Comments on: Owning Up to Depression http://practiceblawg.com/2009/11/owning-up-to-depression/ Tue, 20 Jul 2010 03:47:11 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Joan Bibelhausen http://practiceblawg.com/2009/11/owning-up-to-depression/comment-page-1/#comment-107 Joan Bibelhausen Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:22:20 +0000 http://practiceblawg.com/?p=678#comment-107 The good news is that more and more people are calling Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and that they are calling earlier in their illnesses. But this is still the tip of the iceberg. When LCL offers CLE programs about depression or other mental illnesses or about alcoholism and other chemical or compulsive behavior issues, we are awarded Elimination of Bias credit because there is STIGMA. It’s because of this stigma that we don’t ask for help. We do experience depression more often than most – 3.6 times as often according to a Johns Hopkins study. More tragic is that we complete suicide nearly six times as often – partly because of our tendency toward perfection. If we make the decision to take our life, we are less likely to fail. <br><br>LCL started out as an organization that worked with alcoholics. We’ve expanded to offer help for any issue that causes a lawyer, judge or law student, or their immediate family member, stress or distress. Through us you can receive up to four free counseling sessions and appropriate referrals for additional help if needed. Sometimes four is enough as you figure out how to deal with some of the curve balls life throws you, and by dealing with it early you learn self care that may lessen the likelihood of depression. Other times it’s a way to enter into significant professional assistance. There is also free 24 hour telephone counseling available. Every day. We’ve spent some time with the counselors you may meet with, telling them about the lives lawyers lead so you don’t have to start at the beginning. The folks who answer the phone at night, also counselors, don’t have that training but if you want to talk to someone at 3 a.m. it may not matter as much what you do for a living. <br><br>LCL’s peer support network continues to grow and we need people who have come out on the other side of this to be available to their brothers and sisters in the law to say I know how you feel. I’ve been there. And it can get better. In fact it can become better than you ever imagined. <br><br>We’re available across the state. Everything we do is confidential. Call us if you need help. Call us if you can help. 651-646-5590, 866-525-6466, <a href="mailto:help@mnlcl.org" rel="nofollow">help@mnlcl.org</a> The good news is that more and more people are calling Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and that they are calling earlier in their illnesses. But this is still the tip of the iceberg. When LCL offers CLE programs about depression or other mental illnesses or about alcoholism and other chemical or compulsive behavior issues, we are awarded Elimination of Bias credit because there is STIGMA. It’s because of this stigma that we don’t ask for help. We do experience depression more often than most – 3.6 times as often according to a Johns Hopkins study. More tragic is that we complete suicide nearly six times as often – partly because of our tendency toward perfection. If we make the decision to take our life, we are less likely to fail.

LCL started out as an organization that worked with alcoholics. We’ve expanded to offer help for any issue that causes a lawyer, judge or law student, or their immediate family member, stress or distress. Through us you can receive up to four free counseling sessions and appropriate referrals for additional help if needed. Sometimes four is enough as you figure out how to deal with some of the curve balls life throws you, and by dealing with it early you learn self care that may lessen the likelihood of depression. Other times it’s a way to enter into significant professional assistance. There is also free 24 hour telephone counseling available. Every day. We’ve spent some time with the counselors you may meet with, telling them about the lives lawyers lead so you don’t have to start at the beginning. The folks who answer the phone at night, also counselors, don’t have that training but if you want to talk to someone at 3 a.m. it may not matter as much what you do for a living.

LCL’s peer support network continues to grow and we need people who have come out on the other side of this to be available to their brothers and sisters in the law to say I know how you feel. I’ve been there. And it can get better. In fact it can become better than you ever imagined.

We’re available across the state. Everything we do is confidential. Call us if you need help. Call us if you can help. 651-646-5590, 866-525-6466, help@mnlcl.org

]]> By: Gary K. Wood http://practiceblawg.com/2009/11/owning-up-to-depression/comment-page-1/#comment-87 Gary K. Wood Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:57:15 +0000 http://practiceblawg.com/?p=678#comment-87 I am a lawyer depression. I treat it with medication, therapy, and daily acts of compassion. Treatment doesn't cure depression or alcoholism. LCL is not funded sufficiently to assist everyone who needs service. Depression often interferes with the ability to practice law, resulting in appropriate discipline, as it has with me. Don't wait. Talk to others as people, not revenue streams or profit centers. Practice selflessness. Reach out. Get out of your own head. Use structure to ease pressure. I am a lawyer depression. I treat it with medication, therapy, and daily acts of compassion. Treatment doesn’t cure depression or alcoholism. LCL is not funded sufficiently to assist everyone who needs service. Depression often interferes with the ability to practice law, resulting in appropriate discipline, as it has with me. Don’t wait. Talk to others as people, not revenue streams or profit centers. Practice selflessness. Reach out. Get out of your own head. Use structure to ease pressure.

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