... CONTINUED FROM COVER
Mental Health Reminders for the Season During this time of the year, it’s natural for people to say “Happy Holidays” to each other. However, for many people, the holidays can be anything but joyful. Each year, many Americans suffer in silence, battling varying levels of sadness and sometimes even depression. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, about 64% of people find that the holidays make their mental health worse than during other times of the year. MAINTAINING A HEALTHY MINDSET FOR THE HOLIDAYS
then consulted with Mrs. Branton and agreed that she needed to be placed in the hospital for a new mixture of medications to be tested. However, a young psychiatrist who oversaw the Behavioral Health Unit then assessed Mrs. Branton and disagreed, reversing the involuntary commitment paperwork and discharging Mrs. Branton back to the boarding home with no changes to her medications. At the boarding home, Mrs. Branton continued to exhibit manic behavior and sat in the yard of the home wearing a wool U.S. Army dress blazer that had been passed down to her from her father. Tragically, Mrs. Branton sat outside for such an extended period that she succumbed to fatal heat stroke. At trial, our team emphasized how mental health conditions touch all families. Testimony revealed that Mrs. Branton was charged $4,000 for her short hospital stay but was discharged back to the community in an unstable and unsafe condition. The physician who discharged her in this unsafe condition had relocated to Tennessee and refused to attend the trial. Instead, he offered his testimony by way of prerecorded video deposition. The two physicians who recommended admission to the hospital and who continue to treat patients in South Carolina both showed up to trial and testified as to why they believed Mrs. Branton needed hospital admission. Ultimately, the jury agreed with our expert witness and these two treating physicians and awarded $5 million in damages. Mental health diagnoses are serious medical conditions. With proper treatment, people with serious and severe diagnoses can live long and normal lives. However, this trial indicated how extreme the consequences can be when these conditions are not managed properly or taken seriously. Unfortunately, this is the second case in the last few years our firm has handled that involved the heat-exposure death of a manic patient who was discharged to a boarding home. At trial, we were joined by Robert Goings of the Goings Law Firm, who brought our firm into the case, as well as local counsel David Williams of Williams & Williams Law Firm in Orangeburg. While the Branton and Davis families still have a long road ahead as the IRF appeals the jury’s verdict, they have the peace of mind of knowing that a jury of 12 strangers took Mrs. Branton’s mental health condition seriously.
Even though most people associate the holidays with happiness and celebration, there is an underlying current of added stress that comes with the season. Part of that, experts say, is that people can often feel like they are
expected to be in a happier mood during that time. Instead, they likely have feelings of sadness, fatigue, frustration, tension, loneliness, or even loss.
It’s natural for each of us to have ebbs and flows in our “happiness” levels. But there are things we can do to help ourselves better cope with these blue times.
One way is by prioritizing the things that are the most important in life. It can also help to take a personal inventory of the good things in life that we are thankful for. Another source of stress is that many people feel pressured to make everything “perfect” during holiday gatherings. Of course, the truth is that there is no perfect. If we give ourselves a break and strive for enjoyment rather than perfection, we will likely realize that enjoyment is a much easier bar to reach — and we can let ourselves be happy. A great way to stay focused on life before, during, and after the holidays is to think about the resolutions we have made and can make for the new year. Even if you don’t like making New Year’s resolutions, you can think of them as overall goals, which is precisely what resolutions are. Think back on past resolutions you have set, then look forward to building on your past successes in the new year. That sense of purpose can overcome those temporary times of feeling down because your mind will focus on what you can do to make your future goals come true. The task of getting through the holidays if you’re not feeling “in the spirit” is nothing to make light of. At the same time, it’s good to remember that we can find the good in the season and beyond.
(843) 995-5000
3
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator