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September 20, 2019 - Our Town by Scott Spangler, MD

Scott Spangler headshot

 

Lessons from CAMP Rehoboth

I spent a lot of time alone as a child. This was in large part because I was very existential and introspective from the start, prone to asking very cerebral questions and independently puzzling over philosophical concepts I couldn’t quite put into words.

The other part of it was that at the age of eight, being painfully self-aware, iconoclastic, and too naïve to accurately assess the consequences, I came out as gay.

Living in a small rural town in Sussex County, Delaware, in 1995, I suffered a lot for that decision; I wasn’t very popular back then. The constant low-level bullying I was all too acclimated to at school escalated further when I switched districts and found myself in a more hostile learning environment.

In 8th grade, after a series of violent incidences, I left school in favor of independent study, self-teaching from homeschooling materials. Over the next year, I battled with depression and panic attacks and remained for the most part confined to my home.

Scott Spangler and Lori KlineMy one consistent outing each week was the LGBT youth group I started attending at age 14. Each Tuesday evening, I’d brave the crippling anxiety of the outside world and leave my apartment to go to the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center. Until then, I was one of the few openly gay people I knew, but I was soon introduced to other adolescents struggling with similar issues of identity and discrimination, as well as a whole community of supportive and nurturing individuals who had overcome their own adversity to find a place in world.

The following year, at 15, I started my first job in the CAMP Rehoboth courtyard, at Lori’s Café, when the leader of my youth group took me under her wing and invited me to work for her that summer. Lori Kline showed amazing patience and understanding with me as I faced down one anxiety attack after another, challenged by the deeply engrained negative perceptions of the world. I began developing the coping skills necessary to heal from my previous trauma and subsequent isolation. Lori reached me at a very influential time in my life, and helped me build the confidence I would need to face the additional challenges to come.

The following summer my mother died suddenly in a car accident, and I found myself, at 16, living on my own and supporting myself financially. In the years to follow, I faced many economic hardships, periods of homelessness, and challenging life experiences. I can still remember the feeling of hopelessness I experienced during those times, and questioning what kind of future a person from my background could have; however, I never stopped contemplating the possibilities.

Expanding on the skills I began developing under Lori’s watchful and nurturing eye, and pulling from my strengths in analytical thinking and creative problem solving, I was able to rewrite the narrative of my life and overcome those difficulties.

The struggles I faced, and the coping skills I developed during those early days of independence, instilled in me the perseverance and resourcefulness I needed to gain financial stability, complete my GED, and become the first person in my family to attend college.

Then, in medical school, thanks to my many years in the service industry (editor’s note: included working in Rehoboth at Lambda Rising Books and the Rehoboth Guesthouse), honing customer relations skills, combined with the empathy and insight I’d gained through personal experiences, I was able to build strong rapport with patients.

Now, what I enjoy about psychiatry is that it provides a venue for me to extend beyond the surface, to ask deeper, and more thought-provoking questions, and apply greater therapeutic technique in interviewing. I like being able to guide patients as they gain insight into their mental health and develop coping strategies.
The challenges I’ve overcome, as well as my firsthand experiences with adverse psychosocial factors and discrimination, provided me with the ability to connect with a diverse population of patients, while establishing boundaries and remaining emotionally resilient in the face of sometimes challenging patient encounters.

As an adult, I remain as introspective and analytical as I was as a child. Psychiatry combines my cerebral and existential interests, allowing me to contemplate the human psyche with the goal of improving the mental health of my patients.

As a psychiatrist, I hope to work with troubled youth, those who have struggled from a lack of resources and education, and those who were forced by circumstance to grow up too soon. I’d like the opportunity to lead a youth group of my own some day and be able to save the life of even just one young person, the way that Lori and the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center saved mine. ▼
 

‹ September 20, 2019 - CAMP News up September 20, 2019 - President's View by Chris Beagle ›

Past Issues

Issues Index

  • November 15, 2019 - Issue Index
  • October 18, 2019 - Issue Index
  • September 20, 2019 - Issue Index
    • September 20, 2019 - Cover-to-cover with ISSUU
    • September 20, 2019 - The Way I See It by Murray Archibald
    • September 20, 2019 - In Brief
    • September 20, 2019 - CAMP Matters by Murray Archibald
    • September 20, 2019 - CAMP Out by Fay Jacobs
    • September 20, 2019 - Sundance 2019 by Sondra N. Arkin
    • September 20, 2019 - Our New Executive Director
    • September 20, 2019 - CAMP News
    • September 20, 2019 - Our Town by Scott Spangler, MD
    • September 20, 2019 - President's View by Chris Beagle
    • September 20, 2019 - CAMP Stories by Rich Barnett
    • September 20, 2019 - CAMP Rehoboth Events
    • September 20, 2019 - Our Town by Michael Gilles
    • September 20, 2019 - Jazz Festival(s) Weekend
    • September 20, 2019 - It's My Life by Michael Thomas Ford
    • September 20, 2019 - CAMP Critters
    • September 20, 2019 - Our Staff
    • September 20, 2019 - Straight Talk by David Garrett
    • September 20, 2019 - CAMPshots Gallery 5
    • September 20, 2019 - CAMPshots Gallery 1
    • September 20, 2019 - CAMPshots Gallery 2
    • September 20, 2019 - CAMPshots Gallery 3
    • September 20, 2019 - CAMPshots Gallery 4
    • September 20, 2019 - Intentionally Inclusive by Wesley Combs
    • September 20, 2019 - We Remember
    • September 20, 2019 - Community News
    • September 20, 2019 - Historical Headliners by Ann Aptaker
    • September 20, 2019 - Our Town by Mary Shockley
    • September 20, 2019 - Health and Wellness by Marj Shannon
    • September 20, 2019 - Out & About by Eric C. Peterson
    • September 20, 2019 - The Real Dirt by Eric W. Wahl
    • September 20, 2019 - Eating OUT by Fay Jacobs
    • September 20, 2019 - CAMP Arts by Doug Yetter
    • September 20, 2019 - Booked Solid by Terri Schlichenmeyer
    • September 20, 2019 - CAMP Cheers!
    • September 20, 2019 - CAMP Dates - September 20- October 23
    • September 20, 2019 - Out & Proud by Stefani Deoul
  • August 23, 2019 - Issue Index
  • August 9, 2019 - Issue Index
  • July 26, 2019 - Issue Index
  • July 12, 2019 - Issue Index
  • June 28, 2019 - Issue Index
  • June 14, 2019 - Issue Index
  • May 31, 2019 - Issue Index
  • May 17, 2019 - Issue Index
  • May 3, 2019 - Issue Index
  • April 12, 2019 - Issue Index
  • March 8, 2019 - Issue Index
  • February 8, 2019 - Issue Index

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