OK, this is an honest question, spoken out of grateful ignorance, since I have never suffered from any mental illness or issue (that I know of, heh), or anything requiring my checking into a mental health clinic.
I was just reading the news that Susan Boyle, the amazing singer from Scotland, has left the clinic in which she was treated for, and I quote the article, “exhaustion,” and thankfully is reportedly doing well.
This, obviously, is not a new term. We often hear of actors and actresses, and perhaps more notably singers and musicians, canceling engagements and/or being checked into a such-and-such clinic for “exhaustion.” And we also hear, and maybe even partake in, conversations speculating about whether that word is code for something else more controversial. I’ll admit, in recent years I’ve come to assume exactly that, that “exhaustion” is just the catch-all word used when either they don’t want to disclose additional details out of privacy or because to do so would have undesirable consequences on the person’s career/status. And being one who is extremely private herself, who am I to question that. But it still means the word exhaustion has become a bit of a punchline, i.e. “exhaustion, yeah right, nudge nudge wink wink.”
But now hearing about Susan Boyle being treated for exhaustion, I’m finding myself re-examining that assumption of mine. So let’s assume that’s exactly what it is, exhaustion. Exactly what do they do to treat a person for that? I’m not trying to be glib, just to understand what to me seems puzzling. I mean, I’ve been exhausted plenty of times, who hasn’t? And yes, I mean exhausted to the point of feeling quite burned out, overwhelmed, in need of getting away from everything, etc. So at what point is it decided that the symptoms are beyond that which can be remedied by taking (say) a week of rest at home, eating some nutritious meals, taking some nice walks, basically convalescing on one’s own? What do they do in a clinical setting for exhaustion that’s much different? OK, let’s add that they include some appointments with a caring counselor or therapist to help the person sort things out. Why does this warrant an in-patient stay, rather than doing the above-mentioned home care and a few appointments with an outpatient therapist? What am I missing here?
I realize this still may be a discrete way to report on Ms. Boyle, who may in fact be suffering more than simply exhaustion. But if not, I’m truly curious and would love to learn something new here.
For once, a post that’s not about ME!
Recovering Part-time Bulimic 