My Resume

My “qualifications” and current resume below. There is just a college degree is marine communications. I do not need a "mental health" degree. I have experinced sufficient real-life experiences that leave me uniquely qualififed to help others. To be honest, it is a miracle that I have lived such a long and meaningful life. And at 72, it gets better.

Joe Pagnam

DOB 12/06/1953

Born British, now fully American

December 1963 - Bipolar symptoms started

1963 - 1976 - Bipolar starts to get worse, not diagnosed.

Between 1970 - 1987 extremely active alcoholic.

July 1976 - high speed head on head vehicle collision - broken pelvis, 12 (of) 13 broken ribs right side, spleen damaged, removed. Some kind of heart damage. They told me they removed the outer skin of my heart. There was no pain.

Bipolar continues, sometimes noticeable, but drinking fixed it, then.

Bermuda factor: Lived there 1984 - 2001. A nice Island, but the drinking like the Bipolar skyrocketed

June 1984 - after disastrous actions, woke up in a psychiatric ward, King Edward Hospital, Hamilton, Bermuda.

Blah blah - my boss “Joe, you are in the right place, don’t worry, we still want you. BUT, you must not leave the hospital until you have completed the program. If you don’t follow these instructions, or start to drink, then we will send you back to England”

My last drink was just before the hospital admittance.

1987 - 2026 - sober, yay. AA for the first few years, helped a lot, now no AA whatsoever.

But I often help people. 39 years of sobriety is useful if people want to discuss addiction an dalcoholic problems.

Jail first-hand experience

July 1972, Yokohama, Japan

Officer on British Merchant Navy. Docked for a week or so.

4th Engineer just stepped into an engine running car, I got - HE drove to the next town as there were no bars where we were.

Stop light, 3 or 4 Japanese Police cars. Handcuffed (rear), officially entered on Police records.

He and I locked up. Just a concrete box, floor. No trace of blankets. Only about a 2 foot round hole in the middle. Guard had to watch.

Captain bailed us out the next day. No charges whatsoever. We were free.

July 2010, Bedford County, Virginia

Description - very similar to Japan, but this time just myself.

Then 5 nights in another concrete cell, but much smaller than Yokohama.

IMPORTANT:

Yokohama, I did not steal the vehicle.

Bedford County, ditto

In Japan at that time, the stealing of cars was unheard of. The Japanese Police were unsure of what they should do.

But back here, they should not incarcerate a person, for any dismeanour - if they are mentally sick. Oh yes. Virginia’s Mental Health infrastructure operates like it was 1950.

You can see clearly who is at fault here. If a person reading this had ANY kind of mental health issues, with whatever body - I will help