Only a few of my long-time coworkers remember that I worked 50% of the time directly for the Mental Health Department Personnel Officer, back in the mid-late ‘90s. It certainly gave me a new perspective on things, and I have fond memories of the Yuletide season spent there.
I thought I might share with you albeit disordered, a collection of my favorite Christmas carols sung around the office water cooler.
SCHIZOPHRENIA:
Do you Hear What I Hear?
MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER:
We Three Queens Disoriented Are
DEMENTIA:
I Think I'll Be Home for Christmas
NARCISSISTIC:
Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me
MANIC:
Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Busses and Trucks and Trees and Fire Hydrants and..
PARANOID:
Santa Claus is Coming to Get Me.
PERSONALITY DISORDER:
You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll tell you Why.
DEPRESSION:
Silent Anhedonia, Holy Anhedonia, All is Flat, All is Lonely.
OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER:
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock .......... (better start again)
PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE PERSONALITY:
On the First Day of Christmas My True Love Gave to Me (and then took it all away).
BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER:
Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire.
Well, you may think I am making fun of mental illness, but I am not. If anything I am attempting through these inserted links to educate people reading this blog concerning the symptoms and debilitating effects of these disorders.
Serious mental illnesses are brain disorders affecting one out of every four families. More hospital beds are occupied by individuals with mental illness than those with heart disease and cancer combined.
I urge everyone to become better informed about mental illness, and one place to begin is the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), which sponsors education, training and peer support programs through its 1,100 affiliates across the county. Visit State and Local listing on the web site, for those of you in California, please note we do have a Coachella Valley NAMI.
The Riverside County Department of Mental Health recognizes that a significant numbers of adults with sever and persistent mental illness, either live with or are involved with family members.
Having a family member with serious mental illness places an enormous burden on families and affects all of its members – parents, siblings, children, and spouses. The psychological, financial, and physical well being of family members is often negatively affected. Due to the stigma society places on mental illness, families often feel isolated and deprived of support in the community.
For the reasons listed above, the County and Department of Mental Health takes pride in sponsoring our own Family Advocate Program to assist family members and significant others in coping with the illness of their family member.
Now to close this entry I want to thank you for your kind attention, and also to ask you readers who work in the field of mental health if you have already visited “Hot Jobs” on the main Human Resources pages, if so did you noticed the openings for Clinical Therapist I/II, and Registered Nurse – Psychiatry RN. I invite you to take a look, or a second look at these opportunities to grow your careers with a concern - committed employer and community.