I can say it's likely infrastructure. For example where I'm at in rural Indiana it's 3 1/2 months to receive *any* sort of mental health related services even just a consultation regardless of insurance. If you need more specialized services the wait may be longer. I think the worst is currently dermatologists which stands at over 6 months, apparently hoosiers have bad skin
Well psychology is not a hard science so it makes since to me that they are paid less than other medical branches.
Psychology may not be a hard science, but in order to be a psychiatrist you have to be a Medical Doctor with all of the same specialization requirements as a surgeon or a radiologist. That same radio segment I mentioned earlier also said you basically have to specialize twice to be a psychiatrist (they didnt elaborate so I dont know what was meant by that).
This might be true, but I'm not sure I would like to meet a psychologist who only pursued that career because of its high salaries. Some jobs are just meant to be a calling and I'm sure they make enough money to live on.
Well psychology is not a hard science so it makes since to me that they are paid less than other medical branches.
Psychology may not be a hard science, but in order to be a psychiatrist you have to be a Medical Doctor with all of the same specialization requirements as a surgeon or a radiologist. That same radio segment I mentioned earlier also said you basically have to specialize twice to be a psychiatrist (they didnt elaborate so I dont know what was meant by that).
This might be true, but I'm not sure I would like to meet a psychologist who only pursued that career because of its high salaries. Some jobs are just meant to be a calling and I'm sure they make enough money to live on.
Although it may sound great to have a 'calling', my experience has been that many people 'called' into psychology are doing it to fix themselves. Helping others is not necessarily their most important motivation. I have an uncle who has a degree in psychology, worked in the mental-health field in California and is one of the weirdest people I know. My sister also got a degree in psychology. She's battled depression and anxiety her whole life. She's now working as a nurse in a psych-ward in Florida. Granted that's a small cross-section but here's an article I found about the hazards of pursuing a career in psychology...
46% of them battling depression is a huge number. I'd argue that a larger than average percentage of people with depression are pursuing those careers to begin with and the stresses are magnifying it. Just a hypothesis based on my limited observations of course...
Well, where to start. I'm fitghing off what might be early signs of respiratory infection, our insurance has decided not to pay for my wife's essential medication (which she has been without for a week) and is already experienceing drastic and sudden mood swings, and my hand might be broken. What a wonderful day.
Well, where to start. I'm fitghing off what might be early signs of respiratory infection, our insurance has decided not to pay for my wife's essential medication (which she has been without for a week) and is already experienceing drastic and sudden mood swings, and my hand might be broken. What a wonderful day.
Yikes, sorry to hear this. I hope you didn't break your hand punching a wall out of frustration...
Minor unhappiness: I have a rash that's going to prevent me from wearing pants tomorrow. Also, there's a single mosquito in my room and I don't know where it is.
That's interesting. Despite almost everything being privatized here, we do have special disability insurance, and were able to get counselling and therapy for my wife in less than a month. COnsidering our health system here in the US, I doubt these agencies get any more money in our country than in yous. Maybe its an infrastructure problem?
Not an infrastructure problem. I've looked in our area, in the next bigger city, and in a city an hour away that has roughly 1 million inhabitants. Same long lists.
There's just not enough of them.
@ThacoBell, I hope your wife will get your necessary medication soon and will be okay. It must be so frustrating.
I had a prescription and didn't get my medication yesterday, because it was unavailable, not only in that pharmacy, but couldn't be ordered from the producer in the whole country, for whichever reason. The two hours until I got an emergency alternative prescription were already dreadful, with me worrying what to do if I'd remain weeks without medication.
I can't imagine how bad it must be if you suddenly can't get your medicine anymore. Especially since your wife has had such severe symptoms. Even if they thought only about the money, surely another time in the hospital costs the insurance more than the medicine.
Did they give a reason? Are they even allowed to do that?
our insurance has decided not to pay for my wife's essential medication (which she has been without for a week)
Yikes, that's callous. What was their argument?
They "changed the policy." Apparently they will pay for a three month supply only now, but they didn't GIVE us a three month supply to begin with. So we have two months of no medication unless our doctors can figure something out.
You be like me and swerve radically between optimism and cynicism. I DO believe that every problem has a reasonable solution, but we will never see those, because the people are almost never reasonable.
I have recently been oversharing some very personal problems in this forum, publicly and privately, and I'm very embarrassed because of it.
I wish I could erase all traces of it, but that's not possible.
I would kindly ask people who have quoted the posts that I have deleted this week, if they could please edit the quotes out of their posts.
