PMS?

Dear PMS?,

It is clear that you need help, and Alice gives you lots of credit for reaching out, which is often incredibly difficult to do. Now you need to take the next steps, for yourself as well as for your children.

If you are a student here at Columbia, call x4-2284 to make an appointment in Primary Care Medical Services. Then call Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS) at x4-2468. When you go to your appointment, tell both the person at Primary Care and the person at CPS exactly what you have written to giving both providers the opportunity to work together, since you want the best help possible.

If you are not a student, you can call the National Bilingual Domestic Violence Hotline at 800.799-SAFE (-7233) (800.621.4673 for New York City; 800.942.6906 for New York State). In addition, Alice suggests you call your health care provider and describe to her or him your situation as you had written it to Alice. Ask for help with your next step. If you do not have a provider, then call your children's pediatrician. If you do not have access to a regular provider of care, then request help at the clinic you visit for health care. If none of this works, you can contact your local health department as a last resort. Again, Alice believes that in order for you to get the best possible assistance, you need to have your PMS properly diagnosed and treated, as well as your coping mechanisms strengthened.

Alice will be thinking of you as you work on this challenge, and she wishes you and your family the best.