[teachermon2016]

I'm looking for advice for me, as the mother of a young man having these issues: my 22 year old son is in the midst of his first psychotic episode. It's been 2 weeks so far. He was hospitalized 6 days. They let him out too soon. This episode may have been drug induced, but all signs are pointing to underlying mental illness. I should have seen the signs especially with a history of bipolar in the family. Please let me know if you have any advice for me as the mother of a young man having these kind of experiences.

[Skeezyks]

Hello teachermon2016: I'm sorry you & your son are in the midst of this most difficult experience. The only advice I think I could offer here is, based on my own experience of having been hospitalized twice, I think it is important to have something to do / somewhere to go upon getting out of the hospital. Following my first hospitalization I attended a partial hospital program. The program itself wasn't necessarily all that spectacular. But it gave me someplace to be & something to do at a time when I was otherwise pretty-much adrift. Following my second hospitalization, I simply toughed it out on my own. But at least I had the experience of the prior hospitalization to draw on in order to keep myself afloat. I do think it's important, particularly the first time around, to have something to be involved in so that one isn't simply "floating in space", so to speak.

I see this is your first post here on PC. Welcome to PsychCentral… from the Skeezyks! I hope you find the time you spend here to be of benefit.

PsychCentral is a great place to get information as well as support for mental health issues. There are many knowledgeable & caring members here. The more you post, & reply to other members’ posts, the more a part of the community you will become. Plus there are social groups you can join & chat rooms where you’ll be able to connect with other PC members in real time (once your first 5 posts have been reviewed & approved.) Lots of great stuff! So please keep posting!

[fairydustgirl]

some advice for you as mom....find you a therapist you can talk to for yourself, coping with a loved one with a mental illness is TOUGH. Especially as mom, you are going to take it a lot of things personal that your son does, says, goes through. Because we are mom. My ex husband figured this out after we decided to separate, so many things he had in his mind about my behavior he finally came to realize were not rational choices. It would have helped tremendously had he sought his own counseling from the beginning.

also there is an organization called NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness | NAMI: The National Alliance on Mental Illness They have support group meetings for both family/friends of mentally ill people, as well as, for the mentally ill people (called connections) If you go to the website there is a way to click on your state and resources will come up.

best advice? don't give up on your son but make sure you have boundaries. a therapist will be able to help with this. don't take everything personally that he does or says. don't allow violence at all, zero tolerance. try to make sure you are able to contact his doctors, have your son sign a paper so that you are able to get information from his doctors about how he is doing. because your son will come home from the doctor's office and tell you everything is wonderful when clearly it isn't.

I do wish you the best

[CloserToTheMid]

I feel you, for sure. My daughter presented Bipolar I (with suicidal depression and psychosis) at age 14. She is almost 19 now. She was hospitalized 3 times before it made a difference. The difference was that it took awhile to get the right combination of drugs and that she never wanted to be hospitalized again.

This is very different, though. She was a minor, which gave us a legal of control. She is an adult now and if she ever needed intervention, it would be harder.

My advice is to be patient, help him find the right doctor. The right doctor is the one who can admit when his ideas didn't work and try new ideas...IMHO. My pdoc (same as my daughters) never gives up on me. It's a never ending process of wellness. It also helps to have others involved...I think. The hospital doc may try something that the regular pdoc didn't, etc.

My daughter was taking drugs and drinking a lot. You can't really get good treatment until those are cut out. My pdoc had me stop caffeine, nicotine, weed, and alcohol for more than a year until I leveled out.

Keep us updated. There is a lot of good experience around here. I really hope that he finds relief soon and that you do as well.

My daughter is doing SO WELL now, btw. What a wonderful, wise, happy person she is now.

[bioChE]

I concur that one of the most important things is for your son to stay clean and sober. Without that, it's impossible to separate the MI symptoms from the drug-induced ones. I would encourage him to become involved with a local AA or NA group, and there will be people there who can help keep him on that path.

Keep working with the doctors, and don't give up on him. By far one of the most helpful things is to have supportive people in his life who love him no matter what - even if he slips back into drug use. As his parent I know you're one of those.There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

The suggestion to get counseling for yourself is a good one. Being here on this forum is a decent place for support, but we're no replacement for a competent therapist.

[Victoria'smom]

He needs a therapist, you need a therapist, meds need to be taken at the same time daily. His therapist and psychiatrist need to share notes and work as a team. Is he in school, working, living with you or on his own?