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Today's Topics:
1. mental health and dance calling (jill allen)
2. Re: mental health and dance calling (Bree Kalb)
3. Re: mental health and dance calling (Greg McKenzie)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Wed, 6 Jul 2011 15:05:05 -0500
From: jill allen <jillall...@att.net>
To: call...@sharedweight.net
Subject: [Callers] mental health and dance calling
Message-ID: <c6b30e88-7ff3-4c61-9cfa-ecac3caaf...@att.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
We had a gentleman coming to our dances for years, who suddenly
appeared one night ranting about the police and tasers. He was
drooling and showing delusional behavior, and was still dancing.
Most dancers didn't think much of it, but some were very upset.
He continued to come to every dance, Contra and English, but when
he came to our sweet little Family Dance and was smoking cigarettes
on the sidewalk and greeting the children, I started feeling the
need for a plan. I talked with the local mental health facility
and spoke to other organizers, but you know, what can you do?
Well, somewhat accidentally, I had about a half hour conversation
at a dance one night with him. We were just chatting, and
something magic happened. I got to know him really well. Every
time he came to a dance, I talked with him. He began to trust me,
and vice versa. I found out that he had been care-taking for his
elderly dad, who was living with him. His dad recently passed away
while he was away at a dance weekend. He explained that his
father's death and his guilt for being gone had triggered his
mental issues. I don't know if it helped him to make friends with
me, but it sure helped me! I found him to be a really sweet
person. I used to dr
ead his presence, and now I look forward to seeing him. He is
still coming to dances, which seems to help him. His medications
are better adjusted now and he blends in much better and is
appropriate on the dance floor, for the most part.
I am sure that this approach won't work for all situations, but why
not first try going straight to the problem with accidental love
and friendship.
Good luck,
Jill Allen
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Wed, 6 Jul 2011 18:42:05 -0400
From: "Bree Kalb" <b...@mindspring.com>
To: <call...@sharedweight.net>
Subject: Re: [Callers] mental health and dance calling
Message-ID: <92215C3FFBA84A9AB01D7D42E3466820@BreeHomeLaptop>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=original
What a lovely story, Jill. Although I'm a mental health
professional I'm
often unsure how to include dancers with obvious problems. You've
provided
an inspiration.
Bree Kalb
Carrboro NC
-----Original Message-----
From: jill allen
Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2011 4:05 PM
To: call...@sharedweight.net
Subject: [Callers] mental health and dance calling
We had a gentleman coming to our dances for years, who suddenly
appeared one
night ranting about the police and tasers. He was drooling and
showing
delusional behavior, and was still dancing. Most dancers didn't
think much
of it, but some were very upset.
He continued to come to every dance, Contra and English, but when
he came to
our sweet little Family Dance and was smoking cigarettes on the
sidewalk and
greeting the children, I started feeling the need for a plan. I
talked with
the local mental health facility and spoke to other organizers, but
you
know, what can you do? Well, somewhat accidentally, I had about a
half hour
conversation at a dance one night with him. We were just chatting,
and
something magic happened. I got to know him really well. Every
time he
came to a dance, I talked with him. He began to trust me, and vice
versa.
I found out that he had been care-taking for his elderly dad, who
was living
with him. His dad recently passed away while he was away at a dance
weekend. He explained that his father's death and his guilt for
being gone
had triggered his mental issues. I don't know if it helped him to
make
friends with me, but it sure helped me! I found him to be a really
sweet
person. I used to dr
ead his presence, and now I look forward to seeing him. He is
still coming
to dances, which seems to help him. His medications are better
adjusted now
and he blends in much better and is appropriate on the dance floor,
for the
most part.
I am sure that this approach won't work for all situations, but why
not
first try going straight to the problem with accidental love and
friendship.
Good luck,
Jill Allen
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Wed, 6 Jul 2011 18:31:55 -0700
From: Greg McKenzie <greken...@gmail.com>
To: "Caller's discussion list" <call...@sharedweight.net>
Subject: Re: [Callers] mental health and dance calling
Message-ID:
<cafqkwltshhmp_+c-2utra9vzdeq3awuwaeamr9a0xylbb_u...@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Thank you Jill! What a wonderful story!
I am going to chime in with one of my own stories. I have been
observing
the dances for years and there are many stories. This one is not as
delightful as yours.
Years ago a man started attending a dance where I called often.
After about
a year some women complained to me that he seemed to always have
whiskey on
his breath. He also always seemed to be lost during the dances.
Some women
started avoiding him. I decided to take some action and had a casual
conversation with him one night. He mentioned that my calling was
always
very clear but that he often got confused with other callers. I
thanked him
and mentioned--in a lighthearted way--that, for me, I get confused
if I've
had one or two glassess of wine. He didn't say anything.
He kept attending dances, but a bit less often. About six months
later
someone told me that he had committed suicide. I have always
wished I could
have handled that one a little better. I still feel that it was a
lost
opportunity. Now I am living with a therapist so this kind of
thing is much
more salient to me.
- Greg McKenzie
**************
On Wed, Jul 6, 2011 at 1:05 PM, jill allen <jillall...@att.net> wrote:
We had a gentleman coming to our dances for years, who suddenly
appeared
one night ranting about the police and tasers. He was drooling
and showing
delusional behavior, and was still dancing. Most dancers didn't
think much
of it, but some were very upset.
He continued to come to every dance, Contra and English, but when
he came
to our sweet little Family Dance and was smoking cigarettes on the
sidewalk
and greeting the children, I started feeling the need for a plan.
I talked
with the local mental health facility and spoke to other
organizers, but you
know, what can you do? Well, somewhat accidentally, I had about a
half hour
conversation at a dance one night with him. We were just
chatting, and
something magic happened. I got to know him really well. Every
time he
came to a dance, I talked with him. He began to trust me, and
vice versa.
I found out that he had been care-taking for his elderly dad, who
was
living with him. His dad recently passed away while he was away
at a dance
weekend. He explained that his father's death and his guilt for
being gone
had triggered his mental issues. I don't know if it helped him to
make
friends with me, but it sure helped me! I found him to be a
really sweet
person. I used to dr
ead his presence, and now I look forward to seeing him. He is still
coming to dances, which seems to help him. His medications are
better
adjusted now and he blends in much better and is appropriate on
the dance
floor, for the most part.
I am sure that this approach won't work for all situations, but
why not
first try going straight to the problem with accidental love and
friendship.
Good luck,
Jill Allen
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------------------------------
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End of Callers Digest, Vol 83, Issue 3
**************************************
