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Devin Bent is right. There was an article in the Rocky Mountain News a couple months ago written by Bill Scanlon. According to his figures, Colorado leads the nation with teenage depressions. With teenage alcoholism, they rank 12th. Mesa County, where I reside, is first in the state with depression with adults. I'm not sure how the other western states stack up on this problem, I only know about Colorado's. Not a pretty picture.
I haven't heard of it in NM but they do it in Texas.
My brother had a friend that was on medication but he had worse problems than your friend, being a drug addict, alcoholic and mentally ill.
He attempted suicide and the same thing happened as to your friend. They did it because they didn't know if he was also a danger to other people or not.
I don't know what to say except she has a good friend in you and I hope she can pull herself through this.
I can try but it probably will not come across quite right: There were a series of situations where the police intervined (spelling?) with those who were suffering from various systems of depression. many either did not have access to their meds or refused to take them, in a couple of cases the police over-reacted or it appeared they did and killed them because they were threatening family members or others. In a few cases the patients did kill others. The mindset of many in NM is very different from the New England area. I am trying to put find a way to word this so it is politically correct (lack of a better term) without insulting anyone. Too put it as simply as I can, the police pretty much relied on just getting those off the streets and somewhere they (the cops) thought they would be safe and not a treat to themselves or others. I don't know if this helps you in any way, but I tried. I think I could do a better job explaining it if I were doing it verbally. BTW I certainly am not taking sides as there appears to be no right or wrong, just better education for all of us.
Nita
Thank you, Nita, for filling me in on some of the background. I think you explained it very well. I'm sure it's hard for people to even-handedly dispense the kind of treatment that is needed in all cases, especially when things have gone so wrong in the past.
However, in this case, it was a suicidal older lady with a bad back, not a criminal or a threat to others. Someone's grandma who needed to be cared for, rather than someone who needed to be kept in a cement cage.
shocked at the unkind response to one's need for emotional support...
Quote:
Originally Posted by designer
yes I have heard of a similar situation here in southern NM but I'm not sure
about the police part of it but this lady was put in a velcro suit and taken
to a some facility for the mentally ill in Las Cruces. This lady is also
clincally depressed. She seems fine now but I'll ask her if the police were
involved in her situation. I guess the smaller hospitals do not know how
to handle these cases and yes it is sad. Actually I'm pretty sure the lady
I'm referring to has been diagnosed as Bi-Polar. Hope your friend is
going to be alright and hopefully she will keep her meds stocked up.
I guess the title above is not only referring to the treatment by the system of the woman w/ depression but is also referring to the suggestion that she..."keep her meds stocked up", as to me, this implies it was her fault for the way she was treated. I realize that all of this results from lack of knowledge of how to empathically support someone needing emotional support but I am shocked that people would really need someone else to tell them how to respond with compassion. Saying, "hopefully she will keep her meds stocked up", to me suggests it was this woman's fault she was treated so trememdously poorly. IT WAS NOT HER FAULT for the abuse she received by the system and the individuals within the uneducated system and as the original poster clarified, when you're depressed, letting your meds run out is something that happens and is part of depression. Although I'm a psychiatric RN with years of experience and education regarding the treatment of people in need of emotional support and compassion, it's just plain common sense to know that someone who is suffering, sobbing and feeling a sense of dispair that prompts impulses to end the suffering with suicide...it's common sense to know that this person needs support and care, not jail and abuse. I hope this response helps in some way. I apologize if the intensity of this reponse hurts anyone's sensibilities, although I am very angered how there seems to be a disconnect for people about how their behaviour impacts others. I look forward to the day when being present with yourself is the norm in our culture and not the exception. Cheers...
Thank you, Nita, for filling me in on some of the background. I think you explained it very well. I'm sure it's hard for people to even-handedly dispense the kind of treatment that is needed in all cases, especially when things have gone so wrong in the past.
However, in this case, it was a suicidal older lady with a bad back, not a criminal or a threat to others. Someone's grandma who needed to be cared for, rather than someone who needed to be kept in a cement cage.