I'd also appreciate no replies or questions to this post. What has been said cannot be unsaid, but I'd like to hide for a bit, pretend it never happened, and then just go back to talking about Baldur's Gate and everything else that this forum was meant to discuss.
@Arvia If you want the moderators to move anything (including replies to your initial comments) to the holding area, just let us know (either through a PM or just a forum tag).
@Arvia No shame here. You've been having some rough times. I'll go back a ways and see if I've quoted you anywhere, but you should NOT feel shame or embarassment at talking with people about your problems.
our insurance has decided not to pay for my wife's essential medication (which she has been without for a week)
Yikes, that's callous. What was their argument?
They "changed the policy." Apparently they will pay for a three month supply only now, but they didn't GIVE us a three month supply to begin with. So we have two months of no medication unless our doctors can figure something out.
That really needs to be illegal. I know some people think mental health meds are bad, or not as necessary for life as 'real' medicines, but seriously, who among us hasn't at some point had to deal with someone who would have benefited from meds but wouldn't/couldn't take them? Its awful, and our society needs to realize how profound mental health problems are for sufferers.
I honestly think govs should just bite the bullet and fully cover psychiatric medicines. Leaving even the tiniest of barriers can result in a person not bothering in some cases, and or suffering greatly from the lack of meds.
There are many mental illnesses more crippling than even the worst physical ailments imho, I hope you can find a solution.
@DreadKhan Thanks you for your affiramtion. @Arvia had a good idea to resolve this, but it ended up fixing itself. Our pharmacy reviewed our case and ruled that the insurance company had made a mistake, and gave us our medication anyway. I suspect that they did this at a loss, as they never convinced the company to pay for them.
@ThacoBell Well, I suppose that's a bit understandable, as they likely want you coming to their pharmacy preferentially, but I think this is a happy enough ending.
If anything, mental health meds are more important than other kinds. I know one otherwise perfectly healthy person who ended up with life in prison for murdering two police officers because he couldn't afford his meds when he lost his job.
We already know medicine is the difference between a diabetic and a corpse. It's also true that medicine is the difference between a family man and a criminal. Mental health meds aren't something you can just go without.
@ThacoBell Well, I suppose that's a bit understandable, as they likely want you coming to their pharmacy preferentially, but I think this is a happy enough ending.
Well, this pharmacy DID looks after my wife, while our previous one almost killed me. So yeah, they have our business.
Last November when my relationship fell apart, I decided to fill a tiny bit of the void that event left with Dungeons and Dragons. I already had a group that meets bi-weekly, but I figured increasing the frequency to weekly would do me some good. Having an insufficient number of nerdy friends to sustain more games, I went to my local game store and put out the notice that I would like to start a weekly Thursday night session in a persistent campaign.
Things went relatively well at first. I had 5 players start out straight away, and although 3 of my 5 had never played before, I had 2 stars in the group that really made sessions a joy to DM and I looked forward to the game. Unfortunately, I've lost one of those two to work schedule changes, and another person dropped out due to time constraints leaving me with 3.
For myriad reasons over the last 2 months that group of three (we've had other people drop in for a few sessions and then flake) has been a constant source of disappointment and frustration. I talked with them at length about what was bothering me about the way things were going, and again nothing seems to have changed. So, although I appreciate the diversion, I made the decision to spike the group today and end it. It was weird how losing a player or two can completely shift a group dynamic and impact things so negatively. But I still feel pretty unhappy lol.
Sigh, just realized I'm going to be taking an L in one of my identity design class. The first project, from the advanced class. I thought I had more time and Sunday what was supposed to be uploaded was something completely different...
In other news...
I find myself just falling into random bouts of melancholy recently.i don't even know what words to use anymore, between feeling lost, useless, passionless, and remembering the days where I believed all I needed to do is keep moving forward. It may take time but keep going forward and I'll eventually get there...
It's all over...that is all I can see and hear now, and how easily I could make it all guy away, it would take much to turn the lights out.
@DragonKing do you have a therapist of some kind? I know a lot of people on this forum have worried about you when you have talked about your mental health before. Even though I of course don't understand your specific feelings, I've had some severe problems with all those negative feelings you mentioned throughout my life.
So I know seeking help for it can seem like a giant step to take. But as I recall, you live in the US, so a start is to call or chat with the National suicide prevention line. It's free, confidential and available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.
@DragonKing , for us people here it's very hard to judge how severe your symptoms are. So, if you really think or just fantasize about ending your life, then please consider what @JoenSo said above.
If you are, like others (including me) just venting your most hidden thoughts and worries here, because it's a safe environment, and if it just helps you to put it into words, then it's a good thing, too.
