Fishlady, Oh Fishlady....

I've struggled to post the past few days. I'm not sure why. The computer at work was being frustratingly slow, and I guess I get discouraged easily. Another of my enviable character traits. Not much has happened either, which doesn't help...

So just a few random thoughts, I guess.

I think I've had another hard week; I'm not sure why. I'm due a break - in fact, I'm on one now - so maybe I'm just tired. Snappier than usual, which didn't endear me to my colleagues, I'm ashamed to say. What's done is done, unfortunately. We've seen a lot of overdoses this last week. Maybe more than usual; maybe not.

Feels like more than usual tho'.

In general, we do see a lot of this presentation. My experience of the psychiatric services in the U.K. has not been good. This is not an implicit criticism of the people that do the work; I don't know nearly enough to start down that line. It's merely an observation, and I assume the problem is an overstretched, understaffed service.
Part of the side effect I feel from seeing so many of these cases is that I start to become unsympathetic. This not a good thing; but I have to admit, I find it hard, when I see so many people who lie about what they've done, or what they've taken. People who seem to be in it to abuse the system, or, God forbid, for the attention.

Let me repeat - this is not right. I am not trying to justify myself. You just need to know. Well, as much as you need to know any of the drivel I'm prone to vomiting forth.

Well, I saw a couple over the last few days who really got to me. Regular people, not serial offenders. People whose lives had taken a series of turns leading them down an alley so dark they couldn't see the way back. Couldn't even see that there IS a way back. Neither of them had taken ODs likely to cause physical harm, so I referred them on the way. I'm not sure I was any help at all really, tho'.

On a lighter note, I was getting my hair cut today, and the place was awful cold. I became acutely aware of the temperature differential caused by the hairdresser. It's amazing quite how much heat a body radiates. Or not. Maybe you had to be there.