[Queen.A]

FINALLY!!
My husband was involuntarily admitted into a psychiatric hospital in February! he has been there for 2 months plus now and things are finally starting to look good. Unfortunately, his doctor claims he got in a psychosis due to his abuse of cannabis. I doubt this. He is epileptic and has always shown signs of paranoia since we got married 2 years ago. Accusing I, our neighbors and family members of all sorts. Will not get into that now. I have visited him a few times and he is out of the psychosis. We live in Nigeria and access to good medical care is minimal. but, he still believes in some of his delusional thoughts. Well, he finally admits he has a problem and has promised to never use cannabis again. He seems to be back to his old self, apologized for putting us through so much. At the moment, he is about to start psychotherapy.
My questions are numerous, will he ever stop believing the government is after him? Will he have a relapse? Does he have to be on anti psychotics for life?
It's been a really long road and I am just starting to pick up the pieces of our lives. Will I forever have to walk on eggshells where he is concerned? Does he have schizophrenia or bipolar or something and he is being misdiagnosed? Will I forever have to have him involuntary committed or will he after this episode get help when he needs it without putting me through so much?
Will he become ok if he never abuses cannabis again? Can I trust him with money? ( in the past, he spends all our funds on unnecessary things, shopping sprees?) will he quit the many hours of porn addiction? Does all this come with the psychosis or is it just an individual thing?
Endless questions!
But one thing I do know, I will help him get all the help he needs. He is a British citizen and I am thinking we should leave for the U.K when he comes out of the hospital for a thorough physical and mental assessment.
Thanks for taking the time to read this!
Costello, hope you and your sons are doing well? I haven't been here in awhile as I have been busy with the numerous bills et al. X

[costello]

Originally Posted by Queen.A

My husband was involuntarily admitted into a psychiatric hospital in February! he has been there for 2 months plus now and things are finally starting to look good.

This is really good news.

Unfortunately, his doctor claims he got in a psychosis due to his abuse of cannabis. ... He is epileptic and has always shown signs of paranoia ...

Cannabis use does correlate with psychosis - although if there's a cause and effect between them and which way the arrow of causality runs are up for debate.

My son has abused cannabis since he was a teen. He used it in order to fit in. He says he doesn't like it much, because it makes him feel confused. I believe him, because he does get into a muddled mind set easily. He's also very suggestible, so if his friends were smoking he'd smoke too.

He's also paranoid just in his normal state of mind.

We live in Nigeria and access to good medical care is minimal. ...

My son's father is Nigerian - from the south part of the country, Akwa Ibom (speling?) State. He's Ibibio. I visited Nigeria in the summer of 1994 or 1995 to study Hausa. I spent most of the trip in the north in Kano.

Did you know that one of the countries surveyed in the WHO studies of schizophrenia was Nigeria? And the recovery rates were better there than in developed countries.

At the moment, he is about to start psychotherapy.

I think it can be very helpful. The best thing for him, IMO, is to learn to recognize when he's slipping and to learn coping skills.

My questions are numerous, will he ever stop believing the government is after him?

Just curious. Which government is he worried about?

Will he have a relapse?

Probably. Actually I don't think anyone can answer that, but for my son I assume he will. At this point he's had several episodes, so it's definitely not a one off for him. Some people have only one episode then no more. Time will tell.

Does he have to be on anti psychotics for life?

Not necessarily. Some do; some don't.

It's been a really long road and I am just starting to pick up the pieces of our lives. Will I forever have to walk on eggshells where he is concerned? Does he have schizophrenia or bipolar or something and he is being misdiagnosed? Will I forever have to have him involuntary committed or will he after this episode get help when he needs it without putting me through so much?

I don't think anyone without a crystal ball can answer any of those questions. You may have to learn to be comfortable with uncertainty. It's likely he'll learn to cope with his problems and head them off before they get worse. And it's likely that you'll relax a bit over time and that will help the whole situation as well.

Will he become ok if he never abuses cannabis again?

Cannabis won't help. Avoiding it can help.

Can I trust him with money? ( in the past, he spends all our funds on unnecessary things, shopping sprees?)

My son does fine with handling his own money as this point, but he was never one to go on sprees as such.

will he quit the many hours of porn addiction?

Addictions are difficult to break.

Does all this come with the psychosis or is it just an individual thing?

The money and the porn thing sound more like bipolar than schizophrenia to me. My son doesn't really have either problem.

