For further reading, check out my Quora profile, using this link: https://www.quora.com/profile/Isabel-E-35
Questions:
1.What exactly constitutes psychosis?
2.What does life look like through a person experiencing schizophrenia?
3.How has anyone else lost their children due to you having a mental illness?
4.How do I cope with schizophrenia? How do I treat people suffering from it?
5.Do padded rooms still exist in mental hospitals?
6.Are you afraid of a person who has schizophrenia? Why or why not?
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1.What exactly constitutes psychosis?
234 upvotes, 50 comments
I find that an interesting question, because when I ask a psychologist or therapist who diagnoses me with psychotic disorders, “what exactly does that mean?”they just recite the 3 main criteria straight from the DSM. I don’t need to hear that, I’ve already read it and heard it a million times: delusions= false beliefs not rooted in reality, hallucinations( sensory “ misinterpretations”), flat affect….all that stuff. What I want to know, which I ask, but they never have a good answer, is: how do you know, how can anyone judge or decide/ determine what is universally “real”, “true”, “correct”…? They usually respond with an example , like” well, if I said that I just got a message from some green aliens telling me I had to meet them in the forest to go to the mothership …-that would not be “real”…”. I don’t get that. As far as I’m concerned, any experience that anyone has, is a “real” experience and may or may not be a creation of solely their mind, or it may actually have happened that some green creature communicated to this person and informed them that in order to go home or some important place , they need to go to the forest…I probably sound ‘crazy’, but really- I have had experiences for which I was drugged up to my eyeballs on a daily basis while restrained in a psych ward, because my experience was deemed ‘psychotic’, but turned out eventually that it wasn’t, just that nobody but me noticed” until someone else did and further investigated. This is a clear example, I had been on a psych ward on the 7th floor of a general hospital for weeks because of suicidal depression- I was always trying to hurt myself on the ward, so I was not allowed to be in a bedroom, I had to always be ‘in line of sight’, so I also had to somehow sleep on a bed in the hall in a corner ( the nurses could see me from their station). I heard babies screaming/ crying all the time while there and I told the nurses and doctors, it was very disturbing, because I was worried about the babies but I also was worried because I had no idea why I could hear babies while on an adult psych ward. They decided that I now had ‘psychotic’ depression, so they started telling me to take anti psychotics. I tried the drugs, they made me feel awful, so I then refused. I was still very upset by the screaming babies and didn’t want to stay where I was told to be , nor did I accept the drugs. Then they got a judge to sign off saying they could inject me against my will. So, everytime they wanted to drug me, I tried to run and hide and I ended up restrained to that bed in the hall. No matter how much they injected me, I never stopped hearing screaming babies. I was in restraints every night for months. Then one day a nurse came in and said to a colleague” I just walked by the nursery” those newborns are so precious, but they sure have some lungs !”. The other nurse said, “ isn’t the nursery right below us?”. It was indeed, a nursery full of screaming babies right under the spot of my hallway restraint bed. So, they started trying to listen and hear the babies from my spot, as far as I know they only just barely maybe could, but nonetheless they decided to move me to the other end of the ward….and guess what?…I didnt hear them anymore…so- I was not hallucinating, but I was drugged, manhandled and restrained for months because I was believed to be psychotic and completely lacking insight and very uncooperative.
Just saying, that’s only one example, but sometimes people hear, see, feel, experience, things which others think is entirely impossible and therefore psychotic, but sometimes it’s just that we all experience things to different degrees and in different ways. I dont think it’s right for a couple of people to have the authority to decide what is “universally real” or not and then proceed to label someone “ psychotic” and in need of being drugged.
I think that as long as people are not doing harm to themselves or others as a result of their experiences or interpretations, they should be left in peace, maybe you don’t ubderstand them, but they probably don’t understand you either- we can’t be expected to understand everyone or be understood by everyone.
Some so called “ psychosis” are more accepted than others. Green aliens and a spaceship: not accepted- a man in the sky with a long beard who is actually invisible and created and controls everything=”God”: accepted.
Why is one psychotic and the other not? If you look at it from a perspective of evidence, there should be no difference. The difference lies in the numbers: how many people share the same “ experience”, “perception”, “belief”…so, it comes down to strength in numbers and groups , cliques…..and mass hysteria that is so ‘massive’ its now ‘normal’, ‘sane’….
I don’t have a problem with people believing in gods anymore than people believing in green or purple aliens controlling things on earth- with the exception of , if their beliefs ‘justify’ harming other life. Otherwise” live and let live” is my belief. Have a little more tolerance, acceptance, and mainly people could try not to be such hypocrites.
Comments:
Jan Fargo:
So true.I think this is what Szasz (sp?) was talking in his book “The Manufacture of Madness”. Basically, we are stuck in a huge school of tightly packed, fast-moving fish. When the school decides to turn, you better turn too, or you will be run down and knocked into the bottom of the ocean. It is not that any direction is better than another, it is that if you do not stick with the school, herd, flock, mob, you will be trampled, and abandoned. instead of calling it ‘madness’ we should have a rating system of how far out an individual is from the norms of the pack or society or the peer group.
