Mental illness can effect people in various ways. Most people will be depressed, and will respond to antidepressant medication. It doesn't mean it's not real, or that the person can just snap out of it, it's just not quite as serious, as long as you seek out help of a doctor or therapist.
No to the other mental illnesses, the ones that never go away, and/or effect a persons perception of reality. Bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, and schizophrenia. I believe these mental illnesses are terminal diseases if left untreated. Either the affected person will commit suicide, will become homicidal, or will be lost in their illness; the hallucinations and delusions. Suffering from the illnesses and having insight into your mental status is very difficult. Me personally, I can tell in a relatively small window of maybe a week that I am becoming psychotic. After that, I become lost in delusions and hallucinations, and someone else must make sure I get help. This leads to another question; how do you know when a loved one is becoming psychotic, or severely ill? There are several ways to tell. The person will stop caring about hygiene or grooming, they may not sleep at all, or sleep all the time, they may seem distracted, or may seem to be talking to themselves.They may become paranoid; fearful of something you know is not real;this happens to me every time I get psychotic, and believe me, my wife can tell. They may lose interest in things they used to enjoy. Their sex drive may go up, or go down. They may seem to switch from one idea to another, or speak very fast, and the speech may be strange, like rhyming words when they speak. If a loved one is to the point of having hallucinations, it may be hard to reach them, and their paranoia will probably go off the charts. To someone who is manic, they may be able to hear the voice of God, and he may be giving them some mission, or knowledge, and any person who tries to interrupt this dialogue will likely be met with an agressive response from the sick person. You will likely notice several of these the first time a loved one has to be hospitalized for a psychotic break, if you notice any of these symptoms, take your loved one to the ER or doctor, if they refuse to go call the police; believe me, they will thank you later, and the police are trained to handle a psychotic person.
After you and your family go through this the first time, look for very early signs that your loved one is sick; Changes in sleeping patterns, loss of interest in favorite activities, or any minor paranoia, like thinking someone is plotting against them for any reason. Get them to the doctor at the first signs of trouble. It is easier to stop a break before it gets severe; I have found that for me, every week I am psychotic that no one picks up on (i.e. hearing voices), it takes one to two months to recover my prior functioning. Remember to be patient with yourself or any loved one recovering from psychosis. It takes time to figure out medications that will work, and to recover to a sense or normalcy, and remember, you will likely never be the same again. I hope this help you understand what a psychotic person is going through, and makes you a more capable caregiver for them. So what symptoms have you experienced in psychosis or have witnessed in a loved one in psychosis?
BB
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