Costello, hope you and your sons are doing well? I haven't been here in awhile as I have been busy with the numerous bills et al. X

He's doing better. I think he was pretty upset at how upset he'd made me. He apologized and gave me some space to recover myself. He even told me he loves me and that he appreciates me and enjoys talking to me. I don't hear that a lot from him, so it was nice. Too bad I had to fall apart to hear it, right?

[Queen.A]

Thank you for your reply Costello. You are a rare gem! Glad to hear your son is doing well.
I am Hausa, from the northern part of Nigeria. Need any help in brushing up your Hausa? Let me know..

My husband grew up in the U.K. From the little information I have from his family, he had his first episode 7 years ago, in the U.K. He showed me letters he wrote to the authorities there claiming the government was after his life.. I reckon because he is a Muslim who had visited Afghanistan in his twenties, he was being investigated. Just a theory I have. Quite possible my theory is false. His ex wife kicked him out in the cold, divorced him, and got a restraining order. He hasn't seen her or his 2 kids since. His mother who heard about his behavior rushed him back to Nigeria. When he got back here, she noticed he was out of it, and had him hospitalized. He is yet to forgive her for doing so.
He was in the psychiatric hospital for 3 months, got out, seemed stable, and he started working for the state government here. He is a lawyer, attended some of the top schools in the U.K. Graduated with honors.
A year later, he met me and we got married. As at a few months ago when he has hospitalized, he lacked insight into his mental state and aggressively tells everyone who will listen to him that I and his mother have planned to lock him up in a mental institution for good. Doesn't help that his parents are divorced and they are both top shots in opposing political parties. He quit his job claiming his father's political opponents wants him killed. Neither me nor his parents believe this to be true. Unfortunately, that happens here sometimes, which makes it hard to convince him.
I read somewhere that teenagers who abuse cannabis are more susceptible to mental illness later in life. Since the brain is still developing. Oh well, he claims he started smoking in his late teens and he has smoked it ever since. He is 45 now.

Glad to hear Nigeria has a good recovery rate. I still want him to see an epilepsy/mental health specialist though. Still searching for one on the Internet.
Luckily, he seemed stable but paranoid when I met him and was so until 8 months ago. Held a job for 3years before quitting and was not on any meds, except for his anti epilepsy meds.
His doctor says he had a relapse because he quit treatment. This treatment is seeing his psychiatrist once a week for at least 2 years. And staying off street drugs (cannabis)

His doctor says also, that his problem is mainly psychological?? Thought all mental issues are psychological? Well, he had only one brother- a younger brother who was very close to him and he died about 10 years ago. People told him his brother was poisoned. His cause of death is still unknown. My husband has been very paranoid since.

But, it's also possible he has been living with a mental illness since his teens and no one noticed. He grew up with his father who sent him and his brother to the U.K at the age of 7 in care of a white woman who was paid to raise them. They grew up with her until my husband turned 16.

I just hope himself and everyone else out there with mental issues find some stability and get well soon. It is a difficult road for them and their loved ones.

[Queen.A]

IMO, I think the recovery rates here are higher because all it requires for a family member to hospitalise a sick person is to pay the crisis team of the government hospital to have them pick up the sick person.
To have my husband picked up, I called the crisis unit, paid them about $200 and the next morning, they waited in front of our house disguised as cops. They told him he was wanted at the police station. My husband put up a fight but they (4 in no) slammed handcuffs on him, took him to the hospital and injected him with a sleeping pill immediately. While I later came in and gave a report later.
He escaped after a week! Called them back, had to pay again! And he was picked up again and put in a ward called the "lock down".
He was forced to take medications by telling him if he did, he will go home in 3 months, and if he refuses to take them, he would be handed over to the cops or he would be kept there for a year! The choice is his. He chose the latter. But not wit out threatening to sue them for kidnap! He is a lawyer, but forgets this isn't the U.K. This is Africa! Hehe
There is zero tolerance for the mentally ill here. Provided they have someone willing to sign them in and pick up the bills.
The bill is about $200/month. Exclusive of meds. Luckily, the hospital is a 30minutes drive from our home, so I take dinner to him whenever I can. 2-3 times a week.
He will not be released until he is stable or until I sign him out. Simple as that. Initially, he used to ask me to sign him out, but now when I go, he thanks me for taking him in, picking up the bills, bringing him meals (the hospital food is nothing to write home about). And he apologizes for putting me through it all.
Oh well, that's our story. I just hope he doesn't come out and kick me out of his life for doing the right thing. And if he does, no problem, I'll move on with a broken heart, but knowing I did a good/right thing. No way I was going to leave him in his psychotic state. I would never have lived happily with myself. When my husband is okay, he is the best husband in the whole wide world!!