Yeah. I made that same point when I was thrown in the local psych and forcefed antipsychotics simply because I said my phone was hacked (it was) and that was the only time in my entire life that I’d said anything remotely like that.But yeah – how exactly does it hurt others if I falsely believe that my phone is hacked? And the very first point that occurred to me is “what about people who say they talk to God every day – and more disturbingly perhaps, what about the ones who hear answers back (from God)”?I don’t know whether God exists or not – I’m not debating that point here – I’m bringing that up for the same reason you did – it’s an example of someone interacting with – talking/ hearing/answering – a being/person/deity who isn’t a real live person standing in front of them who everyone else can see.I suppose it’s at what point do someone’s delusions (if they are in fact delusions) become so much of a problem that they negatively impact other people’s lives or they pose a danger to either themselves or others. Because legally, you can think you get abducted and probed by aliens 👽 every night and especially if you keep that belief to yourself, how does that infringe on anyone else’s rights?I might just add – I live in Australia so I can only speak to the laws here and in the specific state in which I currently reside – legally, you can only be kept in a psych ward here against your will if you are either a danger to yourself or to others. No other reason. They bluff people with that all the time. The day I wrote a letter to the head of the psychiatry department asking about my legal rights and what specific law they were detaining me under, was the same day they released me. Always ask “what are my legal rights?” Always.
yep. all of us “sensitives” and the like, pass through psych wards, don’t we? then one day we break the Programming and begin to respect, honor, trust and love ourselves. we take our own hand and become authentic. it is sometimes a lonely life.
Christine Wabals- certified peer specialist:
Isabel, realizing that this post is dated, last year and understanding, that this comment may not, land in your lap, I thought I would throw caution to the wind, regardless. I find your contribution, a significant one, in answering this question. You experienced much, too much, actually and I am sorry that you had to endure all that. I am, rather impressed with your, ‘matter of fact,’ approach, in relaying, your experiences, as to inform other’s. Good for you!!! You are, certainly, a strong individual, no doubt, AT ALL. I have had a Serious Mental Illness, for over 35 year’s, with the worst of it, behind me. I believe that there is method, in madness, that an afflicted person, has more clarity of sight, to not only see but recognize, it’s peculiarity. In my lengthy history, I did have a few psychotic episodes, brought about by debilitating depression. I always considered myself, a grounded character. I was responding, to dire occurrences, that were very real. I never leaped, over yander, in thought, or behavior, granting me a spectacular, status. Basically, shit sucked and I found it, entirely, genuinely and completely upsetting. Please understand that I NEVER, attempt to be dismissive, to the experiences, of another. I, actually, devoted my life’s pursuits, to help alleviate, the suffering of the population, I belong to, the Serious Mentally Ill….(continuation can be viewed on Quora)
I agree however psychotic delusions can be so horrible, they feel like a kind psychotic emotion. As u say, everyone’s different.
I personally think that is a brilliant way of looking at things don’t sound crazy at all and I agree with you !!!! I think that’s awesome you have such an open mind to look at it that way most people obviously can’t do that best answer I’ve heard on this topic yet and just very smart !!!!
Brandy George-MA political science:
Wow. I couldn’t agree more & just for the record I may not be anybody special although I believe you are. Thank you for sharing I hope to hear more from & about you in history changing manner.
