Tag:

Active Psychosis

I Don’t Know What to Do about My Mental Illness

by Kristina Randle, Ph.D., LCSW December 9th, 2022

I’ve been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and PTSD, and it’s really become difficult to live normally. I’ve avoided treatment because I dislike medication due to past experiences and my last hospital visit didn’t go well, so I’m afraid of the next one.

I’ve just graduated high school a semester early and I intend to start college in the fall, but I can tell that my mental health is getting worse, and my hallucinations are scaring me enough that I feel I should go to a hospital. I’ve been scratching at myself and drinking a lot, even though I used to never drink, and I’m having more mood swings, plus my hallucinations are becoming more frequent and overt, such as quiet voices becoming much louder and more than one voice appearing at a time and tactile hallucinations becoming more painful and common than they used to be. I think I’d be able to go to college if I pushed myself, but I’m worried about what might happen if I do, because it wouldn’t be the first time I was pulled out of school due to my mental health, and I don’t want college to be a waste of money.

I don’t know how to find a good long-term mental hospital, or if my family would even be able to afford one, or if it would even be worth it, but I really don’t know if I’m mentally prepared to go to college either or if I should hold off. I’m worried that if I don’t go to college soon, I’ll never be able to as my health might only get worse.

Do you have any advice for me? I’ve dealt with my hallucinations for a long time, so I think I can continue coping on my own, but I’m worried. Should I go to the hospital, or try to go to college? Or is there another path I can take at the moment? I really hate the idea of taking more medication, and I would probably only be comfortable with taking it in a hospital setting, where I can be monitored and helped with it, because every time I’ve tried to take it on my own I’ve stopped within days. Any advice or ideas would be welcome, and thank you so much in advance and for the work you do here.

There seems to be a gap in your treatment. It seems that you are either managing your own symptoms or in the hospital. You should be regularly attending outpatient treatment in the form of medication checks and psychotherapy. The goal of outpatient treatment is to manage your symptoms to avoid future hospitalizations.

The fact that you are drinking and your symptoms are worsening is concerning. You should not wait until your symptoms are at their worst to seek help. If you need to go to the hospital, then you should. If not then you should be working with a treatment team to manage your symptoms. There are programs that provide these types of services.

Starting college can be a highly stressful time. Symptoms of schizophrenia often worsen during times of stress. It would be unwise to enter a stressful situation when you’re unstable. It would be very difficult to focus on your schoolwork while actively psychotic. It would be advantageous to delay college until your symptoms are stabilized and you are undergoing regular treatment.

If you decide to enter the hospital be certain to discuss outpatient treatment options, with the social worker, before you leave the hospital. Proactive planning could prevent future hospitalizations.

If you don’t go to the hospital, contact your prescribing physician or the staff at the local community mental health center and ask for their assistance with your symptoms. In addition to your doctor, you should be working with other mental health professionals to address all of your needs.

Schizophrenia can be managed with the right combination of treatments. If you have additional questions, please don’t hesitate to write again and I will try to help you in any way that I can. Please take care.

Dr. Kristina Randle

December 9, 2022 0 comment

Boyfriend Had a Psychotic Episode, How Do I Help Him?

by Kristina Randle, Ph.D., LCSW September 8th, 2021

written by Kristina Randle, Ph.D., LCSW

About 5 months ago I met a very special guy. We were both in bad places at the time, neither thinking a deep emotional connection was what we were ready for. Life however had other ideas. The way it began was so organic we just went with it. One year previous he experienced drug induced psychosis. As the days passed we grew closer however, I was experiencing my own pain from an abortion I had had around the same time. Due to these factors, we lived unhealthily for the first few months, never unhappily, just refusing to take proper care of ourselves. It got to a point where I had begun to feel the effects of our (albeit loving and emotionally enriching), physically unhealthy relationship. For a few weeks he backed off and gave me time to get myself together. I thought that he had done the same. Once we began seeing more of eachother it became clear that he had not. He was smoking cannabis every day, virtually anorexic, barely sleeping. For the following few weeks I was there to give him a safe place. He felt unsupported by his family. Things went from not great to worse the past 3/4 weeks. I have been trying to keep him eating and staying away from drugs. The latter proving most difficult. The last time I saw him was right before he had a psychotic episode and was admitted to hospital. Its been a few days and he doesn’t recognize any of his family. I want to help him through this but I’m not sure if I should. I am leaving for university in around 3 months, I think his family think I am a bad influence on him. Have I been selfish by allowing our relationship to become what it has? He obviously wasn’t in a fit state of mind. When we were around each other he seemed ‘normal’. Always happy, laughing and very kind. I’m at a loss as to what to do now, essentially what appeared to be the ‘trigger’ to his episode (if there is such a thing) was leaving my house to go to his own.. do psychotic episodes have ‘triggers’? And if so does that reflect on anything in particular? All I worry is that I’m allowing my emotional involvement to cloud my judgment of what is best for him.

