(no title) via Bipolar Mo - A blog of manic depression in the UK
I came across this story on Liz Spikol's page. At first I thought it was a joke but a quick search confirmed the story at the New York Times.
Timothy Pinkston is a homeless guy with bipolar disorder who manages his symptoms with drugs and alcohol. He sought treatment at St. Joseph's Hospital psychiatric unit in August where he was subsequently detained. While in an intoxicated state within the unit, he said he wanted to kill the president. Now, how would you expect staff in a psychiatric unit to respond to this type of behaviour... discuss the issue?... distract the guy?... create a calm environment and encourage him to sleep it off?... maybe even sedate him? Err, well no, over at St Joseph's they came up with a different response, they called in the secret service.
The next day...