Hey ..I’m sorry to be off topic and doubly sorry to come here throwing goddamn psych labels at you nonconsensually.. but…very big BUT .. I’m autistic myself, I also have been given all kinds of dud diagnoses prior to realising I’m autistic (I never got any formal diagnosis I don’t see the point personally and I believe it’s always a bit of a risk with being involuntarily detained .But so .. maybe u know this already but it sounds like Ur probably autistic…please note that the main reasons I draw this conclusion have zero to do with the formal diagnostic criteria or any other deficit thinking . To the contrary ..the main reasons I feel this is coz I relate deeply to everything u said…and because you show a commitment to understanding and the truth or as close to it as one can get, even if it costs you dearly. And a deep care and sense of ethics and desire to truly understand others without superficial judgemental assumptions and to respect difference as valuable instead of assuming it’s some threat to be destroyed. It’s actions like this (all of above) that apparently freak *some self identified neuro typical /”normal” ppl* out…esp in psych ward environs.. ..the more power they have the more they abuse it “for our own good” or something…..(continuation viewable on Quora)
Petervary Vilmos Tivader- Phd in linguistics and phonetics:
Through my work (medical, but I’m not an MD), I meet many people. I also would say I have profound relationships with about 10 or 15 people. This being said, I am rather sure everyone has had a break with reality which would meet the DSM definition of psychosis – everyone from people who are homeless to people who are CEOs and some who are actors. I think intervention might be needed if the person is not self-aware enough to know they’re feeling or doing things that don’t seem like their normal selves and how long that state lasts. Otherwise, it’s such a vague term that unless someone truly doesn’t know they’re getting a bit off-track, it’s useless to diagnose
Mel Marsh:
-a rare not so positive comment, but I think it’s important that people with varyong experiences are heard
This is why you’re psychotic God is real and no he’s not up there with a long beard that’s a stupid comparison you’re trying to make your delusions and messed up mind normal but it’s not and people are out here getting hurt bc of people that have psychosis and delusional mental made up fake scenarios in their heads ….speaking from experience
2.What does life look like through a person experiencing schizophrenia? (to view the artwork r more comments, head to Quora “Isabel .E”)
1.2 K upvotes. 227 comments. 39 shares
I struggle mostly with suspiciousness(which psychiatry instantly labels “paranoia” ) and sensory overload. During times of heightened stress, I sense and sometimes believe I’m surrounded, watched or followed by people or other beings. I often feel prodded with sights, sounds and touches. It’s overstimulating and overwhelming. I usually question where things are coming from, why they are targeting me or why nobody else can perceive or sense these things. It’s stressful and isolating when nobody else seems to share these experiences. I sometimes startle badly(even causing me to pull muscles in my neck) due to sudden, unexpected and at times unidentifiable sounds or sensing I’m being touched by whooshing air or insects. Although these experiences don’t really scare me and I can usually just brush them off in little time, they do cause sensory overload, in turn leading to being agitated, making it hard to tolerate anyone being around me or talking to me.
When I’m unable to get time alone, to rest , stress continues to rise and I may begin to think all these things are part of a plot to drive me crazy, like some type of psychological experiment is being conducted, testing how I respond. I think there may be an interest in me specifically, because I’m not a Homo Sapien(but another type of human) and I’m considered a threat because of my ability to perceive things that certain powerful people wish to keep secret. I’m never certain of these theories, unable to prove them, even to myself . It’s hard to wrap my head around just what is happening and why. In any case, I never tend to think I’m mentally ill. The more I get labeled psychotic and paranoid or get locked up in psych wards, the more I suspect that’s also part of a plot or a gaslighting scheme.
I know that much of what I sense, perceive and believe is, in the opinion of others, a sign of “mental illness” and therefore I constantly have to put effort into “seeming normal” and only talk about what others think is “normal”. It’s an exhausting and estranging effort, which is why I try to be alone as much as possible, it’s the only time I don’t have to “pretend to be normal”.
Edit 2024; I moved to Spain with my now young adult child(who in the meantime has moved to France) and have been able to remain hospital-free for nearly 5 years. Over the past two years, I completed a memoir about my experiences with the mental health system
Comments:
Jon Shore(pshychotherapist in Italy and Latvia):
As alone as you feel sometimes, know that you are not. There are so many others who have similar experiences and do not know how to cope with them. You are a wonderful person and deserve to experience equanimity and clarity in life. Take care, Jon
Larry Kerson:
I read your story with great interest. You describe a world that is foreign to most, yet you seem to accept and apparently embrace it as your own. Your verbal description is mirrored and expressed through your art. Which is, in my opinion, extraordinarily powerful. I hope you will continue to write about your unique journey, and share the visual expressions you are able to so effectively capture on paper.
Connie Welch:
I too, have a mental disorder & have audio hallucinations. It drives me crazy, I also feel as tho being watched (especially because the voices describe to a T what I cannot see, let alone what I can see while alone)frustrating….They have told me things of which haven’t happened yet. I realize what they were talking about when it comes to fruition soon after.I took an art class in college and my drawings are very similar in story to yours. I find it difficult to draw much because they are critical at times. I find solace in drawing, lowers the stress usually.I don’t share my story because of judgements. I’m a very private person, unless you know me, most of the time.One of them just told me to stop. Sooo, I will say Thank You for sharing. it helped me for the first time to put words out here. Please post again.
Michael Anthony, Psychaitrist in Boston:
Thank you for your answer. It must be so lonely to believe/know the world is unable to understand your truth.Here’s my question: I’m sure you tried “medicine” at some point. What happened and how did you feel when you tried the medicine?
Jiri Kroc, Prague, PHD in Complex systems and Solid State physics.
Please, share more pictures. You are very good at it. Your art is very helpful to others, to understand better 🙂
K.P. Roadkill:
You had my upvote before I saw any pics, but this is truly beautiful, powerful artwork. Thank you for sharing your struggle, which is less strange and more universal than most of us think. Your artwork helps communicate that.
Abby Ragobeer, Canada
Thank you for sharing how you perceive things. I really respect and appreciate this point of view. Schizophrenia is such an intricate disorder and I apologize if it ever makes you feel fearful/ distrusting/ scared. You are a beautiful individual and I’m thinking of you!
