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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Phil on February 8, 2015, at 7:58:09
The first commenter should be read. Here's a part of it that I was faced with myself. It was great comfort to know I wasn't alone in wasting 20 years.
"Bipolar disorder has been like a giant eraser for me for the last two decades. It erases career, friends, opportunities, money and more."
I couldn't have said it better.Maybe I can beat the clock but due to other factors, physical and mental, I'm counting on dying young. My 73 birthday will not happen without a miracle. This isn't a sad thing - it may be the best thing to happen. A relief. I hope others are a little more positive but the health problems I'm facing, I won't be long for this life without a lot of luck.
Posted by Tomatheus on February 8, 2015, at 18:17:28
In reply to Having a serious mental illness means dying young, posted by Phil on February 8, 2015, at 7:58:09
Thank you, Phil, both for posting this article and for sharing your thoughts on the issue of the seriously mentally ill having disproportionately short lifespans. I can say that for a lot of the time I've spent struggling with the symptoms of what's probably schizophrenia, I too tended to see the idea that I might die younger than most as being something to be welcomed. Depending on how well I'll ultimately respond to treatment, I might not see the idea of dying younger than most as something to be welcomed and might instead hope to defy that statistic, but certainly the statistics themselves are something not to be ignored. I also do think that there's a lot of truth to the comment that you quoted, and without a doubt, I think that serious mental illnesses can have devastating effects on the lives of both those who suffer from the illnesses and those around them, especially when treatment responses are weak to nonexistent. The hope, of course, is that treatment can halt the extent to which disorders like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and severe depression can act as "erasers." Do the treatments that are available for serious mental illnesses do this? I'd say that they do sometimes, but not in enough cases.
Tomatheus
Posted by Phil on February 9, 2015, at 12:31:03
In reply to Re: Having a serious mental illness means dying young » Phil, posted by Tomatheus on February 8, 2015, at 18:17:28
Thanks Tomatheus. I have three real life stressers right now. As usual, money is a big one.
A followup gastroenterologist appt a month ago was bizarre. I have a pre-cancerous situation in my esophagus. He asked, do you know how serious this is? Cancer could be growing in you right now. He's a real charmer.I was caught off guard or I would have asked him what do you think I've dealt with the last 30 years? See my chart: Bipolar. Give me stage 4 cancer and two months. At least it's legit.
Plus skin cancer on my nose will take a dermatologist and a plastic surgeon. Will Medicare care?
These things sometimes work out, but sometimes might not be this time.
We now live in what the article said about "America being the worst place in the free world to have a mental illness now."I don't know the answer but I know when a sh*t storm is on the horizon.
All I can do is try to stay in the present. The happy idiot.
Thanks for your response. We all deal with these issues to one extent or another. It's just my turn.
Posted by Tomatheus on February 9, 2015, at 13:45:34
In reply to Re: Having a serious mental illness means dying young » Tomatheus, posted by Phil on February 9, 2015, at 12:31:03
Hi Phil,
I'm very sorry to hear about the stressful situations that you're currently contending with. Between having money-related struggles and the health problems that you're facing, it undoubtedly sounds like you're going through a lot, to say the least. With all that you're facing, trying to stay in the present does sound like a good strategy. I really hope that you'll be ok, especially given the situations that you're in with your health. It can't be easy to have to contend with the difficulties that you're up against, especially given that it sounds like you can only do so much to affect the outcome, but I hope that you can maintain some peace of mind by keeping your mindset in the present.
Tomatheus
This is the end of the thread.
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