THIS Rhett Butler Will Never Die

You know, I'm a member of the lower class of government health care beneficiaries, right? Medicare and Medi-Cal are what pay for my visits to doctors and buy my medications. My ears are not paying attention to the debates going on now about the future of medical care in this country, although I should be very concerned. I am just reacting apathetically to the whole mess. In general, I would say that people should beware about receiving poor, substandard care in a future where the government regulates health care. I base this assessment on my experiences in the mental health arena. I believe that there are people in the world, in this country that pay for, and receive quality mental health care. I do not feel like I am one of these people. I do not feel that I have EVER received good mental health care. The reason being that "good psychiatrists" do not accept patients into their care whose fees are paid by the government. Doctors do get paid by Medicare and Medi-Cal but th...

Regarding Bipolar Disorder: Lili has a family history of bipolar disorder (manic-depression) through her father. She received a diagnoses of bipolar disorder herself as a teen during her high-school years. In an article entitled “Lili in Bloom,“ Gini Sikes of the Washington Post writes, “Taylor herself became so depressed in high school that for a time she simply stopped going. She also developed an eating disorder, now past. ... ‘In high school I thought I was much fatter than I actually was. I figured if no one could see my emotional pain, maybe they'd see my bones sticking out and recognize I'm distraught’.” However, Lili believes she was misdiagnosed and does not take medications. The therapist Lila saw during her teens “suspected Taylor's symptoms might disappear once she found an outlet for her creative energies -- which is exactly what happened, Taylor says” (NPR, 2004). In a question and answer session after a performance of "Dead Eye Boy" in New York on...