I did question whether this was on-topic enough to be a good fit for this forum. (I don’t think awareness about every health issue that affects EAs would be a good use of the space, even if it affects a higher proportion than these problems.)
I do think these problems can be unusually and spectacularly destructive when unchecked, and often even when much effort has been made. I also think most people don’t have a good concept of how to recognize these conditions or even what to google; I certainly wouldn’t have before getting training as a social worker.
I definitely don’t want us to congratulate ourselves for having dealt with these problems, because there have been cases when people in this community have needed help here and not gotten enough. I wrote this in the hope that it will tip the balance in some future crisis toward people having the knowledge they need, not so that we can check this off our list as a solved problem. These are really hard problems to deal with, both for people who have them and for people trying to help, and that’s exactly why I wanted a resource available.
I’m so sorry about your friend. This kind of information definitely isn’t fail-safe, but I think it’s the best we have.
Yes and reading this again now I think I was way too harsh. I should have been more positive about what was obviously an earnest concern and desire to help even if I don’t think it’s going to work out. A better response would have been to suggest other ideas to help but other than reforming how medical practice works so mental suffering isn’t treated as less important than being physically debilitated (docs will agree to risky procedures to avoid physical loss of function but won’t with mental illness …likely because the family doesn’t see the suffering from the inside but do see the loss in a death so are liable to sue/​complain if things go bad).
I did question whether this was on-topic enough to be a good fit for this forum. (I don’t think awareness about every health issue that affects EAs would be a good use of the space, even if it affects a higher proportion than these problems.)
I do think these problems can be unusually and spectacularly destructive when unchecked, and often even when much effort has been made. I also think most people don’t have a good concept of how to recognize these conditions or even what to google; I certainly wouldn’t have before getting training as a social worker.
I definitely don’t want us to congratulate ourselves for having dealt with these problems, because there have been cases when people in this community have needed help here and not gotten enough. I wrote this in the hope that it will tip the balance in some future crisis toward people having the knowledge they need, not so that we can check this off our list as a solved problem. These are really hard problems to deal with, both for people who have them and for people trying to help, and that’s exactly why I wanted a resource available.
I’m so sorry about your friend. This kind of information definitely isn’t fail-safe, but I think it’s the best we have.
Yes and reading this again now I think I was way too harsh. I should have been more positive about what was obviously an earnest concern and desire to help even if I don’t think it’s going to work out. A better response would have been to suggest other ideas to help but other than reforming how medical practice works so mental suffering isn’t treated as less important than being physically debilitated (docs will agree to risky procedures to avoid physical loss of function but won’t with mental illness …likely because the family doesn’t see the suffering from the inside but do see the loss in a death so are liable to sue/​complain if things go bad).