with any job, there is always that 90 day grace period. Either end can terminate if needed. Go for it. Try it. Show them!! We are not a disease, we have a disease.
Nupoet

[Gus1234U]

Dear "Like Me's",, what a lovely set of posts~! bigotry is rampant in this culture, we all inherit it,, even after we become disabled often we hate ourselves~! but it is a terrible burden to carry a Psych Dx. my worst experiences have been with docs, who don't think i am competent to manage my own life, even tho i am doing it already~! i own a house, a car and have a good credit score, i'm always well dressed and well kept (when they see me). I have never had any encounters with the law, yet docs all assume i am incompetent, just because i haved BiPolar and can't tolerate meds... how they would like to poison me again, and again, just to see if it still works~! I was a client of Voc Rehab, and they did nothing for me, to help me get ready to try to work, to find a volunteer placement, or to get a job,,, it was a really bad joke, and as i was nearing the end of my 5 yr "service plan", the counselor told me i was "unemployable",, 2 months later, i had developed my own job as an outreach worker for an Independent Living Center~!! when i was applying for In Home Care with housekeeping, i was told it was a program for little old ladies dying of cancer,,, what a crock. The senior/disabled bus thought it was only for disabled seniors,,, Really ?? i live in a very small town, and everyone knows that they don't have to help, cause they never have, and it didn't hurt them. Then this week, I got a new doc, cause my old one retired, and he totally stigmatized and traumatized me, and banned me from access,, to the only place in town that takes new Medicare patients~ it's 50 miles to another doc. So i posted in here, under Medical Treatment/Abuse, and guess what,,, the response from a Poohbah was that i was probably delusional~! please go read it and see if i sound delusional ? Thanks so much for sharing these feelings,, just at the right time, for me~. Gus

[Moreta]

Heh. I went to my regular MD back in May, and when the nurse was asking the usual questions:

"Are you in pain?"
"Yes"
"On a scale of 1-10, how is your pain?"
"8"
"Where is your pain?"
"Everywhere."

Thus, she gave me a handout for Depression/GAD for me to fill out.

WTF?

Can you not read my chart? It says that I'm BIPOLAR. I mean, dam, look at the list of drugs I have to take everyday to be stable.

Then to top it all off, the MD never even asked me about my pain, b/c you know, us crazy people, don't have any pain....it is all in out heads.

It just makes me sooooooooooooooooooooooooo angry, that when we ask for help, that's not related to our mental state, they won't give us the proper care.

Seriously though, I have a mass on my kidney, that was found in APRIL. I went to the freaking ED b/c I was in so much pain and I thought I had kidney stones. But since I told them I thought I had kidney stones, that was all they looked for. You would think, if a mysterious mass was found near the kidney, they might actually want to run some other tests to see what it is. But no, they told me to go to my MD, so he could send me for a CT w/contrast. Could they not have done that on the same day that I WAS ALREADY IN THE HOSPITAL? ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Luckily, I found a doctor who would work with me, and they're taking it out on the 16th. It just pisses me off so much, that I knew there was something wrong with me, but nobody would listen.

[Perna]

Originally Posted by LovebirdsFlying

Because I have a mental illness, any time I am angry or upset, the automatic question on anyone's lips is, "Did you take your medication today?" Everyone knows, a person with mental illness doesn't ever have a *genuine* reason to be upset. It's all a symptom of being emotionally disturbed, isn't it?

I got that at work all the time the day after therapy, if I got upset about anything, it had to do with having been to therapy the day before! I got so when they'd look at me, expecting me to do something "crazy" I would oblige them would make faces at them or do something (my favorite was banging my head against a wall) exaggerated so we'd all have a good laugh.

Yoda, your doctor just didn't get to or missed your messages; I'd call them again about the pain meds; you've shown you aren't a seeker; I think you're like me in stores; I always keep my hands in view so they'll know I'm not shop lifting Not something I would do in a million years!

Queen, something similar happened to me once. I went to ER crying and holding on to my abdomen with pain and stomach cramps. When the EMT heard that my medical history included depression, he immediately told me I was having a panic attack. EMT's are not qualified to make diagnoses. When we got to the ER, he emphasized to the nurse that I "have a history of behavioral issues." Therefore they assumed that nothing was "really" wrong with me; I was just having a psych episode. After several hours of being ignored, I walked out and went to a neighboring hospital's ER. There they examined my abdomen, rather than assuming it was a psychiatric issue, and found I had gastroenteritis. It was later determined I am allergic to corn.

Yeah, when you're mentally ill, all pain is in your head, isn't it?

I wrote to the original hospital's administration. Never got a reply.