Emma Hatzory, Israel
As someone who is beginning to open up to the “crazy” idea that extraterrestrials are here on earth and living among us, I accept your claim that you might be one as perfectly plausible.I do not go around shouting out loud that I believe in extraterrestrials – but it is my quiet belief. One has to be careful who we tell this stuff to.I can understand your nightmare of getting locked up for not complying with what is deemed ”normal” behaviour. How terrifying that must be. Yes, not being understood is awful – I do know that.I too, need a lot of alone time to be myself – I can empathize with that.
Debbie Madison, mother of someone labeled with schizophrenia.
Thank you for sharing you are by far very interesting and for you to be able to write your feelings and thoughts and to even be able to draw them is just genius You are very talented Schizophrenia runs in my family so I do understand what you live every day. I find you amazing. My son is paranoid schizophrenic he has a journal and writes down commercials word for word and writes plays that only make sense to him I think they are great but he keeps that and his drawings private He never shows anyone I wish he would cuz he is very talented like yourself and for you to even write on here is bigger than you know My son has come from not knowing reality to knowing when something is not reality and uses his coping skills. When he takes his medication which isn’t consistent he is more aware of his surroundings and will tell me what was going on when he wasn’t taking it like being afraid to go outside thinking airplanes were going to shoot him Much more aware when medicated I say this in all respect for you that maybe if you find the right medicine you can feel somewhat more relaxed and content I know it takes a while to find just the right one. I wish you all the best you are a very interesting and highly intelligent person Thank you for sharing I enjoyed reading about your life and find your drawings brilliant. Take care
Sharla Osogwin:
Wow!!! I am schitzo effective, Bipolar 1, and have PTSD. Thank you for sharing your story. I offten try to think how to express how I feel and come to a loss of words. I can relate and understand you just fine. As far as im concerned mabey we are the “NORMAL” ones😅. I really enjoy your drawings and would love to see more of them. I would also be very glad to have corospondence w you. You are my latest Hero. Thank you.
Chiron Winter, Chef in Leipzig Germany
I just want to say that you warmed my heart with your answer. i am also always pretending and it uses so much energy. i feel like i always have to hold myself on the lowest level because i fear the kind of person i would be, if i had more money or power than the lowest possible. i have seen that person a few times when i had high paying jobs and im only about pleasure hunting and making more money like a maniac(imagine wolf on wallstreet). Also the pictures of your art really speak to me. i wish i could help you to prove or disprove your theories. i mean they are probably not real for everyone, but who knows. whats certain is, they are real for you and you should have support with them. doesn’t matter what they are in the reality most of us homo sapiens perceive.
I hope you find friends in real life or at least in discord groups, who you can talk to and be without the need of upholding the mask. i found people, whom i let into big parts of my inner depths and it is really pleasant to be myself once in a while (while not being alone).
Celeste Valdex:
Hi i felt so much relation to this post and im really glad i found it. thnk you sm <3, i hate feeling like evrythings got some plot against me and that every word has somr other meaning, oh and im in the bay area too! My first diagnosis was early schizophrenia (at 15) but now im – supposedly -bipolar 1. If you need to someone to talk to, like ever, id really enjoy talking with you.. much love <3 i recognize the strength you had to have in talking about it!
Joel Isong, Nigeria, care provider
Great seeing through your eyes, it helps explain what it feels like. I can better understand a patient I care for.
Spencer Jones, B.S. psychology.
I don’t have a diagnosis for schizophrenia, rather, Bi Polar 1 w/psychosis. But I don’t think I’ve ever related to someone explaining their experience more than what you shared. Thanks for putting yourself out there and sharing. I don’t know what this means for me but I felt comforted knowing I’m not alone. I often feel like an alien that was sent here to observe. But, I also have to assimilate and try to be “normal” it’s incredibly exhausting. I also deal with a plethora of sensory sensitivities and hyper vigilant/paranoid thoughts. I experience visual, auditory, somatic, and ol’ factory hallucinations… what a wild ride it is to live with this brain. Lol.
Julia Zapata, Mental health provider dept of corrections in Florida.
I admire your bravery to share your personal dealings with having schizophrenia. You were so detailed and made it very easy for others who don’t know about this topic, to truly understand how it is. The details of how you feel and the pictures that you produced were so fluid. I hope to see more of your drawings, and I hope others do too, so that we can all be on the same level of understanding. Sending many smiles and hugs your way!!
Erik:
Good god.. I love your art. Gives me a hint of how your mind works just taking it in. I have bit of a different disorder and use art as therapy.. I’m not able to so originally portray the way I feel as you do though.. it’s intense. Best of luck to you and keep your head up.
