Maggie's Farm

I am old enough to remember the arguments that we should stop talking about mental illness and focus instead of mental health. I work at an involuntary facility, where most of us rolled our eyes at that latest attempt to change reality by renaming things. Most of my co-workers believed these language police did actually mean well, trying to reduce stigma and give people hope. Others of us were suspicious from the start that the change in language focus opened up whole new worlds for getting paid to work with troubled people who aren't as sick and dangerous.

Soooo...now there are many more psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists, etc in America - but my hospital has a waiting list of fifty, all languishing in ER's waiting for a bed. Why would anyone work for us? The pay isn't great, and the patients are sicker, more insulting and more dangerous.