Posted 8/15/2009 2:05 AM (GMT 0)
Judy,
It is not illegal in the U.S. to demand that prior involuntary commitments be disclosed on employment applications. In some cases, states allow employers to investigate voluntary commitments & even police reports (which technically are not ever supposed to name the patient, but too often do use names) where a person was reported as being suicidal either by themselves or someone else. I know it varies widely from state to state. In certain states, attempting suicide is actually illegal. In others, it is considered a status offense where persons are allowed to be involuntarily committed for doing so or threatening to do so. In other states, no action is taken unless the patient is willing to receive help unless they are actually in the process of trying to harm themselves, in which case they are referred to the regular hospital. Though at least it isn't federally mandated to report involuntary commitments on all employment applications.
So it is not always so easy, even here in the U.S. And since mental health history is reported to insurance companies & by law they are permitted to continuing to disclose certain mental health conditions for life, it makes for a really tough time on the patients who most need protection & care. God forbid someone with a documented past dx of MDD/suicidal ideation says something as innocuous as "I was so embarrassed I could have died" & the procedure to again sign commitment papers begins again. I experienced first hand the nightmare of having that dx on my medical record & it was the worst possible situation I could imagine. Even switching to all new doctors & hospitals and not having any of my records forwarded or giving names of any previous treating physicians, I found that the dx followed me everywhere. It took me 3 full years to get things straightened out. The docs had (even with test results showing my TSH was 29 & my estrogen/progestin were completely out of whack) decided I had treatment-resistant depression & put me on meds I didn't need, ever increasing the dose until I was on enough meds for a 350lb male, as a 120lb female. I developed Serotonin Syndrome, which just made things infinitely worse. I did finally get things straightened out, but it was not an easy diagnosis to escape & it was reported to my employer at the time (even though I was on a Leave of Absence & wasn't ever a danger to anyone else & didn't ever try anything at the office) & I had to report it on future job applications (I tried leaving it off one time, but somehow they found out anyways & then I was disqualified for life from applying to that company -- good riddance: who needs to work for such a company that is biased against anyone who's ever felt super sad). Just trying to say that we have a long ways to go even here in America to gain equal rights & protections for those with a history of mental illnesses. Reporting people who try to hurt others is one thing, but I really don't get why employers need to know if someone was super depressed or tried to hurt themselves.
Potential,
It was a living nightmare & I tried everything I could to fight it, but the problem was that the more I fought, the more they just used that against me, saying that I was unstable, ruminating & clearly severely depressed, with major anger issues. Perhaps your situation is different. Maybe in the U.K. a different approach is called for. All I know is what worked for me to get my diagnosis changed from MDD to hormone imbalance was having to finally force myself to pretend to calm down. Once I was calm, I was able to get the dx changed. It still shows up on all my medical records, but the commitment papers were destroyed (which apparently should have happened much earlier since, faced with an involuntary commitment, I signed myself in) & my history was changed. All the info is still in my chart, but so are 3 statements from doctors saying that the first psych (who ironically was also assigned to "investigate" my case -- needless to say, I got a message to him through another doctor telling him I would never agree to see him as he ruined my life -- forcing me in-patient, where I got absolutely no pain meds whatsoever, causing me to lie on the floor for a full week screaming in pain. it took a month to get back on track with my pain management program) was totally wrong with his dx. I got a neurologist who would support me (in the U.S. Neurologists & Psychiatrists are licensed by the same Board, so a statement from my neurologist ended up being the key to getting my dx changed, even though I had a gynecologist, internist & psychologist who all stated that the psychiatrist was totally wrong).
I can't speak for everyone, but I know from my own nightmare experience, that I had to calm down first, then get my medical records straightened out (& yes, fighting for 3 years sucked & was totally exhausting & aggravating), then start my battle against the grossly unjust Mental Health System in the U.S. There is no doubt that the world needs people to document what goes on in the psych wards & such but, from what I've seen, very little respect (if any) is given to people who are labeled/perceived to be crazy. If you are somehow able to bring attention to this important issue while still branded with a giant red S on your chest, god bless you. I just fear that by going about it this way, you will neither get the section removed nor get your story picked up by any sizable media outlets. Anything's possible & I certainly am not as familiar with how things work in England as you are, but that was the one thing I did learn from being in the hospital -- people, especially MHW will believe a calm person over an agitated person every single time. I was freaked out that this lying little brat had called 911 on me & was screaming bloody murder when it seemed that they were starting to believe her, but all that did was strengthen how much they believed her. It didn't matter that truth was on my side, they wouldn't even look at or listen to the evidence that she was making most everything up & what little she wasn't making up, was really outdated information that had just made its way down the gossip chain to her a week after the fact, 6 days after I had started an intensive outpatient program that was helping. They just don't care -- all they based it on was who was the calmer person.
So wrong! But unfortunately, that's just the way some people are. I think people really are trying to be helpful & supportive. Unfortunately, here you are preaching to the choir, so to speak. Most of us have very little power to change things. I think you have a very compelling story & I hope you do find a good venue to explain what is going on & to work for much needed changes within the mental health field. I do, and this is just my humble opinion, think that you will probably have to find a way to be a bit more objective if your goal is to promote your blog as a piece of journalism. Adding stories for other patients at the same hospital & getting quotes from health care professionals (even if they are anonymous quotes) could add even more credibility to what you've written. Who knows? Maybe at some point it will even land you a position as an independent reporter. Perhaps going into business for yourself will be the best option for you.
I am concerned about how many hours you are working right now. I very well understand needing money to pay bills & keep a roof over one's head, but god forbid you run yourself into the ground & end up back in some institution. :( Please do take care of yourself & know that we are all pulling for you here! :)
blessings,
Frances