On the other hand......there are those that couldn’t lead any kind of life without those drugs. I just finished a rotation at our local State Hospital and was amazed at how many schizophrenics snapped back to reality with their meds. They keep them for 90 days to make sure there aren’t bad side effects....then send most to halfway houses to be monitored for various lengths of time, afterward. The biggest problem is compliance by the patient ...once they get out. They feel alright and don’t think they need to take the meds... and subsequently spin out of control. Very sad.
Absolutely! I also work with the mentally ill. They come to us a mess until we get their meds stabilized. Some return, but it’s because they don’t take their medicine, or do other drugs. Like you stated, these people could not survive without meds.
That fits my childhood best friend's brother to a T. After Vietnam, then a degree from U of M, then a highly successful position as an executive recruiter, the schizophrenia set in...............
He lost his wife, his house, everything. After living on a beach throughout the one summer on into fall and the ensuing winter months, my friend was finally able to get the local judge to issue an order remanding him to the state hospital here in Michigan. This was almost 30 years ago.....
I also remember one time when he stopped taking his meds and showed up at my apartment here in Detroit (he lived 300 miles away in northern Michigan) . This was on a Friday and he said he had an appointment the next day with the French consulate in downtown Detroit..I immediately called his brother who also lived in S.E. Michigan and he came over that evening to help me deal with him.
I will never forget his eyes. It was like he was looking at me but they were completely blank, as if he were staring straight thru me at something across the street. His brother and I ordered pizza for us then Skip left early the next morning.........
My heart goes out to everyone who has to cope with a family member who is suffering from any sort of mental illness.......