The Squeaky Wheel (A short article)

for our company newsletter....would love your comments...

 

I have always believed that nothing in life happens by accident.  Life’s ups and downs have provided me with living validation of that belief.  I’ve experienced traumas that have caused many psychologists to raise their eye brows in wonder, yet working in mental health has given me a unique and wonderful view into the resiliency of the human spirit.   There is an old adage that says, “I once complained of having no shoes, until I met someone that had no feet”.  Few things are as humbling as coming to the realization that no matter how traumatic my life has been, there is always someone that has had it much worse.   The flip side of that coin is that there is nothing more rewarding than knowing that for each trauma I’ve experienced, there is someone that can benefit from what I’ve learned from that experience. 

 

I started out in mental health as a peer support specialist wanting to make a difference in the lives of others.  What I did not count on was the difference those others and their stories made in me.  I set out to transform lives and impose my passion into people’s subconscious that recovery is possible, however, the sheer will of wanting did not make it happen.  It wasn’t until I sat and listened to their stories and how I fit into their lives that something changed.  Up until that point, I was more concerned with how they were going to fit into my plan of helping them, and became frustrated that they weren’t letting that happen.  Listening, really listening, to their concerns and the challenges of their lives helped me to realize that it was not they that needed to change their perspective, but I that needed to change mine.  Over the next three years, the class grew to over 30 people a day, and case managers and liaisons were coming to class too.  Dialogues were taking place, and people were listening to each other.  Recipients were gaining a better understanding of the challenges their case managers were faced with.  Case managers were gaining a better understanding of what it was like to live with a mental health diagnosis.  Individual service plans were being completed as the team partnered with their recipient.  Complaints became less, and the “difficult” case loads became less difficult.  Clinical assessments had transformed into human observations, and I felt satisfied to know that we all did it as a team. 

 

Those early lessons of peer support (and superior leadership from my boss) molded me into the administrator that I am today.  If enough noise is made by a particular employee or member, it gets my attention.   Although there are days when the stress level in my office raises to such a point that my patience runs thin, not one day goes by that I don’t remember the importance of listening.  The squeaky wheel gets the grease, but the question on the forefront of everyone’s mind should always be “why is the wheel squeaky?”

 

I recently had the honor of assisting a man whose brother was in need of assistance with obtaining his AHCCCS benefits.  His brother has worked for the same employer for ten years, for the first nine of those years, his brother worked full-time while living, successfully, with the challenges and experiences that come with having a diagnosis of Schizophrenia.  His brother had managed his symptoms while working full-time, and had never considered himself disabled.  Arguably, because he wasn’t disabled.  He was able to maintain his successful employment, his brother told me, because he had the support he needed at work, and everyone around him knew his limitations and was willing to work with him and lend support through his more difficult moments.  Until, he said, there was a change in management, and the new manager doesn’t seem to have the same supportive attitude toward her employees.  “Since the new manager had taken over,” he said, “my brother has had his hours reduced to ten per week, if he’s lucky to have gotten on his manager’s good side the week of scheduling.”  He came to our office in hopes of gaining information about Social Security Disability and Arizona’s public health care, and how to apply for both.  However, I think more importantly, he was looking for validation that a diagnosis of a major mental health issue does not automatically mean that a person is disabled. 

 

I listened for a long moment and when I responded, I was careful to not sound clinical in any way.  I explained to him that I am not a physician or psychologist, but rather a peer employee who has seen a life similar to his brothers.  I told him that his brother is a remarkable individual, with remarkable resiliency, and that I commend his brother for his hard work.  Sometimes, however, when life takes a turn we are not expecting, stress levels can rise, and life seems to become overwhelming.  I told him how unfortunate it is that there are people in the world who, regardless of their background, have lost sight of the value of the human spirit, and that any person who would have to endure such a difficult manager would have personal fall-out of some kind.  It would seem more appropriate for a manager to witness the personality and behavioral changes of their employees and want to do what they could to influence a more positive atmosphere for the amount of time that employee is under their guidance.  He nodded his head, thanked me for the information and my time, and asked if he could call me again if he should need someone to talk to about his ailing brother.  I shook his hand, looked into his eyes, and smiled while I handed him my business card and said “Yes, please do.  I would love to know how things work out for your brother.”

 

The squeaky wheel does indeed get the grease, but sometimes grease doesn’t fix the squeak.  I think we must all ask the question, when we are facing our own squeaky wheels in our day, “why is the wheel squeaky?”  It could mean the difference between a medication change and a kind word to help dispel a fear that has disguised itself as a symptom.

 

 

 

Author's Note

Working on the grammar....please comment on the article contents. Thanks!

Reviews

[Samuel Dickens]

Behaviors, including my own, is something I often think about, so this writing completely held my interest. Environment, genetics and other factors can certainly make us into diamonds, coal, or a thousand things in between. I can fix things made of nuts and bolts, but people--my record is terrible. What an important and amazing job you have.

[SM Davis]

Hi Samuel! I wrote this many years ago. It was a fun job. Important too. Thank you for reading! :)

[Zeek4]

It looks like your are a compassionate and sensitive administrator. Bless you. We need more people like that.

[Ken Simm.]

Some of us are gifted, no fated to listen. But beyond that we are true enough to the calling we recieve to do something positive about what we hear. Beyond our immediate sometimes heartbreaking worries we see the bigger, larger horizons where all is possible for everyone. Even the ones who society see's as the lowest. This speaks to those who are fated to listen and then act.

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

Quite informative and certainly gives the reader a lot to ponder... why is the wheel squeaky? It is probably different case to case but if we look into the problem before fixing we could prevent further problems. Thank you for sharing this thought with us.