He’s not well. He’s not stable enough to succeed in a relationship. Based on the information you have provided, his psychotic episodes seem to have been triggered by drugs and unlikely anything else.

It’s good that you’re moving away. This relationship is not healthy for either one of you. In fact, your being involved with him might have inadvertently enabled his drug use. As you noted, things became worse when you provided him a safe place to live, away from his family. He was using drugs and there was nothing you could do to stop it. Until he is off drugs and mentally stable for a minimum of six months, you should not encourage a relationship.

The best thing you can do is encourage him to seek professional help. Suggest drug rehabilitation and therapy. If he continues to use drugs, he will, in all likelihood, have more psychotic episodes. Some research suggests that psychotic episodes damage the brain. Proof, they say, is that it takes longer to recover from each subsequent psychotic episode. He needs professional help, now more than ever. Anything you can say or do to make that happen will be of immense benefit to his mental health. Please take care.

Dr. Kristina Randle

September 8, 2021 0 comment

Son Released from Hospital, Now What?

by Kristina Randle, Ph.D., LCSW January 31st, 2021

written by Kristina Randle, Ph.D., LCSW

Hello, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder about 10 years ago, and I am very stable at the moment. I have helped my daughter through her struggles with depression and anxiety. I never expected my son to show any signs of mental illness, because he has always appeared to be so strong and not very emotional at all. He is 19 years old, and after several months of strange, uncharacteristic episodes, he quit his job and walked out. He disappeared and was gone for an entire week while I panicked and did everything I could to find him. I finally got a call from the cops. He was in the emergency room near Atlanta (about 50 minutes from home). He got there without a car, and never called any family member while he was out. The cops picked him up because he was running down the middle of the street in the middle of the night with no shoes on. He was cited for disorderly conduct. He then spent a week and a half in a short term facility. I brought him home two days ago. Diagnosis: psychotic disorder NOS. So now I’m not sure what to do. He has been paranoid, especially with me. He was telling people stories about me wanting to get him thrown in jail. So, my focus now is to get him back on track without too much pressure, because I believe stress had a lot to do with his psychotic break, and I want to make sure he trusts me. I’m afraid if I pressure him, he’ll run again, but how do I make sure he’s taking a shower, and brushing his teeth, taking his meds, ect without sounding like a nag? Because of the episodes in the last few months, he was kicked out of college, completely totaled his car, and is unemployed. He has nothing. How do I keep him from becoming depressed again? I’m also worried about myself. I’ve been hospitalized twice in my life and don’t want to go back because of the stressful situation. What do you suggest?

This is obviously a stressful situation. It’s particularly challenging because your power is limited. You can’t force your son to do things that he does not want to do. Generally speaking, you can’t force people to behave in any particular way.

He’s actively psychotic and seemingly not adhering to any form of treatment. He’s paranoid and the only thing that could cure or eliminate his paranoia, is treatment and or medication. Without medication, his paranoia will probably become worse.

I have three main recommendations. The first is to contact local advocacy groups. The National Alliance For Mental Illness has local organizations in most communities. You can find a local advocacy group in your community by checking their website at www.NAMI.org. Many of the NAMI members are seasoned veterans of the mental health system and may provide you with good advice about how to navigate the system.

The other group you may want to consult is the Treatment Advocacy Center (TAC). TAC is a nonprofit organization that focuses on helping people who have loved ones with a severe mental illness. You can find there website at www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org.

My second recommendation is that you contact your own treating professionals for advice about how to handle the situation. At the very least, they can provide emotional support for you during this difficult time. It’s in your best interest to acquire as much support from friends and family as possible. The more support you have, the better insulated you will be from the stress associated with your son’s problems.

My third recommendation is to contact local mental health professionals, either your son’s previous doctors and/or treatment team or a mental health crisis team. The local mental health crisis team may be especially helpful to you since they can come to your home and evaluate your son’s condition and treat him accordingly. For instance, if they believe that hospitalization is necessary, they can arrange for that to happen.

It is a last resort option but call the police if necessary. If your son is a danger to himself or to others, then do not hesitate to call the authorities. Understandably, you don’t want your son arrested, however, it’s of paramount importance that everyone’s safety is protected. Please don’t hesitate to write again if you have additional questions. I will be glad to help you in any way I can. Please take care.

Dr. Kristina Randle

January 31, 2021 0 comment