[herethennow]

I'm just as about lost as he is... so here goes the story:

3 years ago my friend was depressed. suicidal too. and so he just went to his doc and the doc prescribed him mirtazapine. that's about it, he took it for 1 year plus, felt okay, and went off it cold turkey on his own. no therapy or follow up with doc whatsoever, just a prescription and refills. he dealt with everything alone.

now 2 weeks ago, he's telling me he's NOT feeling the depression symptoms, but at the same time he has the urge to kill anyone he sees. he's currently serving my country (it is compulsory for him to enter the army) and he says the environment there is stressful that it made him become like this. i asked him, what if i was in his view, would he kill me?

he replied with a yes.

i was scared and worried for him when he replied that because he's one of my close friends. he says he's scared of himself now because when he sees something he would think of ways to use it to kill somebody.

i was thinking.. maybe it is a little bit of depression at play.

so should he see a regular GP to get a referral? really worried for him.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by herethennow

I'm just as about lost as he is... so here goes the story:

3 years ago my friend was depressed. suicidal too. and so he just went to his doc and the doc prescribed him mirtazapine. that's about it, he took it for 1 year plus, felt okay, and went off it cold turkey on his own. no therapy or follow up with doc whatsoever, just a prescription and refills. he dealt with everything alone.

now 2 weeks ago, he's telling me he's NOT feeling the depression symptoms, but at the same time he has the urge to kill anyone he sees. he's currently serving my country (it is compulsory for him to enter the army) and he says the environment there is stressful that it made him become like this. i asked him, what if i was in his view, would he kill me?

he replied with a yes.

i was scared and worried for him when he replied that because he's one of my close friends. he says he's scared of himself now because when he sees something he would think of ways to use it to kill somebody.

i was thinking.. maybe it is a little bit of depression at play.

so should he see a regular GP to get a referral? really worried for him.

Im sorry but only he and his military ranking professional can say whether he should see his GP or a psychiatrist..

depending upon where he is stationed the option for treatment at this time may not be an option. example I know someone who is stationed outside the USA, they are on what many call the front lines of defense. there is no treatment options other than the military medics on hand.

one thing you need to know about being in the military/serving your country.. many times it is the correct frame of mind to be constantly aware that you can get shot and so it is a situation where the soldiers must stay in the frame of mind of being a killer, kill or be killed. its part of the training to know and look for ways to kill someone..

what he is writing/telling you may not be a mental problem if his training and situation is keeping him in that be a killer mind set. Yes some people in the military cant always handle being trained killers and being in the kill or be killed mind set thats required when they are serving their country. So sometimes it causes a type of depression that comes with PTSD.

and unfortunately its not up to you to decide whether he needs a GP or a psychiatrist. All you can do is wait for him to decide what he wants to do about this/whether its a problem for him or not. if he really thinks this is a problem for him he can go to his superiors, explain the situation, get medically and mentally evaluated through the military and obtain a medical discharge. its all in his hands.

if he is scared of himself now and what he could do, then if he has to get permission (does he?? ) he needs to ask to see a dr. and explain his feelings. He could be a danger to civilians around him. He obviously realizes he is not himself and is basically saying he needs help without asking for it or doing anything about it himself. it's good you are a caring enough friend to notice. What does he need to do to make an appt?

Originally Posted by amandalouise

Im sorry but only he and his military ranking professional can say whether he should see his GP or a psychiatrist..

depending upon where he is stationed the option for treatment at this time may not be an option. example I know someone who is stationed outside the USA, they are on what many call the front lines of defense. there is no treatment options other than the military medics on hand.

one thing you need to know about being in the military/serving your country.. many times it is the correct frame of mind to be constantly aware that you can get shot and so it is a situation where the soldiers must stay in the frame of mind of being a killer, kill or be killed. its part of the training to know and look for ways to kill someone..

what he is writing/telling you may not be a mental problem if his training and situation is keeping him in that be a killer mind set. Yes some people in the military cant always handle being trained killers and being in the kill or be killed mind set thats required when they are serving their country. So sometimes it causes a type of depression that comes with PTSD.

and unfortunately its not up to you to decide whether he needs a GP or a psychiatrist. All you can do is wait for him to decide what he wants to do about this/whether its a problem for him or not. if he really thinks this is a problem for him he can go to his superiors, explain the situation, get medically and mentally evaluated through the military and obtain a medical discharge. its all in his hands.

EXCEPT his friend said he might shoot anyone, even civilians. NOT a good frame of mind or one I think the military would want ANY soldier to have, period. That is how the wrong people get hurt.

And the point is to see if he can encourage his friend to see a dr., not to decide FOR HIM if he needs one and call to schedule the appt for him. His friend might be beyond making the correct choice to seek medical care without some support and help, plus a push in the right direction, even if that is speaking to his commanding officer first.

Originally Posted by herethennow

so should he see a regular GP to get a referral? really worried for him.

I definitely think you should gently encourage him to see his GP and try to get a referral for a psychological evaluation. If he is scared of himself and of what he might do, and if he is looking at his surroundings in terms of what might be used to kill people, those sound like very worrying signs. Maybe he can get access to some kind of military health care where they may be used to evaluating such signs? (That depends on how the military is organised in your country, of course, but I imagine most armed forces provide at least general health care!) Thank you for looking out for your friend.

[herethennow]

thanks for the replies guys!
urm it is compulsory for all the guys in my country to enter the army for 2 years.. so yes. right now due to his spine problems he's not doing anything military-ish and not able to, just being an admin and a driver-in-training. so the part of holding a grenade or gun is not my worry much.. and i don't think he has PTSD symptoms since it's only been 5 months into his training...

yup the armed forces do provide health care. but it's generally looked down by society because the medical officers there are not on par.. and if one requests to go see the medical officer, they will think that you're trying to run away from your duties so he's scared of that. he's also scared his university would be affected as he scored a place in one of the prestigious universities in my country and one of the terms was to have a good health overall...

i'm really encouraging him to see a doctor to get a referral or did what i did: see a psychiatrist for a free assessment and see the diagnosis and then the pdoc would refer him for follow up.. but he's kind of unsure and i'm kind of unsure too whether there's really an underlying psychiatric problem. but something is telling me yes, coz in this case he's a danger to others, right?

i'm not making the choice for him... it's just that i guess i need assurance that my encouragement to ask him to see a doctor is something valid or not. coz we both looked at symptoms and we know that we're not professionals, but it can't be depression or PTSD. that's the part where we're lost.

It's true that you can't know if there is an underlying problem or not - but if you are worried that there might be, the rational thing to do seems to be for him to see somebody who is qualified to make that evaluation.