psychology

  • Apprehension

    Apprehension

    I called Dr Black a couple times this week but did not get through and I didn’t leave a message, I always feel stupid when I do. Finally, yesterday I decided to leave a message if she didn’t answer and she didn’t so I rambled into the phone to call me back when she could

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  • Finished Product

    Finished Product

    The book is now live, under paperback and hardback formats only (not kindle, yet). Here is a link: In the Darkness of Hope I’m negotiating a lower price with the publisher and Amazon; I would not charge 25 for a paperback. It is the cost of printing, but there are ways to reduce it down

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  • Book Cover

    Book Cover

    My book – the first 120 or so posts in this blog – is under Amazon’s required three-day review before being posted as available. Here is the book cover, front and back: I have second guessed myself, edited over and over, and still kept finding things to improve or change. That could go on forever.

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  • Regression

    Regression

    My patient is not getting better, he regressed tonight. They had taken him out of restraints and tried to keep him that way. They had also removed the foley catheter. When I got here, he peed everywhere and was trying to get out of bed. He got aggressive and even tried to hit me, but

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  • In the Darkness of Hope

    In the Darkness of Hope

    A bittersweet day. I finished my episode of care with Dr Black and after that, went to my last day of IOP, where I graduated silently. I have all kinds of mixed emotions. At least I am feeling again, at least somewhat. I feel a nervous sense of trepidation, like a kid learning to ride

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  • Feeling and Unfeeling

    Feeling and Unfeeling

    Maybe dissociation can come in handy. Maybe my lack of feeling will have to be a tool. This job is exposing me to the good, bad, and ugly of our society and my city specifically. Med/surg is fast-paced and dynamic. And I question all my life choices that brought me here. I always wanted to

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  • Intensive Outpatient – Week 7, Mindfulness

    I had to duck out of IOP early today – my lack of a need for sleep finally seemed to be catching up with me. I worked two extra shifts Friday and Saturday nights, trying to expend the energy in a productive manner, and only slept a few hours Sunday before coming back in for

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  • Psychiatric Detainment, 2014, Part 9

    In the summer of 2014, I was 28, nearly 29. I had lost everything – my grad school program and friends therein, my self-respect, my hope for any kind of future. I nearly lost tangible things like my job and apartment as I quit my meds and descended deeper into a manic depression. The social

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  • An elopement risk sign was added to the outside of the main doors because of my sleepwalking and attempts to get out, futile as they were. I was directed back to bed twice in the night but the second time Jake woke me up in the hall, pushing my shoulder and jumping back in case

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  • Voices

    I hear voices sometimes. Two in particular. I call them Jack and Jackie. Jackie is a type of chaotic neutral presence in my head and Jack is a much more chaotic evil. He never says anything pleasant. They have both showed me things, especially Jackie. I will document that in another post. For now I

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