In the last post I was talking about dealing with mental illness, I know that if you find someone in a paranoid state it can be even harder to help them out. One problem that can really make things hard is the inability to process information in a helpful way. It isn’t our job to be able to help which is the job of psychiatrists and psychologists in different cases. I am definitely not good at head-on conflict because things can go that way when you are just trying to do your job or go about your business.

I can’t really go into detail about some recent issues. Sometimes people can feel threatened because they are suffering, it is easy to feel persecuted when you are suffering. There can seem to be no way out and even if a person can get help it can take many months of waiting then you may not be liable for a healthcare card or well enough to get one. I remember I went for a routine psychiatric checkup a few years ago and it took around 4 months to get a booking or close to that long. 

If I was in a bad state I probably would have lost my job by that stage or become a lot worse. Sydney is a very expensive city but our public healthcare system is not bad if you want to use the public system although you have to wait a long time. Some workplaces will try and be inclusive and accept people who are called ‘creative’ in that they are a bit alternative but won’t disclose mental health information because it is private. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. The hardest part is inner dialogue and turning that down when in certain environments.

If the inner dialogue is too loud and the person can’t focus or understand instructions then there can be problems. If someone still has the ability to focus and understand what is going on then it isn’t an issue. I get worried when I hear about people who are functional meth addicts who work. They may slowly find themselves at some point losing the ability to focus on reality and follow instructions. With meth for example people don’t realise they are addicted and the grind goes on. I suppose addiction is another topic altogether but the issue of focus and function comes through strongly.