Psychosis is the Reason for the Season

The holidays are always a time to anticipate seeing more of those lost souls who Cannot Cope With Life. Like the bag on old St. Nick's sleigh, the ER's are filling up with with the depressed, the suicidal, the drug seekers, the alcoholics and the true psychotics. Now, before you get on your high horse, I have such individuals in my own family. They cannot cope with their lives either. They are the drug seekers, drug addicts, and other people who exist in a world that doesn't understand them and is sick of trying to help them because they are incapable of helping themselves. While this is sad, it just sucks the life out of ER staff to have to see these same people day, after day, after day. It is a waste of resources, really. The Scary Catholic Medical Center in Pseudocity where I occasionally moonlight (the crucifixes in every room creep me out a little, quite frankly) lets them sleep in the waiting room; they are allowed to sit and wait about 8 hours until they are sober or get bored and wander away. The genius is they have a warm place out of the weather, but the ER doesn't really have to take responsibility for them.