Today has been the best day AND it's not over yet. I ended up sleeping until 10:30am which is something that I have never done. I am usually up by 7 or 8am on the weekends. Actually Sophie did get me up at 7:30 to go outside, but we both came in and went right back to sleep. I think I am finally relaxing at night and my body is able to get the sleep it needs. As soon as I got up I looked outside and it was the perfect day to be by the pool. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and even better....no one was at the pool. As I was walking Sophie my crazy neighbor from upstairs stopped me. I really didn't want to talk to him, but the first thing out of his mouth was an apology. I ended up talking to him for about 20 minutes and I am not sure what to do. He has admitted to being bipolar and I really think he is in the middle of another break down. He wasn't making sense and he was going from one subject to another and was very paranoid. He had a grocery sack in his hand that was filled with beer cans. When we first met he told me couldn't drink because of his
meds. I am debating about going to the manager to maybe call his parents since he says he has a good relationship with them. What would you guys do? Part of me thinks I should just stay out of it, but the social worker in me sees someone that needs help.
I ended up laying at the pool for close to 3 hours and it's showing tonight. When I saw my other neighbor this afternoon he said, "You're looking a little red today." I lost track of the time since I was reading the book,
The Glass Castle. Man this is a good book and I love that I am interested in reading again.
I took a 3 hour nap this afternoon (I have no idea why I am sleeping so much) and now I am getting ready for the second part of my day and actually the best part.
Oh, and guess where I get to go tomorrow:
This is turning out to be the best weekend.
This is turning out to be the best weekend.
10 comments:
Just food for thought-- perhaps it would be better to refer to your upstairs neighbor as "my neighbor with bipolar" instead of "my crazy neighbor." As you know, folks with addictions and mental health problems have enough difficulty when lay people use disparaging terms or labels-- they don't need it from us. It's just my opinion, but I think it's our responsibility to take the small steps, too.
Caroline, you would looove the Red Barn Farm up in Weston. The best time of year to go there is in the fall before Halloween. We usually get our Halloween pumpkin there. If you want to go, let me know and I'll tell you when we go.
I'm not sure what to tell you about your neighbor. My tendency is to stay out of things, but I don't have your instincts or skills with these types of things.
anonymous--i don't have a personal or professional relationship with my neighbor and he has caused many problems for me because he does not like dogs. in the very beginnning i took those small steps and talked with him, gave him my cell phone number and told him to call me if he ever needed to talk. i feel that i have taken those small steps and by me worrying about him and thinking about letting his family know that he is unstable is probably the best thing. if you had heard that way he was talking to me when he handed me the city ordiance of dog noise then you would probably think he was crazy too. i am sorry if you were offended by calling him my "crazy neighbor". i am very empathic of people and their issues, but when you start messing with me when i am just trying to be nice, then i have a problem with you. and just because i have 2 degrees in social work does not make me perfect and certainly does not mean i have to like everyone. i feel that if you know you have a disease (he has told me he is bipolar) then it is your responsibility to take care of that disease and manage it.
amy--from your pics it does look like i would love it up there. i will definitily give you a call this fall...
Mmmm. That's a tough call. Talking to the management might not solve anything. I don't know what they can do. Calling his parents might not be a bad idea.
The other thing to consider is that while you do not have the professional relationship with him, you are a mandated reporter. If you think he is putting himself (or anyone else) in danger, you are bound by Code of Ethics to report it. Consuming alcohol while on meds is doing just that, as is stopping his meds and becoming unbalanced. He is showing signs of this with the incoherent speech.
It's not fun, but I'd report it. Remember, as a mandated reporter, your name is protected in the report.
I'd probably report it too, if only because of how you might feel if something did happen and you didn't do anything.
I think crazy neighbor is the right answer. It's not like you are friends or his therapist. And this is your blog so if you want to write "crazy neighbor" I'm all about it!!! And I think that since you are considering reaching out for help from the management, that shows you have compassion...so anonymous person...re-read the post.
Okay...so I might talk with the mangement and let them handle the call to the parents. That way you have reported your concerns but not put yourself in the middle.
Sounds like a great weekend. Have fun. Where did you go today?
Fun times!! i'm jealous!!
Renaissance Woman-- I never questioned Caroline's compassion-- just questioned a dedicated professional's use of an adjective to describe someone with mental illness. For a professional social worker to refer to someone she knows to have a mental illness as "crazy" is something I had an issue with, but I acknowledge that it's my issue. So if Caroline can reconcile that's is ok call some folks with mental illness "crazy" and those she treats as patients, so be it. I'm just not that kind of professional. Again, it was my issue...
anonymous--here is my problem with all of this....you do not know me and i find it very insulting that you are trying to judge me as a professional from one blog post. yes i share a lot on my blog, but it is just a small part of who i am. if you go back and re-read my post you will see that i am trying to come up with ways of helping this individual. he has caused me a lot of grief because of his "disorder" that he apparently refuses to manage. i work in the addictions field and we tell the clients every day..."insanity is doing something over and over again expecting different results." are we calling our clients "insane"? NO, we are just using a term. and that is what i was doing in my post...i was referring to a person that has caused me a lot of grief in just 3 months and yes i am very annoyed by it and yes i still believe he is crazy. oh, and using this term has nothing to do with me as a professional. and if you have any questions i can give you a list of my references.
p.s.
i never once have called any of my clients crazy.
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