Very true Foxy.

I felt very out of my depth at first when dealing with mental ill people until I realised that we are all the same. It was really about dealing with my own fear of the unknown.

The mentally ill, more than most, just want to be accepted and treated with dignity. Often they are more at risk of self harm, homelessness and harm from others than the other way around.

Good , intelligent, real thinking responses, thank you every-one.

Pelican was on the money for the overall point I was attempting to make.
I respect people who can or have dealt with the 'mentally ill' properly. Suzeonline has shown those traits .

Dreamon's superior knowledge, "ouch", was appreciated.

Foxy great stuff, as usual. With your attitudes it's a good thing we didn't meet in our early 20's.... I would have been absolutely broken hearted when you married your soul mate, knowing that it wasn't me! :-(.

Seriously, your anecdote sets you apart from the average. Most would have either ignored the event or been annoyed at having to wait for service.

I worked for a television company in Camberwell when colour TV came in.
One day an (obviously mentally challenged)woman came in and She stood watching cartoons on the new biggest colour TV(68cm.) as she had done before, squealing and clapping, seeing her the other floor staff disappeared, leaving me "on guard".
She said she liked my store because “You don't mind me watching the cartoons".
Then she pointed to the biggest and said "I want it".
Next she pointed to a small TV, after that a video player and repeated "I want it".
Not believing there was a sale but what was the harm in playing along? "which one?"
she said "all!". clapping her hands excitedly.
Keep in mind that at that time each item was about $1500 each.
I asked " How would you like to pay for them madam cash or bankcard?"

She handed me a card and said "ring him" really jumping up and down excitedly like a child.

It was for a 'Public Trustees' manager.
He told me that they administered her trust.
He asked what she wanted and the prices...I told him, including a discount for bulk ....He gave me a purchase order.

*Apparently she had been in all the shops in the area but no-one had treated her like a customer, with respect*
A weeks sales target in one sale!
My crisis intervention training worked. Always treat everyone as a person.

Posted by pelican, Monday, 4 January 2010 7:34:12 PM

" ... It was as if in some cases the person had come to identify with their state of being (if that is the right way to put it) and it was all they had in terms of their identity. ... "

Yes, I think that is a very astute observation. With some conditions, it appears that certain areas of the brain become hyperactive to the exclusion of others. Certainly, it is common that afflicted individuals have constant and repetitive thought forms and feelings, of their own admission. And of course, whether or not they like it, they become the "immobilised" observer of the maelstrom of dysfunctional and aberrant thought forms and feelings raging over and over, around and around in their consciousness, barely if at all being able to originate a thought of their "own."

Thus, if you have the same thoughts and feelings over and over, and assuming the individual comes to terms with that to the extent of not committing or attempting to commit suicide (and of course suicide does occur)then it is perhaps a natural progression that the individual comes to identify with this new branch, for want of a better term, of his/her personality, and what was once "normal," gradually fades into but fragments of times gone by.

After the initial fear has passed, it may even feel empowering to the individual to have a sense that they see and hear things which others do not, and delusions of grandeur are common, subscribing such phenomena as the ability to "speak with the dead" or other delusional beliefs as described in posts in this thread.

And if an individual is consumed with the maelstrom within, then they as a consequence will develop a diminished capacity to deal with sensory perception originating from the external environment. Thus, being consumed to the point of obsession with the world within, and often these individuals have little or no choice in that regard, their attention to matters of finance etc is of course, extremely limited.

Dear Examinator,

What a lovely charmer you are.
Making my heart skip a beat,
then blush. Thank You so much.

Thank You also for your incredible story
about the young lady and the
coloured TV's. Awesome experience -
and - a good lesson.

“how could by polar affected the behaviour of the Englishman executed for drug trafficking by the RPC”

Ah that’s right.. blame it on a dubious "bipolar disorder" (just like all those bodgey Compo claims for back strains which never showed up in X-rays) –

and footnote, he was a “Pakistani” with a history of failed business ventures behind him …

so drug peddling was probably just the new “opportunity of choice” for this dusky entrepreneur

and the “bipolar disorder” the new excuse of choice for every other drug peddling opportunist scumbag who drifts from one country to country, leaving a litany of failure and debts behind him.

“Bipolar disorder” is no more an excuse for being an fraudulently irresponsible failure as it is for being a trafficker in death and despair

As someone who knew someone who was murdered by a girl suffering cannabis induced schizophrenia, I have no sympathy for those who seek to make a living from illicit drugs

A dead drug trafficker will always represent a good outcome,

regardless what way he or she meets their final demise

Dear Examinator,

This is a bit off topic - but
Thanks for your referral to the
film "Avatar," in 3-D.

We saw it yesterday.

I enjoyed it very much -
the graphics were wonderful,
as were all the references to
ancient cultures and customs.

Awesome experience!
One I'll be thinking about
for quite some time.