[splitimage]

I've been relatively lucky and haven't experienced much discrimination and what little stigma I've encountered has tended to be funny in my opinion, or at least I prefer to laugh at it. For example about 10 years ago now I was having a problem - my blood wasn't clotting normally and I was covered in bruises. So I went to my GP and said I was having abnormal bruising and that my blood wasn't clotting properly. She did a bunch of tests and when she called me back to her office she said, sounding a little surprised. "You're right your blood isn't clotting properly - it's not just in your head." So she refered me to a haemotologist at the local cancer hospital. It was all very much a warm session, they work in teams there, so I was introduced to me Dr., my nurse, and asked if it was ok for a med student to sit in on the exam. I said it was. They then proceeded to ask me about my symptoms. I said that i'd noticed that my blood wasn't clotting normally. The nurse then asked "Oh are you a nurse?" I said no. The Dr.. asked, so how do you know what's normal. I smiled and said, I've self injured for years by cutting so I have a pretty good sense of how long it takes for my blood to clot and lately it's been taking a lot longer. It was totally worth it for the look on the med student's face. He looked like he wanted to run out of the room, and he could barely look at me throughout the exam. The nurse and the Dr. by contrast were perfectly professional.

I do know that my current psychiatrist is somewhat surprised that I'm capable of handling a high stress job, but he's adjusting.

My addictions Dr. on the other hand keeps telling me that I should look for something really easy and low stress. What she doesn't get is that being bored is the worst possible thing for me, and that it's when I'm not being challenged intellectually that I most want to drink.

So I'll be definitely looking for a hight paying, high stress job when I start job hunting in Sept.

--splitimage

[lonegael]

Yoda, I have bipolar syndrom and I am a psychologist. My mother said, and I quote "Oh my God, does this mean we have to lock the bedroom doors at night, you know, those people kill their whole families..."
I have trigger point syndrom, and nerve symptoms from a pinched disc in my neck and several possible injuries in the past. NO DOCTOR in any country I have lived in has taken my loss of sensation in my outer three fingers or the pain that seems to set in my bones that runs from my shoulders to my hands serious once they hear that I have a psychiatric history. A physical therapist I met at the pain rehab here ran an exam on me and felt that I have a lot of pain when he "provokes it" but the radiologists don't do that. They take the x-rays when you are nice and still and in a neutral position, so they rarely catch cases where movement affects the nerves. So, well, it's because I'm moderately whacked, right?

As if mental pain weren't enough...

I usually don't tell people my diagnosis, and, thankfully, I have a doctor who is generous with prescribing my pain killers. But the police aren't exactly the most cordial of folk once they read my record. It can be troublesome. And, as far as the general public goes, I'm universally hated with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. Which is why I don't tell people my diagnonsense...

[Rhiannonsmoon]

What say that we members of PC start a petition to send to our respective AMA's and let them know that no matter what country we are in, no matter what mental illness we have, it does NOT mean we are drug addicts and it does NOT mean we don't suffer with chronic pain syndromes.

It seems we all feel the same way but are afraid to say anything about it because we are then possibly going to be cut off from what medication we do have and made to suffer worse problems.

We need to do something. I can't nurse again because I suffer so badly with agoraphobia, and photosensitive sz's (fluro lights send me off even though I have medication). But It doesn't mean I wouldn't be a good nurse if I could go back.

Why don't we show the world, doctors included that we are useful human beings with the same pains and feelings as other human beings? It seems to me that it's ok to be physically disabled because they can see the problem...but they are very afraid of mental illness because they can't see it...

Lets do this?

Originally Posted by Rhiannonsmoon

We need to do something.

Umm... I don't think I can. I'll gladly support you kindly folk, though.

[perpetuallysad]

I have had issues with my primary treating me weirdly after my "breakdown". I have gone to the same doctor's office (different doc, of course) since I was FIVE YEARS OLD!!! But now, suddenly at 34 I am a mental case who imagines problems and I seem to only annoy him. I feel very dismissed and marginalized and it's an awful feeling. I have had legitimate reasons to have pain meds several times in the past and he's flat out refused to give me anything.

Oh another annoying dr situation was when I had a pretty bad car wreck and went to the emergency room, they determined I had whip lash and pulled muscles (maybe they are the same thing?) and the lady was literally writing me a prescription for muscle relaxers because she's TELLING me that I am going to be hurting really badly soon (I was still sort of in shock) and then she sees my bipolar diagnoses and says flat out "oh I cannot give you this because you're a mental patient!" So she instead gave me a shot of PHENEGREN! because she said it would at least help me fall asleep that night. Like somehow because I'm bipolar I wouldn't feel the pain or need the meds or hell, I don't even know. But it has honestly made me very leery of even telling "other" docs (besides my pdoc) anything about my mental history or meds I take.

Yoda, I am really sorry that the doc just left you hanging like that. Tooth pain is extraordinarily hard to deal with. I hope things get better. Oh ya, I used to have a badly broken tooth (impacted wisdom tooth) and when I was at my wit's end with pain, I would either rub flexall or put a "pain patch" for like back pain on my face. Usually this would sort of dull the pain (that and a ton of aleve) enough for me to sleep a bit. Also a heating pad on my pillow sometimes helped. Oh I truly feel for you, I have suffered so much because of my crappy teeth!

Originally Posted by Myers

I usually don't tell people my diagnosis, and, thankfully, I have a doctor who is generous with prescribing my pain killers. But the police aren't exactly the most cordial of folk once they read my record. It can be troublesome. And, as far as the general public goes, I'm universally hated with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. Which is why I don't tell people my diagnonsense...

