Discrimination Against The Mentally Ill

[dybmh]

Man, you really need to do yoga.

Yup. I hear ya. I'm trying...

 

[dybmh]

Have you tried reading up on Sleep Hygiene?

Yes, just started though. All this started 4 weeks ago.

And obviously I haven't put anything into practice, cause I'm sleeping in a minature server farm. ( Do u know what that is? )

 

[Howard Is]

Yup. I hear ya. I'm trying...

Don’t try too hard.

 

[dybmh]

Don’t try too hard.

Yeah right...

Easier said than done. Some of us were built from the ground up predisposed to be aggressive dominant do'ers and makers.

On the plus side.

I
Never
Quit

 

[Harel13]

minature server farm. ( Do u know what that is? )

No.

 

[dybmh]

No.

( Examples )

 

[Stevicus]

"Mentalism or sanism describes discrimination and oppression against a mental trait or condition a person has, or is judged to have. This discrimination may or may not be characterized in terms of mental disorder or cognitive impairment. The discrimination is based on numerous factors such as stereotypes about neurodivergence, for example [Aspergers], learning disorders, ADHD, bipolar, schizophrenia, and personality disorders, specific behavioral phenomena such as stuttering and tics, or intellectual disability."

Mentalism (discrimination) - Wikipedia

Over the past month I have developed a very profound sleep disorder. It started about 4 weeks ago and is easiest described as insomnia. A very very bad case of insomnia.

Here in America, the health care system is very difficult to maneuver if you have sleep trouble. And for somone with my symptoms, ( 2 hours of sleep per night consistently for 4 weeks ) the only way to get help is to go a Hospital Emergency room. And that's what I have been doing.

What I have witnessed and experienced myself appears to be systemic discrimination and hatred of Mentally Ill people by the staff at this specific ER.

I feel obligated to something about it. Not because of how I was treated. But how the other people were treated who were really really sick ( mentally ).

While I was waiting in the lobby, I witnessed what can only be described as cruel inhumane treatment of an old lady who was cold, confused, and terrified. She was being abused by 4-5 staff members.

The biggest problem that I noticed is, the abuse was coordinated, and looked to be the hospitals standard approach to patient care. Yes. Abusing the patient appeared to be the standard of care.

For those of you who know me, you know that I am a caring warm person, who is eager to extend a helping hand to anyone in need regardless of whether or not they appear "crazy". And because of this, it should not be a surprise that I intervened to help the woman who was being abused. I made a few phone calls and helped her find a shelter so she wouldn't be outdoors again for another night.

Note: The woman was being disruptive. But all she was really doing was begging for help. Crying and telling the staff she was afraid. That's all. But the staff was not talking to her or treating her like a human being. I cannot describe how painful this was to witness. Especially considering how the lady's entire demeanor changed as soon as a kind person ( me ) looked her in the eyes and offered to help.

It is heartbreaking. All she needed was a small bit of help understanding the shelter options. The hospital staff had given her a list of shelters on paper. But they wouldn't help her read it or understand what was on the paper. They didn't want to help her at all. But it went beyond reticence. They despised her. It was contempt. It reminded of something I would have seen in a history book as part of the 1960s civil rights movement. It was the same hatred only without the dogs and the firehoses. The staff seemed to actually hate this homeless woman.

My experience at the ER, was actually quite similar to what I witnessed in the lobby. Because my symptoms are so profound ( rapid onset extreme insomnia ) just like the homeless lady, I was being processed by the hospital staff as needing psychiatric help. And my experience matched what I witnessed in the lobby. Contempt bordering on hate. A complete lack of empathy. Inhumane treatment. I wasn't able to ask questions of the Dr. I wasn't able to even ask about the medication they were prescribing. Asking about alternative medication choices was not allowed either. I was not treated like a human being. It was surreal.

Eventually, I spoke with a social worker and he said.. this is a quote, "I have to get out of here. This place is insane. None of the Drs will talk to you. They won't discuss the medication with you anymore. They won't discuss the diagnosis. They are not willing to talk to you anymore at all."