By the way, one of our top footballers in the country passed away today. Age-48. Was living with BP. Kicked his wife out several years ago. Refused treatment and lived in isolation until his death. Nothing has been said regarding the cause of death. Win some, lose some!

[Queen.A]

Quote-Costello

He's doing better. I think he was pretty upset at how upset he'd made me. He apologized and gave me some space to recover myself. He even told me he loves me and that he appreciates me and enjoys talking to me. I don't hear that a lot from him, so it was nice. Too bad I had to fall apart to hear it, right?
*********************
That's such a nice thing to read. Glad you have some space to recover yourself. With your knowledge, insight and big heart, i know you and your son will be well. I constantly tell myself that if Costello can make it, I too can. You dont know how much reading your posts means to me.
Sorry about falling apart to hear him express gratitude, appreciation and love. I think it's called 'it comes with the job' *wide smiles*
Thank you for taking care of me too Costello. Your posts on psych central gives me hope.. X

[venusss]

My husband grew up in the U.K. From the little information I have from his family, he had his first episode 7 years ago, in the U.K. He showed me letters he wrote to the authorities there claiming the government was after his life.. I reckon because he is a Muslim who had visited Afghanistan in his twenties, he was being investigated. Just a theory I have. Quite possible my theory is false. His ex wife kicked him out in the cold, divorced him, and got a restraining order. He hasn't seen her or his 2 kids since. His mother who heard about his behavior rushed him back to Nigeria. When he got back here, she noticed he was out of it, and had him hospitalized. He is yet to forgive her for doing so.

So... the thing with Afghanistan actually happened?

It might be partly PTSD behaviour in that case... and this aspect should be adressed... training it as mere delusion will not help if he does have actual bad experience with authorities.

[costello]

I'm so frustrated. I just typed a very long response to you, Queen, and the stupid system logged me out while I was composing it. Now the whole thing is lost.

This is not the first time this has happened to me. I have got to stop writing the long responses!

[costello]

Originally Posted by Queen.A

He grew up with his father who sent him and his brother to the U.K at the age of 7 in care of a white woman who was paid to raise them. They grew up with her until my husband turned 16.

Ok, let me try responding in smaller chunks.

I posted an excerpt from a book some months ago about the increased risk of sz in immigrants - particularly where the immigrant is coming to a country or culture where he or she stands out in some way. I'll see if I can find the post.

My son was raised in a white family with no contact with his dad or dad's family. He has huge issues surrounding race. In fact his first episode was mostly a fear that people were trying to kill him because he's black. He kept saying there were no other blacks in town - which isn't true. He said people erroneously believed he had made a white girl pregnant, and they were angry with him, and that the girl's older sister had arranged for him to be hurt or killed.

I finally convinced himself to check himself in the hospital to hide from this perceived danger. He was terrified.

Edited to add: The link to that book excerpt regarding sz and immigrants: http://forums.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=195044

[costello]

Originally Posted by Queen.A

From the little information I have from his family, he had his first episode 7 years ago, in the U.K. ... He is 45 now.

That would make him about 38 at the time of his first episode. That's really unusual as I'm sure you know. Most first episodes for males are late teens or early 20's. The good news is that later first episodes are predictive of a higher recovery rate.

[costello]

Originally Posted by Queen.A

He showed me letters he wrote to the authorities there claiming the government was after his life.. I reckon because he is a Muslim who had visited Afghanistan in his twenties, he was being investigated. Just a theory I have. Quite possible my theory is false.

My son says that paranoia is very easy to understand. He says that paranoid people have had bad things done to them by other people. They know that other people can hurt them, because they've already been hurt, so they fear being hurt again.

One of the "recovery" stories I've read concerns a man who got involved in politics in some way. (Can't remember the details anymore.) His opponents were using some pretty underhanded tactics against him. He began to feel very fearful, and he went around telling people what "they" were doing to him. Eventually he was hospitalized as a paranoid sz.

Apparently he had overreacted somewhat to the threat to him, but the threat was real. It wasn't a delusion.

