Monday 5 January 2009

Misery

I'm pretty content; work's good. Some of my colleagues are not content; work's stressful.

When training as a psychiatrist I was taught by an eminent chap who was colourful and very "medical model" in his approach.

His view of psychiatry was that it's all about misery.

He reckoned folk wouldn't be seeing us if all's well. He reasoned that we only get involved when there's illness and handicap from that. Years on, the notion that psychiatry involves helping those who have a change in health and change in function as a result of this really isn't so different from what he described.

It's odd, to my mind, that folk in the same job, in the same area, can do the same work but some find it vibrant and worthwhile, yet others see themselves mired in misery.

". . . for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."
- Hamlet, Act II, Scene II

7 comments:

Socrates said...

"Man that is born of a woman hath but a short time to live, and is full of misery"

Book of Common Prayer.

It's not difficult to see how some doctors would form the same opinion.

However, they should probably be made to read a bit more about life before modern medicine.

Differently Sane said...

Different strokes for different folks I guess. Although I'd rather see a doctor who enjoyed their job, after all I think they are far more likely to be up-to-date on research and interested in their clients. That's just my opinion though.

Differently

That's not my name! said...

. . for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."
- Hamlet, Act II, Scene II

I don't think the Jewish people stuck in concentration camps saw it like that and I doubt a bit of CBT would have changed their opinions.

Okay, so I used an extreme but in life there are many extremes (can't blame Shakespeare - he was an artist of the wordy kind)

Back to the main plot. Perhaps some psychiatrists take it all personally. Absorbing people's traumas and that is what makes them miserable. Just guessing.

They certainly can't be miserable about the pay..especially in a recession.

I know sarky bitch. Think you will survive it. You are a happy clappy chappy or chappette. Not sure of your gendre. :>)

Socrates said...

He's a boy Shrink, Mandy.

That's not my name! said...

Thanks Socrates

I really should read people's profiles!!!!

:>)

Edcander said...

I wouldn't call it misery as much as suffering. But your dead on in that you can either look at the suffering around you, or you can look at the suffering you've relived.

Anonymous said...

People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them.
Epictetus.
Same sentiment - different epoch.

That's how I see my job - to change the view people have of their life - be that at an event-level or global perception-level to make all not good things 'less'. Ultimately I try to change someone from who they are.
That's why I refer to myself as a Social Engineer sometimes - "mental health nurse" seems so impotent and deceptive.