But it might still be a good idea to see a therapist. Most people in creative works have some kind of crisis sooner or later. Maybe because it's so unpredictable when you "produce" something and how to measure "successful".
Some even turn that melancholy into a source of inspiration, but if it consumes your life and freezes your thoughts, and keeps you from doing things you'd usually enjoy, and makes you feel worthless, it's probably time to do something about it.
Are there still things that make you happy, moments during the day when you can smile and forget your worries?
I know from own experience, whatever the issue is, that it's a lot easier to type down your thoughts and feelings here than talk to a living, breathing person sitting in front of you. But a friend or family member who knows you in real life might give you some useful feedback and support.
The step to admit that you might need professional help is even harder. Also because, from what you've written before, I suspect that seeing a therapist is expensive and not covered by insurance. But especially for depression, there are free resources, too.
If you don't want to take that step (yet), maybe you could at least trust a friend or family member with the information about how you feel. Having someone who cares about you checking on you occasionally can already make a big difference.
I hope you still find motivation to continue your classes.
Do you advertise your art on a website or something? Anything where you can get feedback from people, to see that your work is appreciated outside of institutions and grades?
I know it counts where you did what kind of classes when you look for a job, but we all know that's not about talent.
To see your talent and your work appreciated by others, professionals or not, might help you to find motivation to continue, perhaps?
Just a thought.
Sorry if this is all useless to you. I just wanted to share some ideas. Maybe they help you, maybe they help others some time, maybe not. I've received useful help here already from others, although sometimes it took me a while to recognize or accept it. I just hope it doesn't make matters worse for you that we keep talking at you here.
Nobody but you knows how you really feel and what might help you.
Got called into a room with the CFO just before lunch and told that a dear friend and colleague been diagnosed with lung cancer this morning. The guy is like an older brother to me almost and I'm struggling to suppress my emotions for long enough to make it through the day. Have a very important steering committee meeting in 2 hours I have to focus on but all I can think about is the frailty of life, his young kids who might lose their father and how we humans so often tend to know bad shit can happen but still live in bliss thinking it will never happen to ourselves.
If trying to stay in the right path, he straight and narrow, is what got me where I am today...
Maybe I would have been better off making the wrong turn long ago.
All I hear is it takes time, it's going to happen when it happens, just keep crawling forward, but I'm.not seeing any end to it. All I can see is more struggling, more pain, and eventually nothing.
Comments
This might be true, but I'm not sure I would like to meet a psychologist who only pursued that career because of its high salaries. Some jobs are just meant to be a calling and I'm sure they make enough money to live on.
Although it may sound great to have a 'calling', my experience has been that many people 'called' into psychology are doing it to fix themselves. Helping others is not necessarily their most important motivation. I have an uncle who has a degree in psychology, worked in the mental-health field in California and is one of the weirdest people I know. My sister also got a degree in psychology. She's battled depression and anxiety her whole life. She's now working as a nurse in a psych-ward in Florida. Granted that's a small cross-section but here's an article I found about the hazards of pursuing a career in psychology...
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/campus-confidential-coping-college/201604/depressed-psychologists?amp
46% of them battling depression is a huge number. I'd argue that a larger than average percentage of people with depression are pursuing those careers to begin with and the stresses are magnifying it. Just a hypothesis based on my limited observations of course...
Yikes, sorry to hear this. I hope you didn't break your hand punching a wall out of frustration...
Yikes, that's callous. What was their argument?
That should be in the happiness thread. I get to not wear pants tomorrow, whoo hoo!
It's only fun if you can share that fun with someone! ;-)
Not an infrastructure problem. I've looked in our area, in the next bigger city, and in a city an hour away that has roughly 1 million inhabitants. Same long lists.
There's just not enough of them.
@ThacoBell, I hope your wife will get your necessary medication soon and will be okay. It must be so frustrating.
I had a prescription and didn't get my medication yesterday, because it was unavailable, not only in that pharmacy, but couldn't be ordered from the producer in the whole country, for whichever reason. The two hours until I got an emergency alternative prescription were already dreadful, with me worrying what to do if I'd remain weeks without medication.
I can't imagine how bad it must be if you suddenly can't get your medicine anymore. Especially since your wife has had such severe symptoms. Even if they thought only about the money, surely another time in the hospital costs the insurance more than the medicine.
Did they give a reason? Are they even allowed to do that?
They "changed the policy." Apparently they will pay for a three month supply only now, but they didn't GIVE us a three month supply to begin with. So we have two months of no medication unless our doctors can figure something out.
I wish I could erase all traces of it, but that's not possible.
