psychiatry
Real Life and The Movies
Mon, July 9, 2007 at 01:04AM 
I try not to make as many entries when the content is likely to be of a depressive nature.
Even though I'm finding every aspect of my life, at the present time, going in a bad direction I feel pretty good tonight. Maybe because of taking a five day vacation which has been rather enjoyable. My father has been in a hospice facility for the last ten days and I realize he will not return home. This is saddening but right now I'm thankful for these few extra weeks he remained alive. It will be shocking when I learn that he has passed. This I know even though it is expected at any time. I have found the slow dying process of many cancer patients to help with the grieving process more so than many of the rapidly fatal diseases. Part of me dreads returning to work tomorrow.
I spent the evening in the country sitting on the porch with my mother after visiting my dad. I know it was difficult for her to verbalize certain unavoidable topics related to my father's imminent passing. I've always dreaded the thought of having to step in and try taking over certain matters but I knew the day would eventually come. I must face the fact that though I am confident in my clinical skills as a psychiatrist, I have been less than successful in developing all of the necessary business skills to thrive in the world of private practice. I know it will be quite a challenge dealing with managing an estate settlement.
To change the subject, I saw Evan Almighty at the movies yesterday. For a comedy flick I thought it embodied a deep message. I found it to be entertaining and a good family flick. To really appreciate this sequel it's important to have seen the initial Bruce Almighty with Jim Carey and Jennifer Anniston which was more of a love story. Evan Almighty involves the second coming of Noah's Ark with Noah being an extremely reluctant self consumed Congressman who won his campaign on the theme of changing the world.
Once again the role of God is portrayed by veteran actor Morgan Freeman. My favorite parts involved him enlightening certain characters that our prayers are not answered by us receiving literally what we ask for but by opportunities that allow us to experience that which we seek or create it ourselves. The three sons of Steve Carell's Noah found themselves liking the so called crazy behaving Ark building dad much better than the workaholic congressman dad who never spent enough time with them and rarely kept his promises to do things with them due to work obligations. His wife found herself finally happy when she stopped judging him and decided to support him fully, even if there was a chance he could be nuts. The secret to changing the world was revealed by God to be the ARK. Acts of Random Kindness performed one person at a time.
I must honestly admit that I went to the theater to see Michael Moore's Sicko but since it wasn't playing Evan Almighty was my second choice. I have no regrets since I found it to be thoroughly entertaining and worth the ticket price.
Reader Comments (4)
Good Blog! I'll be back... and good luck with your father and the tough road you face ahead.
I went into it really hoping for it not to be a TOTAL bust, because I enjoy both of those guys. And like you was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't a bust at all. The A.R.K. accronym totally got me, that was cool.
Nice site btw.
Maybe I'm in the right place, maybe I'm not, but I'm hoping my best friend can ultimately be helped. At 43, she still lives at home in "her room," which her mother and 3 older brothers still nag her to clean. She used to be as neat as a pin, and did suffer a breakdown of sorts 12 years ago, when the only relationship she ever had with a man (and it was just a use at that) ended. She's always had difficulties with jobs, since although a good worker with the right work ethic, she's always late. She's been that way since high school, and just hasn't got that monkey off her back yet. After being fired from a few jobs for tardiness, she sought out jobs that required less punctuality, like being a Nanny/Gopher for 9 years. She never completed college, since she'd register for classes only to stop going and drop out, at at least three separate schools. She took a full time computer course which lasted six months, but for whatever reason never grasped the concepts and is no better skilled on the computer than when she started. As a result of having a low skill set and no degree, she's at a low paying retail job in her 40's, with no pension, 401K, etc. She's talked for years now about having "so much to have to get done," and yet it seems as if she never gets anything done. Her room is disorganized and she most recently had to have a group of checks reissued to her, since she never got around to depositing them. Procrastination is something she is consistent with, as she's been telling me for ten years now that she's going to re-do her resume, so she can look for a better job "in the spring," then "in the fall" then "in the spring," then "in the fall" and so on. She talks the talk, but never walks the walk. She is the primary caregiver for her mother who is 83, and once her Mom is gone, her brothers will sell that house out from under her, and then she'll be really lost. She is emotionally unable to deal with the responsibilities of independence, which is the main reason why she never found her own apartment. Just the thought of change at work or the inevitability of being on her own causes her to have anxiety attacks and then she shuts down. This emotional and mental paralysis causes her to accomplish very little over a very long period of time. She will attend her 25th high school reunion in the fall, and her life has changed very little since 1982. I've tried everything to help her - I've reworked her resume, found and e-mailed job leads, gave pep talks, etc., but have realized that until she helps herself, I can't help her. Ideally, I'd like to see her get with a strong male therapist who breaks it down for her ala "Dr. Phil." She needs to get to the root of why she's always late for everything, why she can't take a vacation because just the thought of straying too far away from home induces anxiety and panic, why she can't even manage to keep her room clean (although I suspect this may be her way at getting back at her overly-controlling mother), or deposit checks in the bank in a timely fashion. She was seeing a female therapist at one time, but not much change came about. Any suggestions or input would be appreciated.
Thank You