What an exhausting day...
Not just the politics (although that's a huge part of the problem), not just the death of icon Kirk Douglas.
I may have mentioned a few weeks ago that one of my patients died. Well, her boyfriend (also one of my patients) came in this morning just as we were opening. 8am and he was already three beers in. Drunk and crying. He had fallen off the wagon again, and wanted us to get him back into treatment. His ex-wife won't talk to him, and he's about to get evicted from his place, so he'll be homeless again.
Needless to say, it was tough trying to get him back on track. I alerted our behavioral health provider, who was at the mainstream clinic a couple of blocks away, and our substance abuse care coordinator.
My patient alternated between tearful regret and drunken aggression, so it was hard to bring him down to Earth. I'm grateful for the relationship I have with him, because every time he would start to get belligerent, I would talk quietly to him, and he would calm down, burst into tears, and say how glad he is that he knows me.
I think of this man's suffering, then think about how oblivious the idle rich are to the suffering of people like him. The rich never pay the price for their heartlessness; they get second chance after second chance because, in our country, a person only matters if they have money.
Anyway, thanks for listening. I'm going to go to pub trivia in a little while and have a drink.
Holding on until Friday, when I can tie one on, and forget this shitty week for a while...
= new reply since forum marked as read
part where you were at work... only because I'm not working and not a clinician. I laud you for your strength in helping these people, it's a virtue. The thing I know about virtues is that they are a blessing and a curse.
