Son mentally ill

I'm sorry to hear about your son. But under proper care and medication, he should be fine. I'm glad he is willing to get the help he needs.

My husband suffered from depression. We didn't know what the problem was at the time because depression and antidepressants weren't talked about back then. He also became suicidal but didn't carry through because he knew I wouldn't get his insurance policy if he did! We got the help he needed shortly after, he was put on medication, and he finally got his happiness back. He was kept on the medication as long as he lived.

He had a chemical imbalance and the older he got, the more depressed he became. He was an extremely successful person but yet called himself a louser. But the medication changed all of that so take heart! I think your son will be fine. He has taken the most important step...seeking help

You and your family will be in my prayers.

Sherrine

Hi Debbie,

Glad he agreed to get help..yes, nothing more stressful than when our kids suffer

Try to take some , you, moments

Love and prayers

Lj

Thank you so much, Sherrine, Luvz, and Puppylover, for taking the time to answer. It really means a lot!

Well, we still don't know what's been causing all the problems. Puppylover, just like your son, he doesn't think he needs mental help (sorry you're going through this too. It's awful!) He says he's got "physical anxiety," and since he got my PA to write him meds for depression and anxiety, he won't see a psychiatrist or therapist of any kind. My husband and I both feel that he's doing marginally better, not quite as anxious, starting to communicate just a tiny bit (with us only. He almost never leaves the house.)

He desperately needs to level with someone about his delusions, but he refuses. Since we called 911 a month ago, when he said he was going to shoot himself ("today-tomorrow-next day") he won't discuss them with us, either. He stated that "they" were going to kill him for some awful transgression against God...nothing he did in the actual world, though. He also said songs on the radio were sending messages to him personally So - Schizophrenia? Bipolar? Or, best-case scenario, just a psychotic episode?

When he was in the short-term care facility for 8 days the psychiatrist there started him on an anti-psychotic med. At first he wouldn't take them, but now he is, saying they may work a little. But he's not making the connection as to why they would make him feel better...

I'm imploding again...started writing this too late. Sleep tight, everyone!

Debbie

Hi!

I'm going to give this having-a-life-of-my-own thing another try.

I sure would like to be able to come on here and participate with everyone, but it's such a production. Because my son uses my computer a lot, and the last thing I want is for him to see what I'm writing about him, or even to see the subject line in the computer history. I have to remember to delete everything each time I come on, and remembering is not my strong suite. So I don't come on at all...

Anyway - things are marginally better, at least on the surface. He's on 4 meds, one of which, Ativan, helps a lot with his anxiety, but it's not working as well as it was. I know it's very addictive and they don't like to prescribe it for long periods. He's at an appointment right now with a nurse-practitioner he hasn't seen before. I'd asked if I could go with him, to be an extra pair of eyes and ears, but he said no.

We had hoped that he was starting to realize his paranoia was unfounded, that no one was literally out to kill him for some horrible transgression against God, but no (and he isn't going to open up to any medical people about this.) Apparently, all the meds do is make it easier to live with a bad situation.

So until something gives, I've got to start thinking about other things! I can't change anything by continuing to google every single idea or angle that pops into my head about mental illness. Of course, now that I've said this, some other crisis will probably hit - Just Kidding!!

Debbie

Thanks, Lendi.

Actually, a couple of days ago I did break down and tell the nurse practitioner who he's seen once (the closest he's gotten to a psychiatrist) that he's having paranoid delusions. And then I told him I'd done that. I said something had to give, he's barely getting off the couch anymore. Long story, of course....

But thank you for asking.

Debbie