[Queen.A]

QUOTE Costello

My son was raised in a white family with no contact with his dad or dad's family. He has huge issues surrounding race. In fact his first episode was mostly a fear that people were trying to kill him because he's black. He kept saying there were no other blacks in town - which isn't true. He said people erroneously believed he had made a white girl pregnant, and they were angry with him, and that the girl's older sister had arranged for him to be hurt or killed.
**************************************************************

No way! Husband and his brother were put in an expensive school in Kent, U.K. Mainly white kids. Who he claims were not very friendly to him or his bro. His parents had a rough divorce which resulted in his father gaining custody of the boys ( hubby and his bro) and their mother took their sister.
His father took them to the U.K to ensure his mother never saw them again. He told the school their mother was deceased. Poor kids.
He is a hero though, forging ahead to become a lawyer and doing his masters. He fell in love with a German girl and after dating her for 7years, her father and brothers said he wasn't good enough for her and she left him for a white guy. This has all been confirmed by his mother who only reunited with her sons after 17 years. My husband was 24. She met the German girl at some point, not sure when.
He left with a few friends on a tour of the middle east, which included Afghanistan. After 9-11, I suspect the U.K authorities were taking security measures and that just threw my husband over board. He was taken in for questioning, his phones were bugged etc. He got in an episode- his first, (as far as I know) which led to his divorce and his moving back home.

It didn't help that during his interrogation, he was diagnosed with kidney stones, had 2 operations, and was put on heavy meds. I heard he got so paranoid he fought cops how walked too close to him on the streets accusing them of trying to kill him.

I write this with tears and wonder why life has to be so hard and unfair to some people. Meeting him, falling in love with him, has made me value my relatively easy life so far. I'm from a very loving home.

I just want to help him. I read everything I can on mental illness, everything. My family think I should leave, but I know it will take much more than mental illness to make me leave someone who obviously needs all the help he can get.

He once said to me at the hospital, "sweetness, if you believe I have a mental disorder, then I believe i do. Because I know you will never lie to me. For you, I promise to do everything I can to get well"

I think mental disorder amongst black kids in the U.K is relatively high, compared to other developing countries.. Don't take my word for it, I'm still researching it.

[costello]

Originally Posted by Queen.A

His mother who heard about his behavior rushed him back to Nigeria. When he got back here, she noticed he was out of it, and had him hospitalized. He is yet to forgive her for doing so.
... As at a few months ago when he has hospitalized, he lacked insight into his mental state and aggressively tells everyone who will listen to him that I and his mother have planned to lock him up in a mental institution for good.

Forced hospitalization is very traumatizing. It's not surprising he'd feel angry about it and fear it. I understand why your MIL had her son hospitalized like that. Most of us aren't prepared for one of our loved ones having a psychotic breakdown. It comes out of the blue with no warning. You're stunned and frightened, and you don't know what you should do. You just want to get "expert" help as fast as possible.

Personally I would do anything to avoid getting the police involved with my son or having him involutarily hospitalized ever again. He has experienced a huge amount of trauma from these incidents, and almost all of it was totally avoidable. I think he spends more time dealing with the trauma inflicted by the mental health system than he does coping with the original problems.

I don't know. At this point in my and his journey it would have to be a very very serious situation to get me to call the police. It solves the original problem but creates a bunch more. I'm not saying 'never again' but the threat level would have to be very high.

[Queen.A]

Originally Posted by VenusHalley

So... the thing with Afghanistan actually happened?

It might be partly PTSD behaviour in that case... and this aspect should be adressed... training it as mere delusion will not help if he does have actual bad experience with authorities.

*******************^*****

Thanks for your post VenusHalley, he did. And that's why i'm not sure he's getting the best treatment here. So far he hasnt been diagnosed with any disorder other than 'drug induced psychosis'... Over here, they just pump you with anti psychotics for 6weeks and psychotherapy for another 6weeks, and tell them to stay off street drugs. They also will tell the next of kin, in his case me to call the crisis unit if I think he isn't okay.
Then the process will repeat itself again.

[costello]

It sounds like your husband has suffered multiple traumas in his life. Just these few posts include separation from parents at a young age, being raised in by strangers in a hostile environment, physical illness, forced hospitalization, death of a sibling, possibly actual government surveillance, etc., etc., etc.

I don't wonder he's paranoid. I might be too.

Like you, I've been lucky enough not to have suffered trauma in my life. Two parents married to each other. Stable home and family with adequate income. Good health for me and all my family. No crime victimization.

I mean I can take for granted that life is safe, because it pretty much always has been.

