Need help and info on support from families and friends of mental illnesses!??
Question: I have been fighting with my sister, mental health and related departments on , getting support and help for my sister who has been mentally ill for a long time and is not on medication.
Have went to court for a warrant of assessment 3 times. Each time was granted this warrant. However each time the system has failed, either by human error or because of the privacy act law. I need some input and information....any suggestions or avenues of ideas/support will be greatly appreciated.
This morning I spoke with a member of the assessment team in our area to let them know my sister was being picked up again for assessment under a new warrent, this is what she said to me.....Why do you continue it is futile ...she does not want to take medication.....My answer to her was well of course not!.......she does not know she is ill.....this is the whole reason for getting the warrant!
This is just an example of what we are up against! Please Help!
Answers: Praise her for taking her medications, for going to therapy, for getting through a day without blowing up. Stay calm when she goes into hysterics. Find out what she wants in life, not only big goals, but little ones. Work with her on them, rewarding and praising her when she achieves success. Find out what makes her upset, and help her learn to avoid those situations until she has better control over her emotions. Become her ally, make her respect you, prove to her that you understand her and what she's going through, and then reward her for talking to you about her fears about therapy and drugs. Talk more, and you may convince her to get help. She needs you and the rest of her family and friends to get out of this. Abandoning her would be the worst thing you could do to her, and watching her struggle without getting involved is just as bad, because she would feel alienated. Encourage everyone in your family to spend time with her, ignoring her outbursts and praising her normalcy. The climb out of mental illness is LOOOOOOONG and really friggin' hard, and the best way is through family, friend, and psychiatric involvement to the degree that everyone can tolerate. If you love her, give her the gifts of time and patience and faith.
How do you know she is ill? Has she been diagnosed? If so, you may want to get the diagnosing physician in on it. Proof that your sister is a danger to herself and can not be trusted to make her own decisions is necessary in order for these assessments to work. You might also want to ask the judge that is granting you these warrants. If this judge keeps granting you these, he/she must see something that needs to be addressed. Now, if you just think she needs to be on meds and she is perfectly capable of making her own decisions regarding her illness, then you need to stop. The member of the team is right, you can not force her to take medication.
Unfortunately some people are either in deep denial or simply do not want to be medicated. I have known several individuals like this. I'm sorry it is your sister who seems to be one of these people when you so clearly want to help her.
Some individuals simply won't conform to society's standards, and instead choose to live in the netherworld of their illness. But you must at some point accept that as ill as your sister is, this is her choice.
The exception is if she is a danger to herself or others. Then you have every right to intervene on her behalf. But if she is content in living in her illness, you have to come to terms with it.
I am a medicated person with bipolar disorder. I know a huge community of mentally ill. Some who choose to be treated, others that do not. Despite what you say, your sister probably is aware of her illness. It is the only reality she really knows, and it probably is painful for her to be medicated out of that reality.
I wish I could support you more in your endeavor, but I think live and let live is more appropriate in this situation.
The old saying that truly crazy people don't know that they're crazy isn't necessarily true. I'm sure on some level she is aware of her illness, as I was always aware that there was something terribly wrong with me. I exercise my free will by taking meds. But if I chose not to take meds, I wouldn't want anyone to try to force me to do so.
Have went to court for a warrant of assessment 3 times. Each time was granted this warrant. However each time the system has failed, either by human error or because of the privacy act law. I need some input and information....any suggestions or avenues of ideas/support will be greatly appreciated.
This morning I spoke with a member of the assessment team in our area to let them know my sister was being picked up again for assessment under a new warrent, this is what she said to me.....Why do you continue it is futile ...she does not want to take medication.....My answer to her was well of course not!.......she does not know she is ill.....this is the whole reason for getting the warrant!
This is just an example of what we are up against! Please Help!
Answers: Praise her for taking her medications, for going to therapy, for getting through a day without blowing up. Stay calm when she goes into hysterics. Find out what she wants in life, not only big goals, but little ones. Work with her on them, rewarding and praising her when she achieves success. Find out what makes her upset, and help her learn to avoid those situations until she has better control over her emotions. Become her ally, make her respect you, prove to her that you understand her and what she's going through, and then reward her for talking to you about her fears about therapy and drugs. Talk more, and you may convince her to get help. She needs you and the rest of her family and friends to get out of this. Abandoning her would be the worst thing you could do to her, and watching her struggle without getting involved is just as bad, because she would feel alienated. Encourage everyone in your family to spend time with her, ignoring her outbursts and praising her normalcy. The climb out of mental illness is LOOOOOOONG and really friggin' hard, and the best way is through family, friend, and psychiatric involvement to the degree that everyone can tolerate. If you love her, give her the gifts of time and patience and faith.
How do you know she is ill? Has she been diagnosed? If so, you may want to get the diagnosing physician in on it. Proof that your sister is a danger to herself and can not be trusted to make her own decisions is necessary in order for these assessments to work. You might also want to ask the judge that is granting you these warrants. If this judge keeps granting you these, he/she must see something that needs to be addressed. Now, if you just think she needs to be on meds and she is perfectly capable of making her own decisions regarding her illness, then you need to stop. The member of the team is right, you can not force her to take medication.
Unfortunately some people are either in deep denial or simply do not want to be medicated. I have known several individuals like this. I'm sorry it is your sister who seems to be one of these people when you so clearly want to help her.
Some individuals simply won't conform to society's standards, and instead choose to live in the netherworld of their illness. But you must at some point accept that as ill as your sister is, this is her choice.
The exception is if she is a danger to herself or others. Then you have every right to intervene on her behalf. But if she is content in living in her illness, you have to come to terms with it.
I am a medicated person with bipolar disorder. I know a huge community of mentally ill. Some who choose to be treated, others that do not. Despite what you say, your sister probably is aware of her illness. It is the only reality she really knows, and it probably is painful for her to be medicated out of that reality.
I wish I could support you more in your endeavor, but I think live and let live is more appropriate in this situation.
The old saying that truly crazy people don't know that they're crazy isn't necessarily true. I'm sure on some level she is aware of her illness, as I was always aware that there was something terribly wrong with me. I exercise my free will by taking meds. But if I chose not to take meds, I wouldn't want anyone to try to force me to do so.
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