Fuss and Frustration

Dean in the Underworld: Act I Scene 3

            The psychiatric hospital has morphed into the Underworld; that’s more fitting to the darkness that has engulfed Dean, a world full of shadows.

            Dean’s Avenger aspect of personality is filled with righteous indignation, with some justification. The NHS bureaucracy has reneged on its stated intent to replace his laptop apparently damaged by another patient on the ward when he was last sectioned. There’s a story here but we won’t pursue it for now; maybe some other time.

            As far as I am concerned, replacement of the laptop had not ever been in doubt, only the manner of payment. I had agreed that payment could be made to my bank account and, as requested by the NHS, Dean had provided written authorisation for this to be done. Apparently Dean’s Post Office account is only valid for receipt of his benefits, and no other payments. Why? I’m sure there’s a good reason other than a dysfunctional bureaucracy making life unnecessarily wearisome and frustrating.

            I wonder what is in it for the system in fuelling a paranoid state of mind. Are there any kickbacks from the drugs companies? Well yes, I do sometimes tend towards conspiracy theory. But it was only the other day that doctors were defending the obscenely lavish hospitality (with gifts?) they were afforded by pharmaceutical companies at a conference held in a plush hotel to market their drugs. And what about the lobbying power of the industry?

            The Avenger, in full indignant flow, is now naming all those who will be implicated in his lawsuit. The Mediator intervenes:

            Yo, I say to Avenger, take a breath; just chill. You know what, there are 5 strikes against you: you’re male, big and black, you’re tagged as paranoid and on SCT – supervised community treatment - (Compulsory Hospitalisation | Doctor | Patient.co.uk). How long do you think it will be before you are assessed as threatening the safety of others, and get your butt hauled back in here? 

            That communicates. Avenger retreats. Caregiver and student (or bodyguard) look a little disconcerted and uncomfortable. None of the players had expected that, they shift uneasily in their chairs. Its fine, mutters victim, I don’t need you to replace my laptop.

            Well, we’re not giving up as easily as that. It’s time to go to a higher power, Dr Bedlam himself. He is the Healer supposedly. I’ve never met him, but psychiatrists are a powerful bunch and some seem a bit shadowy to my mind.

            Dean needs his laptop because he intends to enrol on a course to brush up on maths and update his ICT skills. In “real life” Dean has a professional qualification. At age 13 he passed GCSE maths and received a MENSA commendation. How the duck he managed to get himself entangled with the mental health system in the first place, is simply beyond me; or maybe it’s not really if I stop to think about it.

            And the drama is not yet over for the day.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

When a President Cried

Image
At a time of year when Christians around the world are commemorating the birth of the Divine Child, some parents in Newtown , Connecticut , USA are mourning the death of their children. There are probably hundreds of children around the world – in under developed countries, in conflict zones – who will die every day up to Christmas and beyond. But right now the focus has been on what one British newspaper described as a massacre of innocents. How horrendous to lose your child in such a manner. Schools should be one of the few places where you expect your children to be safe.   I worked with several of the paramedics who were first on the scene dealing with the carnage on the trains at various metro stations after the 2005 London bombings. Many, especially the younger ones, suffered severe post traumatic stress. Not trained for such horrors, those teachers immediately on the scene at that school in Connecticut will carry the scarring from that day for some time. ...
Read more

Personal Health: Reflections in a Global Mirror

Image
{Revised November 2022} This blogpost, first written in 2013, has been revisited in the light of an apparent 'awakening' to the urgency of an impending climate catastrophe.  Currently ( 6 to 18 November 2022)  our illustrious leaders are at the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN's Framework Convention on Climate Change' (COP27) being held in Egypt. Opening the Conference, António Guterres, Secretary General of the UN said we are on the “highway to climate hell”. That received some interesting responses, including mocking derision. (See [3] below.  We are still talking instead of doing.  When will we get to serious adaptation, upscaling infrastructure to mitigate the impact of climate change and save lives? We are told that as things stand right now, current climate policies will condemn the world to a disastrous 2.8-degree temperature rise by the end of the century. Our collective goal is to limit that rise to 1.5 degrees. Whilst we are getting there... Gree...
Read more

Tough Love in Winter

Image
Yesterday I talked about ‘Big Mama’s’ tough love (The Shape-shifter Reloaded). Today I wanted to share just a snapshot of such an experience, which began at a point when I had just arrived at the foothills of healing.   As the years went on – 5 of them to be precise – I understood that this process will continue for the rest of my life because temptation is with me everyday.   I have to be vigilant because I simply cannot afford to go back to the old ways. Whenever I do slip, I simply observe and acknowledge it; tomorrow is another day.                But that's not all. Mother Nature's healing also confers gifts as an expression of her gratitude, because when we heal ourselves, we also heal the earth; and when we heal the earth we heal others.  So watch out for Gifts of Healing, might be the title of a book I can feel emerging.        The big free...
Read more