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Re: mental health That is because mental/psychological healthcare is completely broken in the US. Im currently dealing with the system for a family member, an

Re: mental health That is because mental/psychological healthcare is completely broken in the US. Im currently dealing with the system for a family member, and I am shocked at just how hard it is to get help. Ignore the financials, most psych hospitals won’t treat you and have zero interest in keeping you longer than absolutely necessary. The one my family member went to twice didn’t even set them up with a treatment plan or doctors/psychiatrists/psychologists when they were released.

Podgajski 3y ago
I’m homeless and have schizoaffective bipolar disorder. I haven’t been able to see a regular psychiatrist or therapist since Covid started. A lot of my therapist were taken over by people suffering from dealing with the lockdowns. should they have really been the priority? My homelessness exacerbates my mental illness, not only because of the stress of living out of a van but also the inability to have consistent healthcare being that I have to drive to warmer temperatures or cooler temperatures depending on the season. And the treatments for psychiatric diseases are still stuck back about 50 years. I’ve had to run my own genetics and do my own research to find out what would help me. I mostly done it no help to any doctor or physician or psychiatrist. Many people act like homeless people don’t want to get better, but I’m doing everything I can and no one is helping me absolutely no one. Psychiatrist who take Medicare have zero investigative initiative and psychiatric awards are for profit hotels for the mentally ill. If anyone has a positive view of this country and the goodness of the people of this country, I want to dissuade you of that notion. I am currently parking at Walmart in Palm Springs, California. The amount of wealth I see driving around me in vehicles alone could end homelessness in this country.
- mhog_hn 3y ago
  Usually lurk here - I sincerely hope you will get to better places, how you handle your situation sounds admirable
hotpotamus 3y ago
I’m always amazed at some of the responses here whenever the mentally ill are brought up. Suggesting that they should simply be hospitalized for their illness. That would be lovely, but speaking as someone who has been locked in a hospital before, it’s very expensive. When I’m between layoffs, I do have health insurance, but I don’t imagine that’s the case for the chronically ill. When I bring this up here, I’m told that these people just need to engage with some system and they’ll be well taken care of. I have seen no evidence of this myself; as the article and your experience would suggest, it’s just the opposite. The best someone can have going for them is a family member with money, but the mentally ill tend to burn their last bridges quite often.
PseudoThought 3y ago
I was homeless for awhile due to mental health issues and this couldn't be more true. The people dealing with the homeless professionally aren't the people you would want dealing with them and the funding isn't there for anything better. A LOT of people end up worse off because of bad experiences when they reach out for help. That's certainly true in my case. I have autism and was a "gifted" student growing up, so it isn't like the system is impossible for me to understand. It really is that bad (in my experience and where I live).
jwestbury 3y ago
Just want to offer some additional context here: "in the US" isn't really necessary. Mental health care is generally broken everywhere. Over here in the UK, waiting lists for "talking therapy" are long, and access is limited. Same story for most other countries with socialised healthcare. And, often, mental health care is even more stigmatised than it is in the US (where at least there's fairly broad societal acceptance, at least amongst younger generations). Further, while the US is seeing major shortages of mental health care providers, most European countries are even worse off, in large part because there's no class of master's-degree-holding therapists -- you either get a doctoral-level degree, or you just attend some basic courses and call yourself a therapist with no licensing or regulatory bodies governing your practice. I'd actually argue that the US's system is better than most other western nations' mental health care systems -- which is not a statement in favour of the US, but an indictment of other nations' approaches. (Source for my data and opinions here: I'm an American immigrant to the UK, and my wife has a master's degree in clinical mental health counselling - she only practised for about a year before she quit because the system is so broken in the US.)

Podgajski 3y ago

I’m homeless and have schizoaffective bipolar disorder. I haven’t been able to see a regular psychiatrist or therapist since Covid started. A lot of my therapist were taken over by people suffering from dealing with the lockdowns. should they have really been the priority? My homelessness exacerbates my mental illness, not only because of the stress of living out of a van but also the inability to have consistent healthcare being that I have to drive to warmer temperatures or cooler temperatures depending on the season. And the treatments for psychiatric diseases are still stuck back about 50 years. I’ve had to run my own genetics and do my own research to find out what would help me. I mostly done it no help to any doctor or physician or psychiatrist. Many people act like homeless people don’t want to get better, but I’m doing everything I can and no one is helping me absolutely no one. Psychiatrist who take Medicare have zero investigative initiative and psychiatric awards are for profit hotels for the mentally ill. If anyone has a positive view of this country and the goodness of the people of this country, I want to dissuade you of that notion. I am currently parking at Walmart in Palm Springs, California. The amount of wealth I see driving around me in vehicles alone could end homelessness in this country.

mhog_hn 3y ago
Usually lurk here - I sincerely hope you will get to better places, how you handle your situation sounds admirable

hotpotamus 3y ago

I’m always amazed at some of the responses here whenever the mentally ill are brought up. Suggesting that they should simply be hospitalized for their illness. That would be lovely, but speaking as someone who has been locked in a hospital before, it’s very expensive. When I’m between layoffs, I do have health insurance, but I don’t imagine that’s the case for the chronically ill. When I bring this up here, I’m told that these people just need to engage with some system and they’ll be well taken care of. I have seen no evidence of this myself; as the article and your experience would suggest, it’s just the opposite. The best someone can have going for them is a family member with money, but the mentally ill tend to burn their last bridges quite often.

PseudoThought 3y ago

I was homeless for awhile due to mental health issues and this couldn't be more true. The people dealing with the homeless professionally aren't the people you would want dealing with them and the funding isn't there for anything better. A LOT of people end up worse off because of bad experiences when they reach out for help. That's certainly true in my case. I have autism and was a "gifted" student growing up, so it isn't like the system is impossible for me to understand. It really is that bad (in my experience and where I live).

jwestbury 3y ago

Just want to offer some additional context here: "in the US" isn't really necessary. Mental health care is generally broken everywhere. Over here in the UK, waiting lists for "talking therapy" are long, and access is limited. Same story for most other countries with socialised healthcare. And, often, mental health care is even more stigmatised than it is in the US (where at least there's fairly broad societal acceptance, at least amongst younger generations). Further, while the US is seeing major shortages of mental health care providers, most European countries are even worse off, in large part because there's no class of master's-degree-holding therapists -- you either get a doctoral-level degree, or you just attend some basic courses and call yourself a therapist with no licensing or regulatory bodies governing your practice. I'd actually argue that the US's system is better than most other western nations' mental health care systems -- which is not a statement in favour of the US, but an indictment of other nations' approaches. (Source for my data and opinions here: I'm an American immigrant to the UK, and my wife has a master's degree in clinical mental health counselling - she only practised for about a year before she quit because the system is so broken in the US.)