Heartbreaking
This story that happened yesterday is the most heartbreaking story I've read in a long time. I read it this morning and there's just nothing good here.
There's way too much that we don't know about this situation, and I doubt that we'll ever know what really happened. I know that unmedicated bipolar disorder is dangerous (to the individual) and is one of the more complex disorders to treat psychologically, psychiatrically, and socially. Medicated bipolar disorder is very manageable. But nothing about the disorder is so simple that it could be discussed or understood in a couple sentences.
I've lost a friend to unmedicated bipolar disorder. I have friends who struggle with it. I have friends who manage it. I see patients all the time in various states of medication and non-medication. These are reasons that the story breaks my heart.
The guy sold paint. The guy had trouble.
And will we ever know what happened? The feds will force feed the "justified actions" or whatever about the shooting. And what do I know. Maybe it was justified. I'm not an expert there. I'm cynical, I know that, but I also know that just because I'm cynical doesn't mean I'm right. I know I don't want to hear Scott McClellan say anything about any of this. Because it's heartbreaking enough. And this didn't have to happen for about 45,000 different reasons.
And the reason that will get lost in the shuffle is that people need affordable mental health care, but I'm pretty confident that we won't put our resources into saving lives through building those types of resources.
posted by Teodoro Callate @ 9:48 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
i don't know. i'll be selfish here and say... that i didn't know too much about nor hear a lot about people being 'bipolar' until i was diagnosed. and now it seems like everyone is bipolar and... well, i feel somewhere in the middle.
i have a job...but there are days when it's really hard or too much for me to get out of bed. i've been pretty much stable on meds for most of the time i've been diagnosed. so, there's that. the people who think i should just 'work harder,' or 'get over it,' or whatever. fuck you.
on the other hand, if i tell you i'm bipolar (i prefer manic-depressive), it doesn't mean that i'm going to go crazy. it doesn't mean that any rapid talking or grand emotion i have is 'mania' or a 'mood swing.' i'm naturally a drama queen, dickface. it doesn't mean i'm a psycho. it doesn't mean that i'm out of control.
i hate that. i hate watching people hear that and get a little scared. yeah, when i'm really fucked up out of control, maybe you should be a little cautious, but you should be more than a little cautious when i'm not working a good AA program. when i'm not spiritually fit --?? that's when i'm a real crazy bitch.
DAM - Totally agree.
Smussy, I hear what you're saying. There is a huge spectrum within bipolar disorder, and the spectrum widens when medications are either introduced or subtracted. But my point of the original post is contained in your response as well as DAM's - a better understanding of mental health is needed. I've been following this story in the papers in the aftermath, and it continues to break my heart. One of the federal marshal statements contained something about split-second decisions and the fact that marshals can't be expected to evaluate a person's mental health in that moment. And my response to that is: they damn well better be able to do that. If they can't then the shouldn't have the gig. Sure would be easy to just start shooting people that we don't understand in the name of safety...wait a minute...we've been doing that for centuries...
PSYCHOBABBLE WARNING ALERT: re Smussy's comment. I think it's appropriate for you to identify yourself however you wish. The reason for the change from manic-depression to Bipolar Disorder was a technical one within the psychiatric community. The DSM-IV in 1992 reclassified the title of the disorder, and the American Psychiatric Association publishes that manual for the medical/psychological/psychiatric community. The fact that pop culture may misuse or misunderstand the term is another matter entirely. In a nutshell, the word "bipolar" is more encompasing that simply manic-depression. Essentially, not all Bipolar individuals have mania. Some are hypomanic, and some simply swing from depression to a non-manic or non-depressed level. Thus, Bipoar can be more than manic-depression. Lots of different levels of functioning under than heading than the black/white implications of manic depression. Not saying it's perfect or defending it...just explaining the lingo.
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