Kimberly Smith Carlson:
I can say I have been diagnosed with Schizophrenia also and what you have written could almost be word for word my experience of the world. We are simply misunderstood among humans and whats worse is that we are stigmatized and feared by them which is why they try to make us seem less than supernatural. Its also why they choose to hospitalize, medicate, experiment on and torture us instead of understand, assist and celebrate what we have to offer this planet. Schizophrenics have unique talents, abilities and gifts (most of us are exceptional artists like you in some manner) that could help transform this planet into something radically different and beautiful for ALL to enjoy and experience peace. But most humans do not want this…they want to disempower, supress others, play God, and profit off of them for their own benefit, greed and addictions. Schizophrenics have the gift of seeing into and through multiple dimensions and timelines at the same time. And most of us have the innate desire to help others despite having been persecuted and imprisoned physically and mentally by other humans. It is my greatest hope that one day, this plant’s mentally gifted people will be utilized to their greatest potential…which is grounding unconditional love, joy and happiness into its core so we can all be truly free. Tikkun Olam. Peace be with you!
Stephanie Clarke,Wales, personal development consultant.
Wow,Now that is honesty if ever I read it. Can I just say that was very inspirational, well done you!I think your pretty amazing actually. Stay strong x
Philip,Psychaitrist, NHS London.
Thank you so much for this clear and vivid insight into you experience!
Jamie Henderson:
Your drawings are amazing a couple actually put a picture into a presance I have felt all my life. I have bipolar disorder I can’t doodle, / draw but I can put my thoughts into poetry glad you’ve had a nice break from hospital I detest these places and am also having a nice break from them. My names Jamie by the way keep on putting your thoughts on to paper. Brilliant.
Rwethereyet:
Your ability to so clearly describe what you experience is compelling, as is your amazing art. Thank you for sharing so much of yourself in this way. I often feel disconnected and lost, though age has made it less intensely difficult (I’m 66); you are inspiring to me, and I wish you well in finding times of peace and respite – Joyce
Zainab Magaji, Nigeria
Sending you a HUGE hug all the way from Nigeria. I read your vivid description of your experiences with the most fascinating interest. Schizophrenia has always amazed me but despite my long term fascination and years of reading accounts and watching videos of Schizophrenics , no one has ever held up a magnifying glass to the sensory stimulations it causes like you did. At least for me. I am praying for you to find complete healing.
Chuck Cheeck:
Oh my God so there is someone out there that has experienced the same things I have and I thought I was alone. How do u cope with this knowledge and what do u truly think it means? How long has it been happening? When was your frist experience? Dose I get worst? Do u have yo do a sertain thing to activate these events? What do they want? I also really enjoy your drawings. They say more then words ever will. You explained absolutely everything I feel and am going threw. Thanks. Don’t stop shareing
Peter St Clair, Father of a person labeled with schizophrenia.
Well done for sharing! My son has paranoid schizophrenia.. Your drawings are very good and you’ve gave me some insight as to what my son may be experiencing.. Altho I know its diffrent for everyone.. 8 hope you continue to be well.. And wish you all the best!
Margot Wilkes, Australia
I believe that we know when you have a mental illness or whether it’s an external force. Personally I believe that I have a connection with the afterlife and that’s what many people who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia are experiencing . I have had some amazing visual experiences and I also have physical experiences which have been horrendous , some interesting but most very unpleasant. I can converse with the voices I hear and at times it’s quite intellectual though it hasn’t always been that way. I didn’t always have this experience, it stated for me when I was 40 yes old, I originally was very scared , eventually I got some inner understanding of what was happening to me. It’s great that you do art to exspress yourself , I could relate to some of your art work. I just want to say I believe you when you say you don’t have a mental.illness though my experience is that the stress and fear you feel because of what’s happening to you affects your mental state ultimately.
Estella: – A rare not so positive comment- it’s important for people with varying experiences to be heard.
I believe schizophrenia is demonic. I ask that you consider seeking Jesus, as He is our only hope and the only one who can truly set you free. Jesus is coming soon. Take heed
3.How has anyone else lost their children due to you having a mental illness?
147 upvotes, 19 comments
Almost. I had a visit from CPS in the hospital one day after giving birth to my daughter, the hospital had called them because they didn’t think that I could be a competent parent due to mental illness. I was breastfeeding my newborn in the maternity ward when a CPS investigator walked in and told me this. My child’s father, was also sitting in the room. The CPS invstigator watched me hold, breastfeed, coo and rock my little girl and then apologised for the intrusion, saying oit was clear I had done nothing to warrant a CPS investigation. Subsequently any other time I ended up in the hospital for psych issues, whether it was severe postpartum depression or shock and trauma from sexual assault or severe OCD+ psychosis etc, the hospitals have called CPS who checked and soon discovered that my child has never witnessed any crisis. I can feel a crisis coming on somehow and remove myself from her environment then. I always make sure she is taken care of by her dad and other trusted people. I’ve been frightened and threatened to lose my daughter, but CPS and my mental health providers have never agreed that has been necessary or good for my child’s well being.
