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I don't see why people should have to work just because they want something.

10 (55.6%)

The thought of my tax dollars going to helping another human being makes me so sick I'm lucky I have insurance.

2 (11.1%)

Government hands off Medicare!

6 (33.3%)

Total Members Voted: 18

[greenkoolayd]

Once you go chinchilla you won't go back.

thats what all the lady chinchillas probably say...

[Toaster]

Humans have the largest absolute c*ck volume of all the great apes, and that makes me do a happy dance.

[jaydub]

No wonder male gorillas are always giving us the stink-eye.  All outweighing us by 600lbs but coming in second best in the ding-dong department.

[side_show]

To elaborate on my personal situation, now that I'm not under a hood of depression, I can say there were definite, immediate options for mental health care that I didn't access.  There were multiple free counseling programs offered through medical clinics and abuse recovery centres in my community that I was aware of and did not access, including one available all day, three days a week, on walk-in basis, about 15 minutes from my house by foot.  I still have the phone number of that clinic and its hours written down in my address book, which, back then, I ignored for months while waiting to see a psychiatrist.  I still have the pamphlet of another organization that offered free one on one or group counseling to any women with my personal history that I could have, again, accessed for free at any time I decided was right.

I can't for the life of me understand why I insisted on seeing a psychiatrist (which yes, did have a two month wait time) rather than a therapist certified as a psychologist or mood disorder specialist, and either of which I could have accessed immediately.  At the time, I'm fairly certain I wasn't ready to confront the root cause of my depression, and while running away from that, I was also in denial of the fact there were plenty of opportunities to get well that I was ignoring. 

The pain of accepting my fammily situation was just too much for me to confront at the time, so I made excuses and avoided actually looking at (and making adult choices about) this problem until I had no other choice.  I also held a glamorized idea of what a psychiatrist was, and thought I wouldn't get any magical happy ending from anyone but my TV idea of what a psychiatrist was.  Interestingly enough, when I did finally see my psychiatrist, he had no interest in medicating me, which was the only thing he could have done for me that a psychologist or therapist couldn't, and mean while, any psychologist affiliated with a health clinic could have easily connected me with their acting physician to prescribe meds if I had needed them.  My psychiatrist wasn't glamorous at all, there was none of the Prince of Tides deep spiritual connection I hoped for.  All he did was basically hand me Klleenex and confront me with the truth about my situation repeatedly until I had no choice but to hear it, which is something any neutral party could have done.  Don't get me wrong - he did a great job of being bluntly, brutally honest with me while everyone else who cared was molly coddling me out of misplaced kindness so as to not upset my already shaken self.  A psychologist, or any other disinterested third party could have done that though, and now that I've personally known a few counselors through my last job, I know there are some out there without the fancy degree who could have done just as good a job at that, and immediately been able to see me  too.  There was nothing chemically wrong with me, I was in a fucked up situation, and a fucked up situation I didn't want to accept the depth or permanence of. 

The truth will set you free.  That doesn't mean it wont kick your ass around the block ten times in the process, but the truth will set you free.  I feel, honestly, like I am a totally different person now than I was back then.  It's odd looking back on it with the total clarity I lacked then though.  I'm looking at making some significant changes to my life I might need some therapeutic support on to do right, and now I know all I have to do is find the courage to confront what's holding me back.  Once I'm ready to deal with that shit, I know all I need to do is walk into a therapists office and as for guidance and insight into how to make the changes I need to make.

[littlefallsmets]

Mental health care has a whole other rainbow of stigma attached that complicate matters even if you're living in a land of sane medical practice or even if you have the bread to navigate the unmitigated insanity of the American system, I've found, yeah.

[wombat]

Thanks for clearing that up. A two month wait for a psychiatrist is definitely different from a two month wait for any help at all.

[side_show]

Yes, there is a thick film of shame involved in dealing with mental illness, which is so internalized in lots of folks, including me, that one's greatest enemy can easily be one's self when it comes to getting well.  

I became a certified mental health first aid practitioner during my time away from the board.  The weirdos and friendos still gravitate to me on the regular, but now I can access their deal pretty quickly, understand what is going on in their heads, and treat them with kindness an respect on a whole new level.  

[littlefallsmets]

"certified mental health first aid practitioner" is pretty much the coolest job title ever.

canned for being a rad lady with a double-plus rad title.

[AugustWest]

Several years ago I was in the depths of a bout of clinical depression.  I called the special number our health insurer provided us to find out about talking to a psychiatrist.  The earliest I could be seen was 60 days later and for most doctors it was more like 90.  So I went to my GP and he wrote me a scrip for Prozac, which had worked for me before.

I am an American.  I had (and have) private health insurance.  Very good private health insurance, especially at that time.  So there that is.

I try to be a pragmatist on most political issues.  Maybe that comes from working in government and trying to actually accomplish some of the lofty programs our legislators impose on us.  I don't hold a lot of truck with serving some philosophical political ideal at the cost of something that works.  Government's job is to get the job done, not further the cause of liberalism or conservatism and I don't have a lot of sympathy for idealists on either side who forget that.  We'd all be better off if there were less political grandstanding and more focus on the work at hand.

That being said, I think our health care system is broken.  We spend more than anybody, but our infant mortality rate isn't great.  We don't live longer than anybody else.  Yes, the finest health care is available in this country, for a few of us.

Here's the thing.  We're paying for health care for everybody already.  We're just choosing to do it in a really fuck*ng stupid way.  If somebody drags their dying carcass into an emergency room, they're going to get treated.  We fund county hospitals and the like.  People without health care go to work anyway, infecting the rest of us and costing us productivity and days of work.  We are going to pay one way or the other.  Why not choose to pay for something at least a little more effective at providing quality care to more people than what we have now?

I read a statistic (which I can't vouch for the truth of, but I'll throw it out there anyway) that said the Medicare has a 3% overhead rate.  Private health insurance has a 30% overhead.  What exactly are we getting for our 30%?  I understand the idea of the free enterprise system and that competition should make businesses more efficient.  And I suppose it does.   

But what it makes the more efficient at is making profits.  What's most profitable does not equal the best health care system for the American people.  It just means the system that makes the insurers the most money.

I love the "Death Panel" argument too.  "I don't want some damn government bureaucrat deciding whether I live or die."  OK, so you're fine with an insurance company executive continuing to make that decision?  Whatever.  At least the bureaucrat ain't gonna get paid a bonus for letting you die.   

I don't understand why we don't do something like Medicare for everybody.  A minimum base level of government provided coverage with private insurers selling supplemental coverage.  There's a floor available to everyone and you can buy more if you want and can afford it.  It's worked fine for Medicare for 40 years.

OK, long rambling rant over.

[wombat]

August West for fuck*ng President. Who's with me?

[littlefallsmets]

After my eight years? Sure.

Come on. You know we'd have fun those eight years.

[AugustWest]

After my eight years? Sure.

Come on. You know we'd have fun those eight years.

Bah.  You'd make Welcome to the Jungle the National Anthem.

[Toaster]

Welcome To the Jungle would make a great doorbell. Or, like, set it to play when somebody walks through the door.

[Ben-San]

I'll let Superman speak for me on this one.

[littlefallsmets]

Bah.  You'd make Welcome to the Jungle the National Anthem.

Pfft.

Rocket Queen.