Ever seen a shrink?

[UnifiedFieldTheory]

Shrinks are good in that they're an essentially neutral party that you can unload on.  At that point, if they're objective, they can look at what you're saying, suggest fixes and things you can do.  You can unload on friends and family, but since they're usually naturally biased toward you, their advice isn't always objective.

Some people just need someone to vent to.  Some people need a coach to help them come up with ways to solve their issues, or bad mental habits that they're perpetuating.

[UHLAWPUP]

9 hours ago, Cougar_ml said:

I remember seeing the school counselor a few times.

Basic outline of pretty much every conversation: "this is all your fault that these bad things are happening to you by other people, if you completely change everything about who and what you are then they will stop and you will be happy and well liked, if you don't then you're doomed and you deserve it because you didn't listen to me"

Considering I was a little runt that was essentially a punching bag for the bullies, and got suspended every time I tried to fight back, it's a good thing I transferred schools after 6th grade.  For some reason I didn't really have any of those issues anymore either.  

 

It's good to have someone to talk with about your issues, but only if they are actually able to listen and give you positive feedback.  Sounds like this is what you are getting, so good for you.

I was bullied in school because of my intellect.  I had no idea how much it still affected me, at age 68, until a couple of weeks ago when a coworker came into my office to talk to my office mate, sat down between me and the door, and started teasing me because she didn’t like the answer I gave her to a question I thought she had asked in good faith.  It went on and on, and I got more and more agitated, until, finally, my office mate notices and maneuvered so that I could escape the office and cool down.  I was actually going into a blind rage, which is totally out of keeping with my normal demeanor and reputation as peacemaker.

 

I’ll be retiring soon, so I don’t think I’ll avail myself of the program at work to talk to a counselor.  But I have this feeling, deep inside, that if kids who are bullied could snap the necks of the aggressors like a chicken bone the world would be a better place.

Oh, and I make sure I sit next to the exit now.

[BMyers]

In Illinois you can lose your gun rights over seeing a mental health professional. Visits are required to be reported.

Welcome to the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) Firearm Owner's Identification (FOID) Mental Health Reporting System. The FOID Mental Health Reporting System was authorized by the FOID Act (430 ILCS 65)

The Illinois FOID Mental Health Reporting System website provides mandated reporters with 24-hour and immediate access to report an individual that is receiving mental health treatment or is determined to be a clear and present danger, developmentally disabled or intellectually disabled.  DHS is responsible for comparing the data reported against the State Police FOID files to identify possible matches.  The ISP is then responsible for investigating and processing the application for the FOID card.

On July 9th 2013, Illinois passed HB 183 (Public Act 098-0063), also known as the Firearm Concealed Carry Act. The Firearm Concealed and Carry Act expands the reporting requirements for healthcare facilities and physicians, clinical psychologists and qualified examiners to include any person that is:adjudicated mentally disabled person; voluntarily admitted to a psychiatric unit; determined to be a "clear and present danger"; and/or determined to be "developmentally disabled/intellectually disabled".

If you are a healthcare facility or individual physician, clinician psychologist or qualified examiner in Illinois you may have responsibilities for reporting mental health information to the DHS.

[PNWguy]

8 hours ago, BMyers said:

In Illinois you can lose your gun rights over seeing a mental health professional. Visits are required to be reported.

Welcome to the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) Firearm Owner's Identification (FOID) Mental Health Reporting System. The FOID Mental Health Reporting System was authorized by the FOID Act (430 ILCS 65)

The Illinois FOID Mental Health Reporting System website provides mandated reporters with 24-hour and immediate access to report an individual that is receiving mental health treatment or is determined to be a clear and present danger, developmentally disabled or intellectually disabled.  DHS is responsible for comparing the data reported against the State Police FOID files to identify possible matches.  The ISP is then responsible for investigating and processing the application for the FOID card.

On July 9th 2013, Illinois passed HB 183 (Public Act 098-0063), also known as the Firearm Concealed Carry Act. The Firearm Concealed and Carry Act expands the reporting requirements for healthcare facilities and physicians, clinical psychologists and qualified examiners to include any person that is:adjudicated mentally disabled person; voluntarily admitted to a psychiatric unit; determined to be a "clear and present danger"; and/or determined to be "developmentally disabled/intellectually disabled".

If you are a healthcare facility or individual physician, clinician psychologist or qualified examiner in Illinois you may have responsibilities for reporting mental health information to the DHS.

Communism sucks...

[gwalchmai]

"Ever see it shrink?"

You mean like at a pool? In the spring?

[Fyrtwuck]

I’ve been to a few post incident PTSD sessions that the FD required.

My first and the first that I’m aware of for our department was in March 1989 when we lost three firefighters due to a backdraft in a house fire caused by a kid playing with fire. My engine company arrived there shortly after it happened. The youngest of the three was severely burned and died in the backdraft. The other two died later in the burn unit. One of the Captains involved was his father in Law. There were a LOT of policy and equipment changes not long after that including post incident PTSD sessions and providing counseling for those who wanted or needed it. 

The next one was in 1995 after the bombing. I wasn’t there due to having an operation on my wrist about two weeks earlier. Even though I wasn’t at the bombing, the department still required that I attend. The bombing hit a lot of the guys hard. 

The next one I went to was after a five year old boy rode his bike in the middle of the street and was run over by an elderly lady driving a Cadillac. I had to tell his screaming mother that her son was dead because I was the only one on the scene who knew how to say it in Spanish. She had to be led away. All we could do was cover him up and wait for the M.E., which made things worse for the family. 

in 1994 on my day off job as an officer for another city, I was involved in a shooting when the driver of a car I had stopped attacked me and tried to kill me. The Chaplain from OCPD came to the scene with two members of a PTSD team  

I left the stations in 1998 and worked in the safety office for two years and was a member of the State Firefighters Health and Safety Committee. We evaluated accident and injury reports and looked for solutions to make the job safer. During that time, we had a study of suicide incidents related to PTSD. There was a sharp increase of FF suicides across the state after the bombing. Counseling was addressed and recommended.  

I’ve been told in each session that it helps to talk about your experiences, that it provides relief. It does, but there are some things that never go away.