At this point I appealed to the social workers logic. The social worker spoke with the Dr. and eventually the Dr. returned so I could ask questions about the perscribed medication and ask about the other medication options for insomnia. But the Dr. repeatedly became combative, and verbally abusive. At least I had the clarity of mind to insist that the social worker remain in the room with me, because otherwise there would have been no witnesses.

At this point I am still trying to to wrap my brain around what is going on at this ER. The thing is, I have multiple friends who work at this hospital. All Drs. One of them happens to be an ER doctor.

I made a phonecall already to someone inside the Hospital in the social work Dept in order to make contact with the social worker who witnessed what happened to me. I was told he was transferred to another hospital. This was 1 hour after the incident occurred.

Question: what should I do? I really don't know what to make of any of this. It looks like textbook discrimination and abuse of people deemed to be Mentally Ill. And after being in the ER twice in the past week seeking treatment for insomnia, I can say, during both visits, I witnessed behavior by the staff which I can only describe as systemic hatred of Mentally Ill people, especially homeless people. But I have to be honest, I think they hated me too. And all I have is insomnia.

I suppose you could file an official complaint with your state's medical board or whatever agency oversees hospitals and doctors. Complain to the American Medical Association and the American Hospital Association. Get the names of all the people involved and tell someone that they don't belong in the medical profession. They should be off digging ditches somewhere, far away from any human service professions.

 

[Harel13]

( Examples )

I'm surprised your brain hasn't been completely fried yet from all of that radiation...

 

[Howard Is]

I'm surprised your brain hasn't been completely fried yet from all of that radiation...

Well, he can’t sleep.
But that’s probably because he’s a loony toon.

 

[dybmh]

I'm surprised your brain hasn't been completely fried yet from all of that radiation...

It's just a minature server farm... The back-up array is the biggest problem...

 

[dybmh]

Well, he can’t sleep.
But that’s probably because he’s a loony toon.

Oh boy, at least I can feel good that you see me for who i really am.

Do u have any idea how hard it is to walk around this world and not be recognized as abnormal?

...

Uh

....

Nevermind.

 

[Stevicus]

Do u have any idea how hard it is to walk around this world and not be recognized as abnormal?

I do, but I realized that it's too much work. Screw being "normal."

 

[dybmh]

I do, but I realized that it's too much work. Screw being "normal."

Tell that to the psychiatrist... And they will do everything in their power to lock u up and throw away the key.

Another analogy that fits comes from an expression that is often used to describe anti-Israeli discrimination...

If you tell a psychiatrist, you don't care about being normal. They want to push you into the sea... And watch you drown. For some strange reason, it is deemed to be therapeutic... Or maybe they ( the psychiatrist ) enjoys being powerful and elite...

That's what it seems like to me at least... And I told the psychiatrist.. precisely that yesterday.

" I don't care if I seem crazy. I'm sleep deprived..."

And they wanted to push me into the sea... As therapy.

Not to mention what they did to my wife... She may never be the same. . My relationship with my wife may never be the same

All because I have insomnia.. and at least two of the Drs on staff at this hospital apparently Hate the mentally ill.

Edit to add:. I wonder if these specific Drs believe in the Antichrist. That would explain their behavior towards me at least...

. One them actually did make a weird comment about me being Jewish. I completely ignored it at the time because it was weird, irrelevant, and out of place in the ( so called ) conversation.. but now that I think about it... Maybe these 2 Drs Hate a lot of people-groups... Not just the mentally ill... WOH.

 

[Revoltingest]

If only I were joking... I actually do sleep ( if u want to call it that ) in a server room. I moved there so my wife could get some sleep.

I dislike sleeping in quiet.
This happened over time.
Noise is best...animals, machinery running, TV.
(When on the road, I like to park next to cattle trucks to snooze.)
I dislike quiet in general.
In school, I did most of my studying in a gymnasium (where I worked).
Hated libraries....too damn quiet.
So I tentatively recommend trying to enjoy your server farm.