The trick to not losing your child due to mental illness, is not “being a good parent”. You can be an amazing, super responsible, very loving , attentive parent and still be threatened to lose your child simply because you are labeled with a mental illness and have been hospitalised for your illness( ever if you have never been violent or dangerous toward anyone in your life). What will help keep your child or get your child back, is being able to show a few things:- you are actively and willingly participating in improving your health; your child has other responsible, stable, caring adults in their life who are able and willing to take care of them from the second you can’t – it’s good to show you are in regular contact with these people.
When my child was a little over 1 years old, I also willingly participated in a home visit program with an infant- parent therapist who worked with psychiatric department of the SF General hospital where I had often been hospitalised , she came twice per week to see how things were going , she observed us playing and doing other things; she listened, offered support and suggestions, she was never too intrusive or judgemental. I actually welcomed the support and guidance and she was great with my child.
Child protective servives aren’t generally invested in separating children from a parent(though historically they have done horrible things in this way to Native American people), but they do need to be assured that in spite of your “condition’ , your child is safe.
My suggestion is to ask child protective services or whomever oversees and decides when a child should be removed from a parent in your case, what you can do to get your child back and keep your child. It may feel humiliating at first , but if you truly love your child and want them back, you will be willing to do or at least try anything they suggest in order to improve your chances .
They are doing their job of ensuring the safety of children, they are limited in what good they can do for your child, so the best thing to do is everything you can to prove your child is most safe, loved and cared for with you. I believe they will help you get your child back if you show your cooperation.
They don’t expect you to be miraculously recovered from your mental health cahllenges, as your child is SAFE and LOVED and CARED FOR.
Too many children are in foster care who are not getting many of their needs met, nobody thinks that is best for a child, but it might be the safest option if no family is there to treat the child as well as they should be treated.
I hope you can get well enough to have your child back and take amazing care of your child.
Children are the most precious humans, deserving of unconditional love, care, support,respect, safety.
Vicky Smith, OB nurse
You are amazing!! I wish every young mother who has had mental health issues had you as a mentor. As an OB nurse, I have worked with women with mental health problems & a lot of what I have seen are women that have been beaten down & express feelings of inferiority, who second guess themselves & are easily persuaded that they are not good enough as a parent. Our country & society as a whole have a long way to go in how we treat those that do not fit neatly into designated categories.Thank you for your beautifully written answer.
I agree with you there. I think it’s fair to say that many people with mental illness lack the self awareness that you have. My own mother was raised in a hell and did her best to recreate it for her children. Had she had half the self awareness you did, it would have been a different story. You are very admirable.
I love this answer. My experience with DCS has been positive, I, later still update the case worker I befriended as she has become an ally for our family.
4.How do I cope with schizophrenia? How do I treat people suffering from it?
55 upvotes, 20 comments
I’ll just put in my two cents in here as someone who, by psychaitrists, has been labeled with it.
First thing I want to say, is that almost everyone who gives advice on how to to best treat a person with schizophrenia, doesn’t have “it”, yet believes theiy’re an expert on what we need and want.
Nowhere do I see these people talk about what the person with “schizophrenia” needs or wants, just what they “assume” or “believe to know” that person needs or wants. The reason for this, is that people with a schizophrenia label are rarely asked what they need or want- and if they are asked, their answers are invalidated unless they say what others want to hear and have pressured them into saying, maybe even into believing.
When it comes to being diagnosed/labeled with schizophrenia, people assume that diagnosis means you have very little insight into what you need or want, because most of what you think or believe is flawed and based on things that are not “real”.
Being diagnosed with schizophrenia does not mean lacking intelligence, insight or understanding of “reality”, it means sensing, perceiving, processing and understanding reality as something that is far less limited or linear than most people are open to experiencing or understanding. The majority of people are uncomfortable with the possibility that how they experience “reality”, as it has been “prescribed” to them by society, is artificially limited and that the far larger reality is more than they can mentally handle or control.
From my perpective, most of the struggle with having a schizophrenia label, stems from how others not only misunderstand or fear, but flat out reject my experience of reality, making it impossible to openly, genuinely and safely communicate with others about my experiences, which in turn causes a bigger sense of isolation , distrust, fear, alienation.
People with “schizophrenia” are often treated as a defective version of something they are not and they are treated as something “lesser”.