I would kindly ask people who have quoted the posts that I have deleted this week, if they could please edit the quotes out of their posts.
I'd also appreciate no replies or questions to this post. What has been said cannot be unsaid, but I'd like to hide for a bit, pretend it never happened, and then just go back to talking about Baldur's Gate and everything else that this forum was meant to discuss.
That was a very unfortunate typo.
That really needs to be illegal. I know some people think mental health meds are bad, or not as necessary for life as 'real' medicines, but seriously, who among us hasn't at some point had to deal with someone who would have benefited from meds but wouldn't/couldn't take them? Its awful, and our society needs to realize how profound mental health problems are for sufferers.
I honestly think govs should just bite the bullet and fully cover psychiatric medicines. Leaving even the tiniest of barriers can result in a person not bothering in some cases, and or suffering greatly from the lack of meds.
There are many mental illnesses more crippling than even the worst physical ailments imho, I hope you can find a solution.
We already know medicine is the difference between a diabetic and a corpse. It's also true that medicine is the difference between a family man and a criminal. Mental health meds aren't something you can just go without.
@typo_tilly Deja-vu! I recently got a very similar message from someone like that. I can't help but wonder if it was the same person...
Well, this pharmacy DID looks after my wife, while our previous one almost killed me. So yeah, they have our business.
Things went relatively well at first. I had 5 players start out straight away, and although 3 of my 5 had never played before, I had 2 stars in the group that really made sessions a joy to DM and I looked forward to the game. Unfortunately, I've lost one of those two to work schedule changes, and another person dropped out due to time constraints leaving me with 3.
For myriad reasons over the last 2 months that group of three (we've had other people drop in for a few sessions and then flake) has been a constant source of disappointment and frustration. I talked with them at length about what was bothering me about the way things were going, and again nothing seems to have changed. So, although I appreciate the diversion, I made the decision to spike the group today and end it. It was weird how losing a player or two can completely shift a group dynamic and impact things so negatively. But I still feel pretty unhappy lol.
In other news...
I find myself just falling into random bouts of melancholy recently.i don't even know what words to use anymore, between feeling lost, useless, passionless, and remembering the days where I believed all I needed to do is keep moving forward. It may take time but keep going forward and I'll eventually get there...
It's all over...that is all I can see and hear now, and how easily I could make it all guy away, it would take much to turn the lights out.
So I know seeking help for it can seem like a giant step to take. But as I recall, you live in the US, so a start is to call or chat with the National suicide prevention line. It's free, confidential and available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.
And if someone else is reading this that have similar experiences, consider checking this list of suicide crisis lines in different countries to find help where you live.
If you are, like others (including me) just venting your most hidden thoughts and worries here, because it's a safe environment, and if it just helps you to put it into words, then it's a good thing, too.
But it might still be a good idea to see a therapist. Most people in creative works have some kind of crisis sooner or later. Maybe because it's so unpredictable when you "produce" something and how to measure "successful".
Some even turn that melancholy into a source of inspiration, but if it consumes your life and freezes your thoughts, and keeps you from doing things you'd usually enjoy, and makes you feel worthless, it's probably time to do something about it.
Are there still things that make you happy, moments during the day when you can smile and forget your worries?
I know from own experience, whatever the issue is, that it's a lot easier to type down your thoughts and feelings here than talk to a living, breathing person sitting in front of you. But a friend or family member who knows you in real life might give you some useful feedback and support.
The step to admit that you might need professional help is even harder. Also because, from what you've written before, I suspect that seeing a therapist is expensive and not covered by insurance. But especially for depression, there are free resources, too.
If you don't want to take that step (yet), maybe you could at least trust a friend or family member with the information about how you feel. Having someone who cares about you checking on you occasionally can already make a big difference.
I hope you still find motivation to continue your classes.
Do you advertise your art on a website or something? Anything where you can get feedback from people, to see that your work is appreciated outside of institutions and grades?
I know it counts where you did what kind of classes when you look for a job, but we all know that's not about talent.
To see your talent and your work appreciated by others, professionals or not, might help you to find motivation to continue, perhaps?
Just a thought.
Sorry if this is all useless to you. I just wanted to share some ideas. Maybe they help you, maybe they help others some time, maybe not. I've received useful help here already from others, although sometimes it took me a while to recognize or accept it. I just hope it doesn't make matters worse for you that we keep talking at you here.
Nobody but you knows how you really feel and what might help you.
Maybe I would have been better off making the wrong turn long ago.
All I hear is it takes time, it's going to happen when it happens, just keep crawling forward, but I'm.not seeing any end to it. All I can see is more struggling, more pain, and eventually nothing.