 

[dybmh]

I dislike sleeping in quiet.
This happened over time.
Noise is best...animals, machinery running, TV.
(When on the road, I like to park next to cattle trucks to snooze.)
I dislike quiet in general.
In school, I did most of my studying in a gymnasium (where I worked).
Hated libraries....too damn quiet.
So I tentatively recommend trying to enjoy your server farm.

I agree I like the fans and the clicking...

But I think there's a lot of research out there that the blinking lights are probably very very bad for my sleep. I've gotta move out of there...

 

[Revoltingest]

I agree I like the fans and the clicking...

But I think there's a lot of research out there that the blinking lights are probably very very bad for my sleep. I've gotta move out of there...

One way or another, I always sleep with me peepers covered.

 

[Stevicus]

Tell that to the psychiatrist... And they will do everything in their power to lock u up and throw away the key.

Another analogy that fits comes from an expression that is often used to describe anti-Israeli discrimination...

If you tell a psychiatrist, you don't care about being normal. They want to push you into the sea... And watch you drown. For some strange reason, it is deemed to be therapeutic... Or maybe they ( the psychiatrist ) enjoys being powerful and elite...

That's what it seems like to me at least... And I told the psychiatrist.. precisely that yesterday.

" I don't care if I seem crazy. I'm sleep deprived..."

And they wanted to push me into the sea... As therapy.

Not to mention what they did to my wife... She may never be the same. . My relationship with my wife may never be the same

All because I have insomnia.. and at least two of the Drs on staff at this hospital apparently Hate the mentally ill.

Edit to add:. I wonder if these specific Drs believe in the Antichrist. That would explain their behavior towards me at least...

Have you been tested for sleep apnea? Insomnia is not that uncommon of a problem. I recall when they talked about President Bush taking sleeping pills, and there are plenty of so-called "sane" and "normal" people who have insomnia. If the people at this hospital (or your psychiatrist) are automatically assuming that every person with difficulty sleeping is a loon, then I would question their ability to practice medicine. They sound like a bunch of quacks.

 

[Quintessence]

I agree I like the fans and the clicking...

But I think there's a lot of research out there that the blinking lights are probably very very bad for my sleep. I've gotta move out of there...

Blue light is especially bad.

If you can, I'd do an experiment. There are various places around the country (presuming you live in the United States) where you can go off the grid. Sometimes they are called retreat centers, sometimes they will be religious-run spiritual centers. There's one in my hometown that has hermitages that are powered by solar/wind/geothermal that you can rent out for weeks at a time. Disconnected from all the mess of electronics and computers and other circadian disruptions that too many modern humans experience, your biological clock might get back on track. Hard to say, but it's an idea I had at any rate.

 

[Howard Is]

One way or another, I always sleep with me peepers covered.

That improves night vision. Visual Purple (rhodopsin) necessary for night vision, is only produced in full darkness.

 

[dybmh]

Blue light is especially bad.

If you can, I'd do an experiment. There are various places around the country (presuming you live in the United States) where you can go off the grid. Sometimes they are called retreat centers, sometimes they will be religious-run spiritual centers. There's one in my hometown that has hermitages that are powered by solar/wind/geothermal that you can rent out for weeks at a time. Disconnected from all the mess of electronics and computers and other circadian disruptions that too many modern humans experience, your biological clock might get back on track. Hard to say, but it's an idea I had at any rate.

Ok... You will like this...

As an energetic extrovert... I meet a lot of people with a lot of different beliefs.

I have this one friend who identified as a vampire. Anywhooo...

He made a coccoon / tomb for himself to sleep in in his closet. He was quite obsessed with removing every spec of light from his sleep space.

Maybe I'll chat with him today about this. He would probably love helping me build my own cozy, little tomb...

Thank you for the suggestion... This might really help.