There's a lot of wisdom in that.

[lonegael]

I don't usually tell my doctors, but they can see it in my charts here. It's all in the same data base so whoever I see knows what my problem has been. part of the fun and games that comes with a centralized medical system. Stuck with the bad along with the good

After being treated with condescension by my general practitioner, I asked him if he is capable of being objective about the physical symptoms I presented for treatment. He looked at me like I was crazy. So I asked for a different doctor.

The first thing I talked about with the knew doctor is how the previous ones could not get past the history of my mental illness in the file. I asked him if he could be objective, and volunteered to sign a release of information so he could talk to my treatment team and get any records he deemed helpful.

I am happy to say I started receiving much better treatment for the physical problems. My experience for the most part is that general practitioners are not that comfortable with mental health issues, but can be quick to attribute physical complaints to mental illness.

[maxwelll]

Hello,
Yes you are right being mental ill doesn't means stupid. and you will get soon. some of my friends also facing this kinda problems but we behave in good way with him.

good luck!!

_______________

[(JD)]

for everyone.

Stereotyping is not inherently bad.

I think what some have posted about is more of assumptions, and just plain lazy or bad doctoring. (Yes, some of it is negative stereotyping.)

The best we can do is to let it roll off us. It's their attitudes and assumptions that reflect negatively upon them, and their ignorance etc has no reflection upon the patient's abilities and attitudes, imo.

But it does make you wonder about those who "should" know better, you know?

[lonegael]

I hate to say it, but some of the worst I have heard have been from those in my own profession who still adhere to the old belief that if you are aware and work on your "issues", then you have overcome them and are perfect, more or less. Well, too many folks have problems that can't be "risen above" anymore than PKU or MS. Most of these folks I've mentioned have pretty glaring issues that are more destructive than mine, but because I am aware of mine and am medicated, then I am automatically on the outs.
There is a grain of truth to all stereotypes, but one grain does not make a silo. Most folks I know can bring in the whole blanking harvest when it comes to the mentally ill. Yes, when confronted I do smile, acknowledge that most folks are pretty unkonwing in this area, but after a while, I want to blow, and here is a pretty safe place to do it.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a few mattresses that I have to finish bolting to my bedroom wall... Huggs all, and humor if it helps!

Stereotypes will always be problematical for me.

To generalize is to be an idiot.
- William Blake

General notions are generally wrong.
- Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

Crude classifications and false generalizations are the curse of organized life.
- George Bernard Shaw

Every generalization is dangerous, especially this one.
- Mark Twain (pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens)

http://samvak.tripod.com/stereotype.html
http://racerelations.about.com/od/un...Stereotype.htm

Stereotyping is often distasteful, and frequently serves to reveal ignorance. There’s an old American proverb: those who constantly generalize "...learn less and less about more and more until (they) know nothing about everything."
(A Dictionary of American Proverbs, Oxford University Press, 1992, p.248)

Most stereotypes are dictated by prejudice, which usually is formed from a single perspective. Even if not done maliciously, they can lead to the more destructive process of ethnic and cultural profiling which is used to justify discrimination and persecution.

Some sociologists, in fact, contend that "...stereotyping reflects a power structure in which one group in society uses labeling to keep another group in its place."
(Hutchinson Encyclopedia, on the Web 12/4/03

"The systems of stereotypes may be the core of our personal tradition, the defenses of our position in society. They are an ordered more or less consistent picture of the world, to which our habits, our tastes, our capacities, our comforts and our hopes have adjusted themselves. They may not be a complete picture of the world, but they are a picture of a possible world to which we are adapted. In that world, people and things have their well-known places, and do certain expected things. We feel at home there. We fit in. We are members.

[...]

It is not merely a short cut. It is all these things and something more. It is the guarantee of our self-respect; it is the projection upon the world of our own sense or our own value, our own position, and our own rights. [...] They are the fortress of our traditions, and behind its defenses we can continue to feel ourselves safe in the position we occupy."
— Walter Lippmann (Public Opinion)

To me, stereotypes are control mechanisms that work to adulterate freedoms and unalienable rights.

[Typo]

I hate when people treat me like I am unable to care for myself, my own parents do it to me, and I have a "friend" (not much of a friend really, but still tries to act like she is) that think because I am bipolar II and have PTSD that I will never be able to function in day to day situations.

It makes me angry, I am more than capable of taking care of myself, of functioning.

I also hate it when people treat me like I'm contagious, like if they get to close to me they are going to become "crazy"

I"m a human being just like anyone else, I hurt the same, I bleed the same, I live and breathe the same as anyone else, I just have a mental illness.

I hate when people walk around me like they are walking on eggshells

I am not stupid, I am not making up things in my head, when I cry for help it is because I need it, not because I'm "mentally ill"

I'm open about my diganoises (excpet the PTSD because people have an awful habit of asking what happend to cause it) I don't feel I should have to hide because people can't get past their own ignorant beliefs.

I'm a human, we all are, now if only the world could see that,