Meltdown

4-28-12 Saturday…I’m having one of those days. Feeling

The stigma of suicidal ideation

I recently attended an art therapy training. I expected a sterile presentation on therapeutic sentence stems for client’s to project on.

Instead an artist–in the deepest, profoundest definition of that word–stood before me. Art is Esther Wilhelm’s medium to express her life story, her life story penetrating every line, color, selected item, and word of her pieces.

(Here’s a link to Esther Wilhelm’s story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WljH6-gBFEg)

Esther’s story was both vulnerable and powerful.  Esther  apologized for her tears explaining

Therapist going on vacation…anxiety rising.

Our therapist is going on vacation for a couple of days this week which coincidentally happens to fall on my couples therapy day. I’m anxious. The last attempt Dave made was

Warmth of morning chats

This morning Dave and I lay in bed and talked.

I was especially aware of our level of engagement this morning because of the theme of my individual therapy session on Friday.  More and more it’s becoming clear to me

Aftermath part 4: Three Day Involuntary Commitment

Dave’s placed on a 3-day observational hold in a behavioral health inpatient facility.  In his hospital gown, Dave walks out of the hospital into the ambulance.

I follow the ambulance to the facility.  I sign in as a visitor and clip a visitor’s tag on.  An aid unlocks the doors for me to enter.  Dave‘s weighed, and his blood pressure’s taken.  He fills out consent/intake forms.  A staff member tells me to come back later during visiting hours.  I check the schedule and realize that there’s not much time to visit–just a half hour after lunch and two hours in the evening.

The first night of visiting hours I could tell he

He took his anti-depressant medication

Okay.  Whew!  Dave took his anti-depressant medication.

He came to me and told me why he was upset at my reaction to him earlier in the morning, and I started

Playing with fire: Not taking anti-depressant medication

Last night my anxiety increased as Dave said to me that we needed to go to my mom’s house to pick up his anti-depressant medication (he mails it to our old address). Alarmed I