Assume for a moment, that if a tiger with a certain level of power or authority were to conclude that a striped lion(which the tiger mistakenly believes is a tiger), is defective because it doesn’t act like a “normal” tiger? Convinced the lion is a tiger, the tiger tries to convince the lion that it is perceiving and acting “wrong” , hoping it will decide to act more like a “normal tiger”. When the lion continues to act like a lion, it makes the tiger so anxious to see another “tiger” act so bizarre, that it decides on locking up the lion and giving it drugs to alter it’s perception, brain activity and metabolism, in the hopes it will act less like a lion and more like a tiger. After being locked up and drugged for a while, the lion is mentally and physically sluggish , giving the impression of now being less like a lion, though it’s also not really acting like a healthy tiger , but the tiger is relieved it’s at least not like a lion and lets the lion out of its cage. The tiger coerces and manipulates the lion to, in it’s freedom, continue taking drugs it was fed in its cage, but the lion soon realises it’s not safe to eat those drugs in the wild, because they cause sluggishness and apathy , it can’t hunt, protect itself or mate and reproduce, so it decides to no longer eat the drugs. Then, after a while, the lion starts acting like an actual lion again, it’s not doing anything wrong, it isn’t anymore aggressive or dangerous then a tiger, but the tiger still thinks it shouldn’t be allowed to act like “itself” because it doesn’t fit in well with the “other”tigers, making it uncomfortable- the tigers in charge want all the animals that look like tigers, to act the way they’ve decided all tigers should act.
The lion doesn’t even know it’s a lion , it’s been convinced that it’s a defective tiger, and that it has two choices 1) act like a tiger of it’s own volition with or without eating the drugs or 2) be forced to take the drugs that make it act less like a lion, but also not like a healthy tiger (and if it refuses, get put in a cage until it does agree).
The lion’s wellbeing is in danger whether it does or doesn’t do what the tigers in charge want, resulting in immense distrust, frustration, anger, fear, hopelessness, helplessness.
It’s no wonder that the suicide rate among people with schizophrenia is so high.
The majority of people blame bad things happening with or to people with “schizophrenia” on “not taking the pharmaceuticala”, however they can’t honestly know or say that the bad things would not have happened while on the drugs, many bad things(self harm, harm to others, suicide) happen when people are actually taking the drugs as prescribed- that was the case for me.
As long as people believe the solution to the wellbeing and safety of those labeled with schizophrenia and those around them is antipsychotics, then the people labeled with schizophrenia never need to be listened to or respected for who they truly are and they aren’t considered deserving of being treated well unless they take the paharmceuticals or don’t behave in ways others are uncomfortable with. If being one’s self is not acceptable to others and being on dulling, slowing, sickening drugs everyday severely diminishes the quality of one’s self and one’s experiences, then what?
Far too much focus is on the comfort and convenience of the “majority” rather than on respect, tolerance and acceptance of authentic variances.
P.S. I know that there are some people diagnosed with schizophrenia who feel better on the drugs and I think that is really great for them and there is nothing wrong with taking the drugs because you want to(truly want to, without being under duress and without being malinformed). The fact is, that a large proportion of the people prescribed and taking these drugs, do not feel better, but worse, yet they are treated with less hostility by others if they take the pharmaceuticals, which is at times compelling enough to take them, at least they will be treated with slightly less hostility.
That’s all , my schizophrenic self now needs to stop typing and go cook dinner for my hungry teenager.
Comments:
Loved your metaphor analogy. This is so what I am going through atm. They want me to take the drugs and keep seeing the psychiatrist, but when I stand up for someone or something I believe in, I’m acting like a fool. I sleep too much. I’m lazy. I make bad decisions. So I go off the meds and within two days my head is so busy that I have a constant headache, constant anxiety, irregular sleep, erratic eating habits, panic attacks, and not long after start hearing voices. so I go back on the meds cos I was silly to go off them in the first place. And you must take your meds. so either way I loose. Just like the lion.
All I can say to that is thank you. We do tend to see more then most.
Excellent rendition of my current situation! Thank you for this post!
5.Do padded rooms still exist in mental hospitals?
409 upvotes, 31 comments
I wish they did where I live. Both padded cells and straight jackets seem less terrifying and uncomfortable to me personally than what I’m used to, which is being forcefully / painfully twisted and held down flat on my back by about 4 to 6 people, each nearly twice my weight and having both my wrists and ankles tightly strapped into usually Velcro or hard leather restraints which are locked with a key. As someone who has PTSD from sexual abuse and assault , being flat on my back with my legs spread and arms too far to protect my body, it is very traumatic. I would prefer to be put in a padded cell where I can just curl up in a fetal position or sit on the floor with my knees pulled up to my chest. I also am terrified of the chemical restraints, antipsychotics they give me even when I’ve already stopped struggling and basically have become frozen/ petrified in 4 pount restraints.
The psychaitric emergency services in SF has awful seclusion rooms, just a bed bolted to the floor and a heavy metal door with a tiny reinforced window and awful fluorescent, often flickering lighting( especially with migraines and unable to cover your eyes because your arms are tied down),and a stench of stale urine and vomit. Nurses are supposed to watch you constantly if you are in restraints and/ or seclusion, but I have nearly died from an unnoticed and severe asthma attack while in restraints, I know someone who nearly asphyxiated on their vomit in restraints, I saw a man who had a massive stroke in restraints and had to be resuscitated and my friend developed a blood clot from being in the same position for far too long in restraints. A padded cell in lieu of restraints definitely seems better to me. But I could be wrong.