[Queen.A]

Originally Posted by costello

Forced hospitalization is very traumatizing. It's not surprising he'd feel angry about it and fear it. I understand why your MIL had her son hospitalized like that. Most of us aren't prepared for one of our loved ones having a psychotic breakdown. It comes out of the blue with no warning. You're stunned and frightened, and you don't know what you should do. You just want to get "expert" help as fast as possible.

Personally I would do anything to avoid getting the police involved with my son or having him involutarily hospitalized ever again. He has experienced a huge amount of trauma from these incidents, and almost all of it was totally avoidable. I think he spends more time dealing with the trauma inflicted by the mental health system than he does coping with the original problems.

I don't know. At this point in my and his journey it would have to be a very very serious situation to get me to call the police. It solves the original problem but creates a bunch more. I'm not saying 'never again' but the threat level would have to be very high.

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Thank you Costello,
I too do not buy the use of cops. But in my husbands case, no one told me he had a disorder. But in fairness to his parents, they just assumed he was 'a bad boy' doing street drugs and misbehaving. They are somewhat mad at him. But we didn't use the cops, we used the government hospital's crisis unit who disguised as plain cloth cops to get him to go with them. Even at that, he fought and struggled. He is quite strong and works out at the gym at least 4 times a week.

[costello]

Originally Posted by Queen.A

*******************^*****

Thanks for your post VenusHalley, he did. And that's why i'm not sure he's getting the best treatment here. So far he hasnt been diagnosed with any disorder other than 'drug induced psychosis'... Over here, they just pump you with anti psychotics for 6weeks and psychotherapy for another 6weeks, and tell them to stay off street drugs. They also will tell the next of kin, in his case me to call the crisis unit if I think he isn't okay.
Then the process will repeat itself again.

Actually I think I would have preferred that treatment.

In fact after my son's first episode, he firmly rejected all medication, treatment, and labels. He found a job - while he was the midst of the episode. I remember he was hospitalized after his first week on this job. I called him in sick for the three work days he missed. I told them he had the flu.

Anyway the psychosis eventually released its grip on him and he went on for another 2 and a half years, working that job, maintaining an apartment, going to school, etc., before the next episode hit. After that one the mental health system got a tighter grip on him.

I wonder if the short-term treatment model isn't best in many ways. Just get people stablized and back to their lives. The real medicine is friends and work.

[costello]

Originally Posted by Queen.A

But in fairness to his parents, they just assumed he was 'a bad boy' doing street drugs and misbehaving.

I think a lot of people assume that. Actually I wonder if a lot of parents might not prefer that. Mental illness sounds so grim, and you don't know what to do about it. At least if the problem is caused by drugs, you do something about it - stop the drugs.

I remember thinking that same thing when my son came back home to me in November 2010. I knew he'd been abusing marijuana really bad. I thought I'd just wait until the drugs had completely cleared his system then see where we stood. Months went by and he was still wandering around in a daze telling me my dad's ghost was in my basement and there were grappling hooks hanging from the living room ceiling. Believe me, I would have rather it was the mj.

They are somewhat mad at him. But we didn't use the cops, we used the government hospital's crisis unit who disguised as plain cloth cops to get him to go with them. Even at that, he fought and struggled. He is quite strong and works out at the gym at least 4 times a week.

I guess the cops are the government crisis unit here.

[Queen.A]

Originally Posted by costello

I'm so frustrated. I just typed a very long response to you, Queen, and the stupid system logged me out while I was composing it. Now the whole thing is lost.

This is not the first time this has happened to me. I have got to stop writing the long responses!

****************

Sorry about your system messing up your unfinished posts.

Hey, I'm due to meet with his doctors to discuss his progress tomorrow. Do you think I should go with my iPad and have him read this thread? Will it help? The doctors here couldn't care less what I say to him or show him. He seems very very stable now and do not want to upset him in anyway.
He is a nice guy and hardly gets upset. I'm usually able to talk to him about just anything. He knows I joined some sites on mental disorders and has asked me in the past to let him read some posts which I declined.
Does your son read some posts and what is his reaction when he does? Thanks.

[costello]

Originally Posted by Queen.A

IMO, I think the recovery rates here are higher because all it requires for a family member to hospitalise a sick person is to pay the crisis team of the government hospital to have them pick up the sick person.

What about people who are confined on the word of their family who aren't actually ill? Is there any due process?