~clairz
I agree, but it appears to me, the police react to all these cases pretty much the same way. As I mentioned NM is very different from many states. Again, I certainly am not defending them is any way, just the opposite...Maybe if the cops were paid a decent salary and they could recruit more things would be different.
I am sorry to hear that NM continues to have so many problems dealing with those who have depression/mental illness. In 2005 I worked in NE NM at a company that did business appraisals, one of my co-workers was severly depressed and was also suffering from postpartem (sp?) depression due to a miscarriage. We began to notice behavior changes and an increasing absence at work. After a little prodding we discovered that she had recently attempted suicide several times. I called everyone I knew to call, from the local police department on up to the State Mental Health Institute in Las Vegas, NM trying to find help. Everyone I spoke with said that the only way they could help would be if she voluntarily commited herself or "reached out" for help. They wouldn't commit her because there was no medical record of her suicide attempts. In the next few weeks we had the local police do random wellness checks on her when she didn't show up to work and we tried to get her to get help but to no avail. One day she didn't show up to work and we had the police do a wellness check but when they arrived she had already swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills and sadly passed away. I do hope that you can find someone to help you get the help your friend needs... and I hope that she will find someplace she feals safe when she falls into that rut again. Unfortunately, NM is just not up to par when dealing with mental health patients.
I am sorry to hear that NM continues to have so many problems dealing with those who have depression/mental illness. In 2005 I worked in NE NM at a company that did business appraisals, one of my co-workers was severly depressed and was also suffering from postpartem (sp?) depression due to a miscarriage. We began to notice behavior changes and an increasing absence at work. After a little prodding we discovered that she had recently attempted suicide several times. I called everyone I knew to call, from the local police department on up to the State Mental Health Institute in Las Vegas, NM trying to find help. Everyone I spoke with said that the only way they could help would be if she voluntarily commited herself or "reached out" for help. They wouldn't commit her because there was no medical record of her suicide attempts. In the next few weeks we had the local police do random wellness checks on her when she didn't show up to work and we tried to get her to get help but to no avail. One day she didn't show up to work and we had the police do a wellness check but when they arrived she had already swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills and sadly passed away. I do hope that you can find someone to help you get the help your friend needs... and I hope that she will find someplace she feals safe when she falls into that rut again. Unfortunately, NM is just not up to par when dealing with mental health patients.
I really appreciate everyone who is sharing and commenting on this issue. It's not an easy one to talk about, especially when it's someone who is close to you. However, I believe by sharing thoughts and information we can bring these unfortunate situations to light and perhaps work toward a better way of doing things.
It is disturbing to say the least that we have reverted back to the 14th century in regards to this subject. Disturbing but as some of the posters have already said, not surprising. What is really surprising is that Roswell has been growing. Visited friends from Hagerman just a couple weeks ago. For an area to be attractive and to grow, you have to build up your services, your infrastructure. It's bad enough that your friend was subjected to this treatment but sticking her in a cell with graffiti like that is inexcusable. Like it or not, quality medical services also include mental health care. Clairz, you are a special individual!! Your friend is indeed lucky to have someone like you help her.
Last edited by DOUBLE H; 09-08-2008 at 05:45 PM..
Reason: addition
It is disturbing to say the least that we have reverted back to the 14th century in regards to this subject. Disturbing but as some of the posters have already said, not surprising. What is really surprising is that Roswell has been growing. Visited friends from Hagerman just a couple weeks ago. For an area to be attractive and to grow, you have to build up your services, your infrastructure. It's bad enough that your friend was subjected to this treatment but sticking her in a cell with graffiti like that is inexcusable. Like it or not, quality medical services also include mental health care. Clairz, you are a special individual!! Your friend is indeed lucky to have someone like you help her.
Thanks for your kindness.
I would like to clarify that she was transported from the Clovis hospital to the Clovis jail for the night in the awful cell; then to the hospital in Roswell the next morning. However, she told me today that almost everyone else in the ward at Roswell arrived the same way--handcuffs, shackles, chains, in a sheriff's car.
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