Comments on: Liz Spikol’s Top 10 Mental Health Tips

By: dave

dave — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 20:57:20 +0000

Re # 9 . . . I teach at a community college . . . my students get documentation from the Office For Students with Disabilities . . . the documentation specifies what I need to do to accommodate their disabilities and comply with the ADA . . . my students tell me I am very accommodating as compared to other teachers . . . so maybe my testimony won’t reflect your experience at the other end . . . however, in no case do I ever know what is wrong with students unless the students themselves tell me . . . all I ever know is that I am able to make certain accommodations for them . . . longer test times, flexibility with deadlines and absences etc.

So, assuming your work/educational institutions have similar offices, you too can avoid specifying the nature of your condition if you choose to do so.

By: mom57

mom57 — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 15:15:53 +0000

I worry about #9 too. I have only, ever, told one work person about this bipolar disorder. How restful it would be to tell people at work about the illness! It is true that the choice of an academic life was especially fortuitous (read: lucky) for me. While I finished my Ph.D., I maintained a more or less even life with help from lithium. Got tenure, got grants, got publications, got awards. But after a bout with postpartum depression and psychosis in my late 30’s, the cocktail has gotten progressively more exotic, the cycle more rapid, the depths deeper, the urge to tell and be rescued more insistent, and the desire to have them all pat me on the back (”look how much she has accomplished with a ….a HANDICAP!) is an ongoing fantasy script.

Can I reclaim this life of relentless approval seeking?

By: Sarah

Sarah — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 23:55:45 +0000

I worry a lot about #9, mainly because I’ve been advised by certain ‘managers’ not to tell anyone about my illness. While I’ve had very good experiences with most of my jobs and internships regarding my situation, I’ve also had a few bad ones that have even made me reconsider my career. But hey — I made it through seven semesters at Temple before I had to get my doctor to write a note to a professor.

By: Masale.Wallah

Masale.Wallah — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 16:20:42 +0000

Still struggling enormously with #9 with the grad school part ringing especially true (”Why are you taking forever to finish your degree??” and “You can’t be an escapist forever. You have to get out of school and into the real world sometime.”)

Vis-a-vis #7, check with any teaching hospital or university in your area. They often have out patient clinics employing advanced psychology grad students with sliding scales for payment which could be as low as $5-$10 per therapy session. In most cases, you will not be refused counselling due to your inability to pay.

And yes, alcohol is actually a depressant and any respite that it provides from the suffering will be very temporary.