To have my husband picked up, I called the crisis unit, paid them about $200 and the next morning, they waited in front of our house disguised as cops. They told him he was wanted at the police station. My husband put up a fight but they (4 in no) slammed handcuffs on him, took him to the hospital and injected him with a sleeping pill immediately.

That sounds terrifying. When my son has been arrested, the police have always been as respectful as possible. And my son still has painful memories.

[costello]

Originally Posted by Queen.A

Do you think I should go with my iPad and have him read this thread? Will it help?

I don't know. I don't know him, so I wouldn't be able to gauge how he'd feel about it.

Does your son read some posts and what is his reaction when he does? Thanks.

No, he never does. He just isn't interested at all in talking about his problems with other people.

[Queen.A]

Originally Posted by costello

What about people who are confined on the word of their family who aren't actually ill? Is there any due process?

******************************

Intelligent question! I too have asked myself the same. I was very confused when he was first taken in. He kept on telling me he was okay and it's just his mum trying to ruin his life by tagging him mentally ill. He begged me to sign him out, which I had the right to do. But on second thought, I remembered the things he had said to me about his past and what he has been through. I also remembered his irrational accusations, him knocking on our neighbors doors with baseball bats at nights accusing them of trying to sleep with his wife (me), him being arrested a few times for misconduct and fighting innocent people on the streets, and honestly, I just knew this wasn't the man I fell in love with. I told him I believed him, but I think he needs help quitting the cannabis. So he needs to stay and get treated for that (a rehab kinda) Still, he escaped after a week.
I guess for first timers, they will do some mental evaluation. That's my guess. But he has been hospitalized there before (when my MIL had him hospitalized) that was when he got back back from the U.K 5yrs ago. I hadn't met him then.
I honestly do not believe there's a due process, I see people who are brought in whilst I'm there simply given a shot and taken in. There really isn't a due process for anything here. Sad. Most patients there are diagnosed "drug induced psychosis", especially when they show signs of aggression/violence. That's why I'm still worried about my husbands diagnosis. His doctors are assuring me once he stays off mj, he will be fine. After everything I know now about mental illness, I'm hopeful, but not convinced!
The whole episode caused a lot of family problems because I was confused at some point and my MIL accused me of not wanting her son to seek treatment. Just because i was asking her and my FIL alot of questions about him. Oh well, now he's admitted to his doctors he has a problem. And has since apologized to his parents too.
The first time he was taken in, 5yrs ago, he didn't admit to having a problem. So this is a first. My next step is to get him to give me/doctors access to his medical records in the U.K. I suspect his doctors there will know more about his condition than we do.

***********************
That sounds terrifying. When my son has been arrested, the police have always been as respectful as possible. And my son still has painful memories.

**********************************

I think with mental disorders, environmental/societal factors play an important role. Whilst being in there, he has seen other patients brought in through worse means. Plus his psychologist made him understand we did what we had to do. It was either he has taken in or his wife would leave him, his mother abandon him, and he will be arrested, charged to court and jailed. Frankly, he had been in a psychotic state for way too long, over 6months. He had beat up people and ended up in the police station, slept there overnight and his parents have had to bail him out a few times. We did what we had to. We used the option available to us. He lacked insight and now I'm just glad he's coming through.
In our society, certain things are considered abnormal. A well educated man of 45 from a well to do home, cannot be seen fighting on the streets and disturbing the peace. The family will be frowned upon for not getting him help, albeit with force. We would be accused of trying to ruin his life or using his sanity for diabolical gains, money. Even I can be accused of driving him crazy!

The stigmatization on mentally ill people is terrible in Africa. He worries now that no one will employ him etc. I have told him we could move to another state if that will ease his worries. He thinks it will.
For now though, it's one day at a time.....

[Queen.A]

Originally Posted by costello

My son says that paranoia is very easy to understand. He says that paranoid people have had bad things done to them by other people. They know that other people can hurt them, because they've already been hurt, so they fear being hurt again.

One of the "recovery" stories I've read concerns a man who got involved in politics in some way. (Can't remember the details anymore.) His opponents were using some pretty underhanded tactics against him. He began to feel very fearful, and he went around telling people what "they" were doing to him. Eventually he was hospitalized as a paranoid sz.

Apparently he had overreacted somewhat to the threat to him, but the threat was real. It wasn't a delusion.

