After Copestone and into IOP then back in the frying pan!
Well, the title says a lot….. Thinking back on the whole process, it was a blessing that I went from Copestone to IOP. IOP ended up giving me tools that I didn’t even know I needed, until they were talking about them. FYI : I will be pursuing getting some of most of the content from the IOP program I went through, into the school systems. Anyways, back to the topic at hand. A nice woman came and saw me a few times in Copestone, which was the boarding process to get into the IOP program. There were a few of us that were the first ones to go through the process, so they were still figuring a few things out with us. Over all, the IOP program was a good experience.
What is IOP? IOP stands for Intensive Outpatient Program. They are normally used for drug rehab and such, but it’s also used for mental issues as well, turns out. I started out doing 20 hours a week of therapy. I know, that doesn’t sound like a lot, but trust me, it’s a lot. It was EXHAUSTIVE, to say the least. There were so many people that was in and out of the program, a lot of them swear by it. The ONLY thing I wish would have happened in IOP. The DNA test to see what drugs works with my system. That didn’t happen until the first visit with my psychiatrist post IOP. What did we do in there? Well, we did a lot of talking about how we felt and other topics which were covered by the material.
During my IOP stent, I attempted to go back to work, which ended in a non- favorable way. To give some idea of what I do. I’m considered an Subject Matter Expert on one of the core Linux authentication systems for a financial institution. I have a lot of information and ideas thrown my way, and I throw them to my collogues as well. It’s a fairly high stress position, but it’s a very rewarding position. Anyways, the psychiatrist allowed me to go back to work while I was in the program. It was defined 1/2 days and I had to go to the program for monitoring. This didn’t last long nor end well, to say the least. All the information and people talking to me just overwhelmed me still. After about 4-8 hours of trying it, I told everyone I couldn’t do it. It took me about 2 weeks to get back to “normal” from trying just a few hours.
Luckily, everyone was involved understood that I wasn’t able to come back yet. With that happening, there were a series of phone calls, questionnaires, and dialogs about what I felt/feel. The understanding that my work has shown… is absolutely amazing.
