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Recovery is Rough

To the Editor:

Imagine if you didn't have enough of something, not enough money, always having to struggle day to day not knowing what is going to happen. That is how the mentally ill live. It beats to the very core of a person; it eats at one's soul. I know. I live through this month after month with the uncertainty of not having a job or not being able to keep a job. Who helps you? There are some agencies that understand our dilemma, but they are far and few in between. You try really hard, but no matter what you do, it doesn't seem to cut it. Month by month you try to conserve your budget and then you have the problem, if you are bipolar, of having spending sprees and then you don't have money for your bills or food. But who cares? The people that have enough don't. I went into the grocery store to buy a soda and got depressed because I couldn't buy groceries. I went through days being totally depressed. It is not because I am poor. It is because of an illness that prevents you from getting anywhere in life. The up side is that some people, no matter what they go through, survive and they get through another day.

Wendy Bortner Abington, Maryland



I Beg to Differ

To the Editor:

Regarding Kurt Sass' article, "Is Treatment Better for the Mentally Ill Better Than 20 Years Ago?" (Jun-Aug '02 issue, page one): My brother had a negative experience at Fryer Research Center, but understand that approximately 80% of the mentally ill benefit greatly from their nutritional therapy (diet and supplements), which is side effect-free, natural, safe, effective, and relatively inexpensive. The Fryer staff are extremely kind, caring and compassionate people. Dr. Richard Ribner (psychiatrist) and Mrs. Katherine Fryer (founder) were dedicated, caring souls (both deceased). Mrs. Fryer opened the clinic after one of her daughters with a mental illness died from a suicide. Lincoln Kennedy New York, New York Disgruntled but Surviving To the Editor: I just want to say it is very difficult to read your newspaper. I cry most of the way through it. Most of it reminds me of conditions (both as an inpatient and emotionally) I have been through enough times. To me, most of the successes are temporary. Episodes just never stop. Some of the more unique side effects of my medications and treatments have included MRI brain scans and surgery (of the rear end). Anyone who has taken lithium may have some idea of what I am talking about. It's like a racecar driver blowing a tire. I will never have the business I owned back, for example. There is always something at any given moment that reminds me of my disability. For example, I'm writing this letter now. I'll never get off of SSD until I can get a job paying at least $45,000, something hard to do unless you are skilled at something. I am only skilled at what I was doing and I can't go back. I can't read or write well (bipolar-related, I think). My handwriting is horrible. I detest and cannot use computers. But I did go to school to be a rehabilitation counselor (I got thrown out during a manic episode) and I'm a good job coach. The good news is I have a loving wife, daughter and parents.

Tom Martin Bronx, New York



Codependency

To the Editor:

I suffer from a common, yet often un-addressed problem. I am thirty-two years old, and I cannot seem to move out from under my parents' roof. I find comfort in knowing where "home" is, and although I realize this obsession is unhealthy, I have yet to find a means to end it. However, I realize I am not alone in this. In fact my uncle, a fifty-something man, suffers from the same problem. I would appreciate if your publication would address this issue for the sake of others in the same circumstance. Thank you for your time.

David Gordon Atlanta, Georgia



Need Self-Help Education for Inpatients

To the Editor:

I may not be an accomplished writer, but I am an accomplished inpatient. I have just been released from a Brooklyn Psychiatric hospital where I was a guest for ten days. After many such stays over the last twenty years, a thought occurred to me. When hospitalized, in the course of an average day, there are several therapy groups. These are painting, bead-making, music and dance groups, as well as exercise and some others. My thought is simple: why aren't there any informative groups about the illness that put you there. In my case it is bipolar disorder. I have yet to hear of any hospital that has such a program. It should cover the whys and wherefores about one's illness. I had many questions, but few or no answers. Some of the questions included what triggered the episode? Will it recur soon? Is there anything that I can do that might change things? A big question that was unanswered was what made me suffer a new aspect of the illness, that of mixed episodes. Are there any treatments available? As a patient I felt that education with regard to our illness is a vital part of our treatment and recovery. I know that there are pamphlets available, but I must add that a one-on-one question and answer program would serve us better. Doctors do not inform patients much about their illnesses other than the medications they will have to take. I truly feel that information about one's illness can and should be included at least once or twice a week to aid in our understanding of what is going on with us. It is our right.

Joan Coppola Brooklyn, New York