The reasons I was in restraints and seclusion was due to self injury, non compliance with meds and trying to escape, never for being violent towards others. I developed nerve damage in my wrists from over use and improper use of restraints and so far have needed two surgeries to fix that.
All this in the wonderful state of sunny California- a whole other side to “ California dreamin’ “ and the “Hotel California”- you can check it, but can never leave. Every hospital in California I have been in has been bad in that sense , but some are worse than others.
You would think these situations were horrors from the past , but they are not. Seriously dangerous drugs are often given very quickly( injected if you refuse) in doses that are dangerously high and make you feel sick for over a week, even after just one dose. These drugs have also caused me to acquire Long QT, a potentially lethal heart rythm problem, often brought on by antipsychotics.
I am not a violent person, but when I am being “threatened” or what I perceive as a threat, I try to get away and if people try to stop me when I am that frightened, I struggle, to get out of their grip and that is then seen as dangerous, “combattive”, but if I was not labeled “mentally ill” it would be considered self-defense. I also at times dissociate and scratch my skin to the point of bleeding without being aware and not even understanding that I am supposed to stop, which then also results in being manhandled into seclusion and restraints and being drugged.
I think plenty of hospitals do first try to de escalate things in less severe ways, but with people like me with an “extensive history” of hospitalizations , “psychosis” and self injury which they are aware of, they don’t seem to want to “waste” any time.
Being in restraints and seclusion is painful, terrifying and dangerous, but I’ often treated like I’m immune to it, like it doesn’t hurt physically and mentally. When I’m released I often no longer speak or eat or drink and I just hide in corners of rooms on the floor while I’m usually watched like a hawk. I do nothing, unless I get dissociated or “psychotic” and start scratching myself again- then it all starts over until finally I am mentally and physically so beaten down, that I just nod and then they quickly release me from the hospital before I “ lose it” again, so they don’t have to deal with me anymore.
I have been in hospitals in other states where they don’t use seclusion rooms with restraints, and they first try to speak with you before forcefully or non forcefully drugging you, but rather they have a “quiet room”, which only has soft things in it and is sound proof, and you can sit, roll around, squeeze a stress ball etc and calm down in a humane way. That’s a lot more effective and not re-traumatizing.
Seclusion can be helpful if it provides a calm and safe environment to de escalate, but all too often I have known seclusion rooms to be scary, unsanitary and dangerous, especially when used with restraints( which could be less necessary if the cell was padded).
Comments:
Zuleika Smith,U.K.
It is shocking but true that much of mental health *treatment* remains in the dark ages. I feel greatly for you – and am so sorry that you have had to endure these experiences.
Astrea Ward:
Oh my god, I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I’m not inclined to think back kindly on my own hospitalization but I didn’t think things were THAT bad elsewhere. I’m in the California Central Valley and the facilities here are garbage. I had hoped they would be better in more urban areas but I guess that’s another hope dashed. That’s horrifying. (Hugs)
6.Are you afraid of a person who has schizophrenia? Why or why not?
106 upvotes, 25 comments, 4 shares
Not as a rule, however in all my psych hospitalisations, the most I’ve been assaulted by other patients, had some form of paranoia, often resulting from drug use. They suddenly would believe that I was evil and dangerous to them and thought they needed to protect themselves by hurting me. The scariest thing to me was how confusing and sudden it would be, they would just suddenly say something like “ I know you were sent here to eat me, but I won’t let you”, and then throw a hard and heavy food tray at my head. Or my roommate who I would get along with just fine who had drug induced psychosis, suddenly out of the blue slapped me in the face- when I asked why, she said “ I had to because you had to stop thinking that of me”( no clue what she was talking about).
I myself have been diagnosed with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, and I’ve never physically lashed out at anyone, other than in self-defnse when being assaulted .
Then there is the fact that outside of the psych ward I have been harmed more often by people who don’t have “schizophrenia”, so no, I’m not more worried around people with schizophrenia than people who don’t have any psych illness label.
More often it is people who have been labeled with a mental illness who get harmed, than the other way around.
Plenty of people who are not labeled with a mental illness, definitely are not mentally well, they are just better at hiding it from people who do the labeling, but they are certainly no less dangerous than anyone else.
Comments:
Diane Desmet:
Very true. My son has never struck anyone, yet a man in a condo complex along with his wife assaulted him by hitting him In the jaw. They corralled him in the swimming pool area . My son didn’t retaliate because he is not violent. So sad people are so mean to anyone with a MI. This guy and his wife seem to have problems.
Don’t mean to generalize, but most individuals with schizophrenia are relatively passive. My experience is that they want to feel safe. If threatened, they could act out. That acting out is usually not violent.