Disorder of Thought

Mental Illness and Jail

2009-07-12T10:50:00.000-07:00

One way to reduce jail overcrowding in the US is to provide a broader menu of mental health services outside of the jails -- stop using jails as the default mental health treatment facility.

Deport the mentally ill

2009-05-05T22:25:00.000-07:00

That seems to be the policy of the US government.

Pedro Guzman has been an American citizen all his life. Yet in 2007, the 31-year-old who is mentally ill and not able to read or write — while in jail for a misdemeanor violation — signed a waiver agreeing to leave the country without a hearing. The Los Angeles native was deported to Mexico as an illegal immigrant.

No reason to have any respect for cops at all

2008-12-26T15:39:00.000-08:00

This is an example of why I just don't have any respect for cops. Not all cops behave this way, but they all tolerate cops who do behave this way. They don't deserve your respect if they are afraid to stand up to nutcases like the cop below.

He claims to be a small town cop, a supervisor of some sort, and he's describing his humorous torture of a prisoner (a detainee, arrested but not convicted of any crime) who suffers from a severe, irrational fear of the dark. Here's the way the self-important cop describes things:

He is famous in these parts because he cries when he goes to jail, and ( I swear that I'm not making this part up)..he is scared of the dark. He was crying when I got here 5 years ago..and still cries..He actually asked me, and I quote.."Sir, can you please leave a night light on, I am scared of the dark.." (my answer: Request denied!)..anyway...about 2 days later he is STILL cryin' and beggin for me to let him "just go home.." (Request denied!)

This cop is just slime.

Such irrational fears are very real, it's a mental illness. This is the way this cop treats sick people, and he's proud of himself for doing that. I guess tearing the wings off flies bores him.

Depression in jail or prison

2008-11-27T15:35:00.001-08:00

Scott Adams has an interesting post about the ethics of giving (or denying) anti-depressants to prison inmates.

His thinking is that prison can trigger a depressive episode, which is a disease symptom, and the depression should be treated. As is typical for such blog posts, the commenters are mostly people who don't understand depression or prison.

I've never been a prison inmate although I've been a jail inmate and I've taught college courses to inmates in a maximum security prison. And I've gone through a few periods of severe depression and I've gotten depressed in jail. So I have a little experience on this subject.

If I'm going to be in prison I want to be depressed. I don't want to engage in any kind of rational analysis of my situation. That's almost a surefire way to drive yourself completely nuts. Don't give me any drugs. Let me just sit in a corner and cry until I've finished my sentence. I can't think of a better coping mechanism for the stress of being a prison inmate.

Mental illness and the Supreme Court

2008-06-19T09:53:00.000-07:00

Lawyers might all be nuts, but that doesn't mean all lawyers understand the way people who are nuts tend to think.

Clinical Trials

2008-03-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

If you live in the Wichita, Kansas area there's a pharmaceutical testing company there conducting clinical trials on anti-depressants (and other drugs). If you're anti-depressant isn't working real well, and you need to pick up a little extra cash, you might want to register with them and give it a shot.

Celebrity bi-polar

2008-02-27T14:06:00.000-08:00

I don't know if Britney is bipolar or not. It seems pretty clear that she's nuts, and she has a lot of symptoms that suggest bipolar disorder, but you can't really make a diagnosis without talking to the patient, you have to get a sense of what the persons thoughts are to actually make a diagnosis, you can't rely on observed behavior alone.

But we don't really hear about celibrities with bipolar disorder until they go completely off the rail. Most of us with bipolar disorder don't really do the kind of extreme public acting out we see in Britney.

Here's a discussion of what bipolar disorder is like for one non-celeb.

Law and mental illness

2008-02-25T08:11:00.000-08:00

The Harvard Law Review has a long article on Law and Mental Illness. Given that it's the Harvard Law Review it's probably somewhat definitive on the state of the law and mental illness. The problem with it is that it's poorly written and hard to read.

BiPolar Britney

2008-02-16T01:58:00.000-08:00

I only half-heartedly follow the Britney saga, I know what's going on although I don't keep up with all the details. But it does seem clear she has a mental disorder of some kind and my best guess is bipolar. Maybe something else, but clearly she has a problem.

What I hadn't realized is that she's lacking in competent legal representation also. I read about this in one of my favorite public defender blogs, Ipse Dixit,

I was a bit confused by the turn of events a few weeks ago when she was brought in on a 72 hour hold that was then extended because she was found to be "gravely disabled". The criteria for gravely disabled, as far as I am aware, indicate that a person is unable to provide themselves with the basics of life: food, shelter, clothing. She's Britney Spears. She has the wherewithall to purchase brand new Mercedes at the drop of a hat, I am pretty sure she is more than capable of providing herself with food, shelter, and clothing (although clothing is a bit of a question considering some of the shit that she leaves the house in). Being deemed gravely disabled is a big, big deal.

If she had competent legal representation courts would not be finding her gravely disabled. She has a big problem but she isn't gravely disabled. I'm a little worried somebody might be trying to make a grab for control of her money. Her relatives don't seem all that trustworthy to me.