[spiritual_emergency]

I'm not certain how many of you might also read in the Schizophrenia and Psychosis topic. There is a mom there who has been struggling to provide support to her adult son without medication. Her choice to support her son's decision to not use medications is because his medication experiences have been negative and the medication compliancy issue has only served to strain their relationship. Options and resources appear to be in short supply for them although she does speak well of her son's current care worker.

In her descriptions of her son's behavior, I think I am seeing more mania than psychosis and for that reason, she might benefit from a better understanding of mania, how it can affect an individual's behavior and ideas for how she can address it with a minimum of stress for both her and her son.

She seems to have virtually no support from family members and her son's father is absent from their lives. I'm sure she would appreciate any words of encouragement or personal insights you might be willing to share.

Her most recent thread is here: My son has been arrested

[ladyjrnlist]

Upon reading this, and based soley on that thread, I would say this is pure psychosis. I know mania causes psychosis, but it doesn't seem, from the posts, that the son has those issues.

[spiritual_emergency]

You would likely have to read a number of her posts to spot the mania ladyjrnlist. Nonetheless, here are the areas where I think others in this discussion area might be capable of offering some insight...

costello: Another approach would be trying to teach him not to act out in ways that violate societal norms - even when he feels completely justified. Simple rules: Don't hit people. Don't walk into the women's restroom. Period. No matter what. The problem is, I doubt that will work, on either the short or long term.

s_e: In the descriptions of your son's behaviors, manic behavior seems to be a more consistent theme. Impulsivity is one of the hallmarks of mania. In some forms it can be admired as a form of refreshing spontaneity or healthy refusal to go along with the status quo. More commonly, it seems to present as a violation of social codes and norms -- everything ranging from behavior that might be considered inappropriate or risque to that which is damaging to self and others.

As always, I think the real experts on an experience are the ones who have had it. Some perspectives from those who have personally dealt with mania and the impulsiveness that may come with it may be helpful for attempting to understand your son's state of mind.

I have a child who has experienced manic states but that doesn't give me a very broad level of experience. This is why I've asked if others might be willing to offer some words from their own experience -- to help flesh out her understanding of behaviors associated with mania.