I had a nice long night spent at Bergen Regional Medical Center's 262-help line crisis center last night because someone felt that their education in psychology meant that they could diagnose me and call based on this diagnosis and a blog that ended with "take care sg". Now, I'm not sure if anyone is familiar with a Crisis Hotline and what it is they exist for or not, so I will explain. When you call a Crisis Hotline, the rule is that they MUST act within 24 hours of that call with a visit to the "victim's" home, escorted by the police with committal papers to take you to the psych ward for evaluation because generally this "victim" is on the verge of suicide.

Luckily, this hotline was able to reach Brett and talk to him first, where he was able to explain the ACTUAL situation and they decided a phone call to me would be enough, rather than meeting me at home with said police escort when I got back from the doctor's office. I then spoke to a nice woman who said, while she didn't see an actual crisis based on mine and Brett's testimonies over the phone, she still had to evaluate because the call was made. So, I had to wait for Brett to get home from work, stuff our faces and run out to be evaluated. We got to the office to find out that I had to PAY for this mandatory psych evaluation because someone "cared" enough to call about my "crisis". Good thing my insurance JUST kicked in...but anything not covered is still being billed to me. YAY.

So I spent the next few hours answering mundane questions and explaining my situation in full to be told, in the end... that I am "an ordinary person faced with extraordinary stress" and that my choice to talk to a shelter as an option to leave if things were causing that much stress at home was NOT irrational, but proactive. Because a shelter provides just that- shelter. But they also provide resources for help to get back on your feet if you were to be faced with being on the street, without job or cash and that situation is far more healthy for a pregnant woman and child than constant turmoil and stress at home. I was also told that medication does not seem necessary, nor does counseling, but if I felt like I wanted to talk to someone, I could always make a call MYSELF.

So, while I appreciate that people care about me and my welfare, I do NOT appreciate them overstepping their boundaries and making a phone call that was determined to be "erroneous" in the end because they took psychology in school and feel they can diagnose someone based on that education. Please leave that to the professionals.. and if you feel that someone needs counseling or therapy, suggest it, but do not try to FORCE it down their throats.

the end.