Posted by alexandra_k on August 31, 2004, at 20:20:48
In reply to Re: p-doc's spanner in the works... » alexandra_k, posted by Atticus on August 31, 2004, at 10:57:00
> Hold the phone. You mean there actually ARE such things as "healthy adaptively functioning human beings"? Huh. I thought they were just legends, like Bigfoot and Nessie.
Ha! Yes indeed. I did think about it a little, though, and I suppose that if ya can't trust your psychiatrist to be close to that, then who can ya trust?
>One thing that was always stressed to us in group is that there is no such thing as a baseline perfectly mentally healthy person -- we're all arranged along a continuum. I happen to be on one end of the bell curve, having attempted suicide.
Yes, I am at that end of the bell curve too (with 7 full files of psych history and multiple attempts). I think that maybe they are trying to get people from that other end of the bell curve, though...
>But the bottom line is: just who are they comparing you to? Everyone (and I mean everyone) has some degree of what could be termed, for want of a better phrase, psychological "abnormality." In fact, the chair of the psych department at the university where I work even thinks that attempts to create a "universal" map of the brain are a crock because of all the infinite variations from person to person. I hope things work out for you. If you do apply to a school in the US, check out our federal Americans with Disabilities Act, a national mandate that bars discrimination due to any kind of disability, and explicitly includes mental illness. I'm not sure how it applies in your situation, but my understanding would be that if you're capable of completing the degree requirements, then rejecting you out-of-hand due to your medical history would be the same as rejecting someone because he or she is in a wheelchair. You might want to check this out. Good luck! :) Atticus
Thankyou, I will indeed check this one out. I have been told that I need more structure in my life, and med school certaintly would provide that (whats the difference between an arts and sciences degree? - one full day, and two half-days, thats what!). Also, I am starting to think that what may help me the most is to put something into helping other people; that may well be what gets me out of my head, and my own issues, and ultimately, that may be the 'cure' for me.
I am going to have a go. I will be fully prepared (if I get as far as an interview) to have a bunch of distinguished old fullas peer at me from over their glasses and frown at me, with my 7 files splayed out in front of them. That will be my opportunity, though, to request that they give me a chance. I agree with you, it is discrimination to rule me out on mental health grounds without giving me a chance. Who knows how much I'll improve before ward rounds etc in four or so years anyway.
(Dr. B - are you laughing at me???)
poster:alexandra_k
thread:383891
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20040830/msgs/384992.html