Archive for the ‘Mental Health Issues’ tag
Conflicted….but trying to avoid more drama
My AD, age 32, lives with us after we helped her escape from an abusive situation, so she could begin to rebuild her life. She has mental health issues, probably from PTSD, and is taking antipsychotics and is in counseling, although between her work schedule and counselor's rescheduling, she's not seen him much yet.
I am *sure* she's using, probably heroin. Her ex BF used to inject her with dilaudid to help the voices go away -- she says he hit her if she tried to resist. She's working and gives me some of her checks to keep for her. She's trying to find an apartment, although she doesn't make much. But she became friends with a guy who supposedly also moved here to start over, and I'm positive he uses.
She's quite personable sometimes -- like the woman she used to be before the traumas hit her -- but her pupils are tiny when she's like that. She also has been diagnosed with HepC (thanks to the ex) and explains her lack of interest in learning much about the disease as "denial" -- my thinking is "I'll say!"
We talk all around drugs. She walked out angrily once when I asked her to take a drug test, and came back three days later, a wreck from not taking meds. She hasn't been here long enough to really have made many friends. She's been told she can't use and live here. But there is not a smoking gun,...yet.
I believe it will take a big drama -- OD, getting picked up, or denial of treatment for HepC (and I'll bet she'll find some way to explain that) to get her to admit to using.
I'm working the program for me, trying very hard to focus on ME and my husband, instead of letting her problems rule my world. But I HATE that she's using here, which I'm nearly certain she is, although she is not keeping anything in her room, at least that is evident -- more likely in her car. I just would like to avoid a complete drama scene and let it play out as it will -- for I'm certain it eventually will --
So am I just stupid for not forcing the issue?
I am *sure* she's using, probably heroin. Her ex BF used to inject her with dilaudid to help the voices go away -- she says he hit her if she tried to resist. She's working and gives me some of her checks to keep for her. She's trying to find an apartment, although she doesn't make much. But she became friends with a guy who supposedly also moved here to start over, and I'm positive he uses.
She's quite personable sometimes -- like the woman she used to be before the traumas hit her -- but her pupils are tiny when she's like that. She also has been diagnosed with HepC (thanks to the ex) and explains her lack of interest in learning much about the disease as "denial" -- my thinking is "I'll say!"
We talk all around drugs. She walked out angrily once when I asked her to take a drug test, and came back three days later, a wreck from not taking meds. She hasn't been here long enough to really have made many friends. She's been told she can't use and live here. But there is not a smoking gun,...yet.
I believe it will take a big drama -- OD, getting picked up, or denial of treatment for HepC (and I'll bet she'll find some way to explain that) to get her to admit to using.
I'm working the program for me, trying very hard to focus on ME and my husband, instead of letting her problems rule my world. But I HATE that she's using here, which I'm nearly certain she is, although she is not keeping anything in her room, at least that is evident -- more likely in her car. I just would like to avoid a complete drama scene and let it play out as it will -- for I'm certain it eventually will --
So am I just stupid for not forcing the issue?
Do they all eventually “fall”??
It seems to me that my ex has been getting away with stuff for so long ... and I have to pose this question to the list ... do they all eventually fall? Does their lifestyle always catch up to them eventually?
My ex has been stealing, lying, using and selling drugs for a long, long time and it seems like he's only been "caught" once when he stole beer from the local college and got caught on tape .... and even then, he got a slap on the wrist because he told them that HE was talked into it by his friend (ya right, i know for a fact he'd stolen beer from the same place on numerous occasions by himself). He's been on probation since then and even tho he's breached numerous times by not checking in, and just doesn't seem to be taking his conditions seriously (he's supposed to be seeing a therapist for possible mental health issues, supposed to get a job, supposed to abstain from drugs and alcohol) ... he seems to just thumb his nose at all of this, make excuses and get more probation ...
Now he's not in my life right now and I have no control over this ... and I'm not trying to get involved ... I'm just wondering ... do some ppl just fly enough under the radar to never have to face the consequences of their actions? Seems to me that the only times he's EVER considered that maybe his anger and drug use aren't helping him, it's been when he's had to spend a few days in jail ... but then someone always comes forward to get him out until his next court date ... don't the courts look at the whole situation and see that this is going on?? When is he going to have to really feel the consequences? Is it possible he'll go thru life just getting away with it? Seems to me that the longer he gets away with it, the cockier he'll get and that certainly won't make him want to change things ...
Anyone??
My ex has been stealing, lying, using and selling drugs for a long, long time and it seems like he's only been "caught" once when he stole beer from the local college and got caught on tape .... and even then, he got a slap on the wrist because he told them that HE was talked into it by his friend (ya right, i know for a fact he'd stolen beer from the same place on numerous occasions by himself). He's been on probation since then and even tho he's breached numerous times by not checking in, and just doesn't seem to be taking his conditions seriously (he's supposed to be seeing a therapist for possible mental health issues, supposed to get a job, supposed to abstain from drugs and alcohol) ... he seems to just thumb his nose at all of this, make excuses and get more probation ...
