You saved a life. :)

And, dude, we're not all hobgoblins who withhold information! It's not fair to either "side" (why must there even be sides...) to toss a sopping wet blanket statement on the other.

The world is a better place as a result of what you did for that 17 year old. Thank you for taking the time to save a life. That is without a doubt, the most amazing thing a person can do for another.

Whatever the connection, being the web, or telephone--knowing a real person is there, listening and caring enough to make sure we remain alive...words just cannot express my own gratitude.

I myself, spent that same evening in 2005,talking to a complete stranger on a crisis hotline. I had never made such a phone call before in my life, and every person in my cell phone list was not answering. It was New Year's Eve.

The person was kind, and calm and assured me that I was a good Mother. That I could not control my daughter's illness. That my daughter who was spending her 18th New Year's Eve Birthday away from me, instead due to a transfer to adult-age status to a county hospital was safe.
The person had to tell me she was safe over and over again.I could not deal with it. The pain is still there. It was all I could do, to promise that person,this unknown voice, the life-line ----that I would be here tomorrow.

I imagine there are countless more people that Philip has supported, and taken personal time to help get through a crisis. I am one of them, and will be forever grateful. Life must be fought for, and when in a crisis if someone can get that into your head, you are one step closer to staying on this planet.

Thank you Philip. Whatever works.(works!)

This is a hypothetical question only: how would the story have been different if the 17yo was a girl, not a boy? I'm not implying anything by this, I'm wondering aloud how much our own "countertransference" (yes, in quotes) goes into our clinical decisions. And if the answer is "a lot" then how much, really, can we attribute to medications, etc? And if the answer is, "not much" than why bother having clinicians (as opposed to flowchart-ists)? Thinking out loud.

No one loves the internet more than me (seriously-- no one)-- but the main danger I see of it-- the one that I will caution my kids about-- is the ability to be someone you are not. This cuts both ways: one the one hand, people pretending to be something else to prey on the more vulnerable; and also you yourself, forging an easy identity ("I care about X;" "I'm Y") that wouldn't hold up in person. So for the longest time you get practiced at being something you are (primarily) not. That was the point about my WoW story. In the game, he was a great guy, but that couldn't carry over into the daylight. And so his real life suffered.

BTW, adsense: don't bother. In order to make adsense money, you have to have high ad clicks. And most people, sadly, don't click on ads. They don't even notice the ads. I'm probably going to go thedirect advertiser route soon.

Feel good story of the week. Wish I had the net and people like you when I was in that guy's place.

Ahh, but there *are* sides.

Fact:
..."They sure aren't going to hear such talk from docs, researchers, social workers and the other hobgoblins of the mental health system."

Observation:
Personal experience inside 5 psychiatric hospitals over 14 months, I can safely say and am not meaning to insult anyone, but based on hundreds of hours of spending time with patients and staff, I never heard "hang in there" "don't ever give up". Towards the end, I began to wonder if the staff and doctors just became immune to the human condition and the need to hear "Things will be okay."
I started to pass this on to patients myself. I began to know many, many people. Some would discharge only to return 2-3 weeks later. I started a revolt of sorts with the video "Grease" in 2 hospitals. One hospital group of patients came out of their rooms and smiled and danced, I hate to compare this to a movie (vs. real life, forgive me, but I *am* a real person and and honest one too, maybe too much for the 2.0 world)...but it was like "Awakenings". The doc there told me he will never forget "The Grease" day.

My point:

Unfortunately, the gems are too rare of a find in the mental health world.
Call it sides, whatever floats a boat...but the real deal is patients are not always treated as human beings.
It is this that we must change. I am not sure the majority of people have spent months and months observing several psychiatric hospitals and the staff and docs.

I have. Change is needed.

Kudos! if someone is not in the "hobgoblins of the mental health system" category... then you are indeed a rare gem. Unruffle your feathers and change the system if you have the power to do so. Most importantly, take the time to lift the spirit of the patient. It is amazing what positive words can do for a spirit. I am known for my long-winded posts, but hang on for a second. Docs seriously spend 5 minutes a day 5 days a week w/inpatients, and some times, ask them what day of the week it is to assess them. I have seen far too much to keep my mouth shut. This is a rant, then so be it. That's what we blog for right? The status of mental health care in this country sucks and if one is employed in that field, then step up to the plate, or try and beat me to it.

Thank you for taking time to focus your message of hope on the younger beepers.

Time and experience have helped me to see that I HAVE bipolar, it's not that I AM bipolar. Bipolar does not define who I am.

As I often say, when you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot in the bottom of the rope and hang on tight until things get better.

I don't think a whole lot of psychiatry because of the problems I've encountered. My former psychiatrist was so busy trying to get into my pants, he didn't have too much time for anything else like treatment. Psychiatry's typical response to any problem is to blame it on the patient. I can't believe I paid a dime to that creep. What a joke.

The same response in psychiatric facilities. What, you don't want to color this picture? Then, I'm going to write that you're resistant to treatment. It can't be that the patient is trying to hold on to her dignity by declining that request. Psychiatry sends very mixed messages to patients in psych facilities. On one hand they expect adult behavior, yet they talk to patients as if they are children and have them make childish crafts. What message does this send? It's all very creepy and weird. When, psychiatry stops blaming everything on the patient and takes some responsibility for the problems within it, then I will have more respect for it. Until then, I'm going to stay far far away.

And Stephany I think you nailed it. If more people in the mental health profession reached out in the way you described I think the effects of that would be huge. Mental illness is such an isolating illness. I know that what made a difference for me was when someone (with ethics) reached out to me and said, "It sucks right now, but I will walk through this with you" that made the difference in my life. The human connection is crucial.

You had a productive NYE. I'm glad he's OK. The 'Net helped me survive much of my teenage angst. I'm not sure where I'd be if I hadn't been in chat rooms in the '90s since I had no friends. I'm lucky to even be married.