You are right. I think my husband mostly just over reacts to what people say and do around him. His psychosis came from many months of being extremely paranoid. And he had no one to talk to or listen to him. He used to tell me, but I used to shrug it off telling him he is foolish to believe such nonsense. Now I know better and will listen and help him overcome his unwarranted fears. That brings up the use of cannabis. Cannabis makes the user paranoid, albeit until the high wears off. But when constantly abused, this will only make the user round the clock paranoid...yes? I think so, seems logical enough.
Perhaps his doctors are right after all, quit the cannabis and he will be well. I just hope it hasn't permanently damaged his way of reasoning/ thinking..
It can also make the user delusional whilst high.
My husband was not on any meds for 3years but was using cannabis. Right at about the time he got in a psychotic state, he was abusing it heavily.

[Queen.A]

Originally Posted by costello

Actually I think I would have preferred that treatment.

In fact after my son's first episode, he firmly rejected all medication, treatment, and labels. He found a job - while he was the midst of the episode. I remember he was hospitalized after his first week on this job. I called him in sick for the three work days he missed. I told them he had the flu.

Anyway the psychosis eventually released its grip on him and he went on for another 2 and a half years, working that job, maintaining an apartment, going to school, etc., before the next episode hit. After that one the mental health system got a tighter grip on him.

I wonder if the short-term treatment model isn't best in many ways. Just get people stablized and back to their lives. The real medicine is friends and work.

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It sure works for most people with mental disorders here. Like I mentioned earlier, it's zero tolerance for it. I know my husband will do all he can for him never to be taken in again. It is very humiliating. We first took him to an expensive private hospital. He was there for 3 weeks and refused treatment. Threatened them with law suits if they forcefully administer meds. The hospital discharged him because they were scared he may not make it. He was very paranoid and had a blood pressure of over 170/can't remember. It was dangerous and I was scared too.
The government hospital are not scared of law suits and can pretty much do whatever they want. All they need is a statement of drug abuse from a family member or evidence of repeated abnormal behavior, and they will commence treatment. D*mn any lawsuit! Lol

[costello]

Darn it! I lost my message again. You'd think I'd learn, wouldn't you? Let me try again.

Originally Posted by Queen.A

In our society, certain things are considered abnormal. A well educated man of 45 from a well to do home, cannot be seen fighting on the streets and disturbing the peace. The family will be frowned upon for not getting him help, albeit with force.

Same here on both counts. But people still have civil rights. Care should be taken before confining someone and forcing treatment.

We had a woman right here in my state who was confined to a mental hospital for many years. She was an Indian from a mountainous area in Mexico. No one here knew her language, and she only spoke a little Spanish. When she said she came from the sky, they thought she was delusional. And this was very recently. She was released from the hospital in 1995 or 1996.

Rita Patino Quintero was placed in Larned State Hospital in 1983. She didn't leave there until 1995, after officials discovered her behavior and language were not symptoms of mental illness, but characteristics of her culture the little-known Tarahumara Indian tribe.

http://www.indigenouspeople.net/tarahum1.htm

http://ca10.washburnlaw.edu/cases/2000/11/99-3258.htm

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2000/de...million_claim/

The stigmatization on mentally ill people is terrible in Africa. He worries now that no one will employ him etc. I have told him we could move to another state if that will ease his worries. He thinks it will.
For now though, it's one day at a time.....

Same here, but probably worse there.

I have a coworker from Uganda. She has a lot of pity for my son, but when I ask her about mental illness in Uganda, she clearly doesn't want to talk about it. She says it's believed to be caused by witchcraft and is treated by traditional healers.

[costello]

Originally Posted by Queen.A

And he had no one to talk to or listen to him.

That's an important key for my son too. He begins to isolate and has no one to talk things over with, so he retreats further from reality.

He used to tell me, but I used to shrug it off telling him he is foolish to believe such nonsense. Now I know better and will listen and help him overcome his unwarranted fears.

It's important to listen and try to understand. But sometimes my son really just wants to hear me say, "You're mistaken." At this point he trusts me enough to believe what I say. It took a long time to get that trust though. Paranoid people really don't trust easily.

That brings up the use of cannabis.

The only thing I'm sure about with pot is that it makes my son worse when he uses it.

My husband was not on any meds for 3years but was using cannabis. Right at about the time he got in a psychotic state, he was abusing it heavily.

I think I asked you this in that long post that I lost yesterday: You said something about epilepsy and antiseizure medication. Then you said he'd quit his treatment. I wasn't sure if you meant he'd quit his epilepsy medication.