Now he's not in my life right now and I have no control over this ... and I'm not trying to get involved ... I'm just wondering ... do some ppl just fly enough under the radar to never have to face the consequences of their actions? Seems to me that the only times he's EVER considered that maybe his anger and drug use aren't helping him, it's been when he's had to spend a few days in jail ... but then someone always comes forward to get him out until his next court date ... don't the courts look at the whole situation and see that this is going on?? When is he going to have to really feel the consequences? Is it possible he'll go thru life just getting away with it? Seems to me that the longer he gets away with it, the cockier he'll get and that certainly won't make him want to change things ...
Anyone??
How does the bailout affect those with mental health issues?
I found an article that explains some of what the bailout did for us with mental health issues. It actually sounds like it will be beneficial. I always hated the fact that my mental health issues were not treated the same as my physical health issues, like they were not as important to my life.
Quote:
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Mental health parity gets OK'd through bailout New protections require equal treatment of physical, mental ailments updated 11:47 a.m. PT, Fri., Oct. 3, 2008 WASHINGTON - Talk about going out with a win. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., has spent years fighting for legislation that would require insurance plans to treat mental health patients on par with those who have physical ailments. No more higher copays or deductibles for the mental health treatments. No more limits on visits to the doctor that differ from the caps for other patients. Domenici, after six terms, is leaving office this year. One of his final votes was on the mental health legislation he fought so hard for over the years. The mental health protections are part of a massive bill designed to help the economy that was passed by the House Friday and sent to President Bush for signing. Domenici has a daughter diagnosed with atypical schizophrenia. He got involved in the parity issue after joining a National Alliance on Mental Illness support group nearly 20 years ago. On his way home from work, he and his wife, Nancy, would meet with other parents of children with mental health problems. "The first real understanding of how broad the problem was came from those meetings where I met with mothers and fathers who had children who were mentally ill, and they were going bankrupt because they couldn't pay the health bills, or their children were in jails instead of hospitals," Domenici said. He said perceptions about the ability to treat mental health problems have changed greatly over the years, but coverage has also become an expensive proposition. So, he and others, such as the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., began pushing for health insurance parity. Those who would have to bear most of the expense offered the most resistance. "Those who stood to lose fought hard and that was principally insurance companies and businesses," Domenici said. Employers and insurers were concerned that legislation would have required plans to cover a "telephone book" of conditions, raising costs beyond what companies and their workers could afford and potentially negating companies' ability to offer any health coverage at all. If provided, coverage must be equal The legislation does not mandate that group health plans cover mental health or addiction treatment, only that when plans do so, the coverage must be equitable to other medical coverage. The insurance industry is now a strong supporter of the parity legislation. In 1996, Sens. Wellstone and Domenici won passage of a law banning insurance plans that offer mental health coverage from setting lower annual and lifetime spending limits for mental treatments than for physical ailments. The pair again teamed up in 2001 on a predecessor to the legislation now before the House. After Wellstone was killed in a plane crash in 2002, Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., took on larger roles in getting a bill passed in the Senate. The requirement for equal treatment in insurance coverage would apply to health plans that cover more than 50 employees — potentially reaching 113 million people nationwide. Health officials contend that equal protections for mental health conditions would lead to a healthier, more productive work force. "There's a phenomenon ... where you've got a psychiatric illness and you're able to get around but you can't do your work at the same quality you did before," said Dr. Nada Stotland, president of the American Psychiatric Association. "Many workers today are in the service industry. If a person on the other end of the line is depressed, they may have shown up to work and they may be present, but they will not necessarily make us happy about the company that we're calling. They'll be slow, unhappy and maybe irritable, and their powers of concentration won't be good. So, more and more companies want to see their employees treated." Overall, the parity legislation is expected to cost the federal government about $3.4 billion over 10 years. That's because employers will have more health expenses that they can deduct from their income taxes. Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
advice on how to keep the wolves at bay???
well, seeing as i quite clearly have trouble containing my gremlins! i am hoping that people will assist me & others with
"keeping the wolves at bay"
for all who are super struggling, (alone) in watever sense that may be, in my case i have no immediate family to speak of besides the children, suffer mental health issues, from agrophobia to anxiety etc, are struggling with poverty an housing issues etc, an all the issues that come hand in hand with newly clean timers.......basic general advice on
KEEPING IT SIMPLE
will be greatly appreciated.
seeing as i refuse to give in or up or be pushed away from recovery by my actions i may as well put sumthing usefull out there.
wish i could start it with some good advice but i beleive i am best to simply hang here an read a while til i myself can "keep my own wolves at bay"
thankyou
"keeping the wolves at bay"
for all who are super struggling, (alone) in watever sense that may be, in my case i have no immediate family to speak of besides the children, suffer mental health issues, from agrophobia to anxiety etc, are struggling with poverty an housing issues etc, an all the issues that come hand in hand with newly clean timers.......basic general advice on
KEEPING IT SIMPLE
will be greatly appreciated.
seeing as i refuse to give in or up or be pushed away from recovery by my actions i may as well put sumthing usefull out there.
wish i could start it with some good advice but i beleive i am best to simply hang here an read a while til i myself can "keep my own wolves at bay"
thankyou
