I would love to see quiet areas in ER waiting rooms or a social worker who could offer support immediately after check-in. Paranoia, hallucinations or delusions can worsen in the chaos of a waiting room, even if the patient came willingly to the hospital.
As a new RN I appreciate this video, it’s essential that as healthcare providers we are providing care that is holistic and person centred. Admittedly there are times when a patient is in a crisis, that I struggle to remember the person behind the presentation. This is even more difficult when you’re being threatened, yelled at, or patients are trying to hit, spit, and attack you. I’ll definitely continue to seek education about navigating this space. Thank you for providing this insight
That can be very difficult. My best advice would be to make sure you're safe, and them, but if you can, take a moment to think about what life looks like through their eyes. If their world looks like they are being kidnapped by aliens and you just so happen to be the alien in their delusion, just breathe and treat it like that is their reality. It's not true. You're trying to help them, but in that moment, their reality IS that they are being kidnapped by aliens. If you were being kidnapped by aliens, how would you react? In that mindset, you might find that to them, their actions are totally reasonable. What can be hard to grasp is that your patients' reality and your reality can be entirely in opposition and still be entirely valid. It's important to recognize that. It's difficult because the hospital does not give you enough leeway to make specific calls that might help address the situation. The goal would be to make use of this kind of radical acceptance of their experience to alter your interactions to calm them down. I work with reptiles. I work with their brains to socialize them. It's a very similar process. Some people are like mangrove snakes. The world they experience is one where everything is out to get them, and when they get triggered, they come in swinging. When i handle mine, i first and foremost make sure I'm safe, but i acknowledge his experience of me as a monster who wants to eat him without taking it personally and without loosing sight of the fact that he's just a little dude, and he's terrified. When i can assure myself that I'm safe, i use de-escalation methods to help return him to normal. And sometimes that's not possible, and that's a shame, but that's just how it is. In a perfect world, when someone goes into the ER for mental health needs, they will have been treated with respect the whole way there. The police officers and paramedics, social workers, and whoever else it is they've encountered would have been able to provide that person with the environment and comfort that they needed to manage themselves before being pushed over the edge into a full on carnal panic. Unfortunately, 9 times out of 10, that is nowhere near the case, and when you receive a patient, that person has been unintentionally harassed in so many ways on their trip to the hospital. With endless questioning, detainment, things happening to their body and their experience that they didn't say yes to, the experience of having their personal power taken away, (which is very triggering for ALL people struggling with mental illness) and goodness knows what else. By the time you get them, they're like a soda bottle that's already been vigorously shaken up. It's important to treat them like a person. Give them some power back. Give them a way to reregulate THEMSELVES if they are still sorta lucid. Make that damn mental ward look less like a prison cell. I get that there can't be anything the patient can use to hurt themselves with, but the lights can turn on and off in accordance to a normal day night cycle. Windows can be made safe. There ARE certain comfort items that can be provided to patients without excessive risk. These things are natural medicine for those suffering. The walls can be something other than grey/white oml. Lighting can be something more soothing than fluorescent lighting. In a perfect world, that would be a no-brainer. Provide comfort everywhere possible, preserve as much of their dignity as possible, keep both of you safe, and treat them like a human going through one of the hardest moments in their life, because that's what they are. When my mangrove is uncontrollable, what i do is i provide him with comfort items. Places to hide and be in darkness. Then he calms himself down. All humans are animals at the end of the day . The techniques do overlap quite a bit.
Safety is the most important thing, yours and the patients. You can't feel safe and react compassionately if you are feeling threatened. As a mental health patient and a social worker, I know how it is when you always have risk in the back of your mind. I can only encourage you to try to keep your cool, mirror neurons are real!
"They are not their mental illness..." Excellent point. My daughter is currently in a mental health care facility, hopefully soon moving to a group home. She has schizoaffective disorder, but she is not a schizoaffective any more than someone suffering with schizophrenia is a schizophrenic although they get labelled that way. Their disease affects them but does not define them.
The subject brought to mind, I had a roommate who was diagnosed with something one of the symptoms could be promiscuity. She herself didn't have that symptom and the person treating her insinuated that she was lying. Saying they thought it was odd she has all the other symptoms except this one. All it did was push her away.
Yes, this is a real problem, a part of the corrupted system that is hiring their friends and people that are not qualified. Only to give them😢😢😢 secure salary, and benefits....
Lauren, thank you for these types of videos. I’m about 3 semesters away from graduating with a BS Clinical Psychology degree, and your feedback as someone who has schizophrenia is so valuable to me. Feedback becomes part of my education, and thanks to people like you who are willing to be vulnerable, both professionals and pre-professionals are learning how to be even better ❤
Thank you for actively seeking out lived experience perspectives! Your advocacy for normalizing the incorporation of patient expertise in training and practice would be much appreciated once you're working in the field.
In a former psychiatric nurse and mental health patient. In both situations I have met nurses who should have their license revoked and sent to work somewhere that had no people.
I'm a peer support specialist in Belgium and I got fired because I was "too spontaneous". I managed to really connect with clients because I have loved ones who experienced psychosis. The clients enjoyed talking with me and doing things with me according to them. At lunch I always ate with them and just treated them like I would any human being. My colleagues would come into their rooms unannounced, said that I couldn't walk around with my backpack because "these people will definitely be scared by that"... Turns out they weren't scared at all, they were just wondering whether I would leave or not. I feel like my colleagues didn't understand that what people often need is just someone who is present and authentic. They felt I was too friendly with them. Side note: I never gave my personal number or anything inappropriate according to my job ethics. I think it's sad that I got fired because of me being able to deeply connect with clients. Nevertheless, I don't regret working there because at least the clients were genuinely happy with me being there.
I'm so sorry to hear you got fired for being a reasonable human being in a batshit system. I have experienced being hospitalized with mental illness and would have really appreciated your approach. Thank you for treating people like people :)
not only are they using often the exact opposite approach necessary, they will now use "agency" and "independence" warfare on clients when they're really just overbooked and overscheduled. we're talking fully deteriorated individuals being told to pick up their own checks. or someone with a delusion around food and money being told to go food shopping by themselves. thank you for sharing that @@realcreature3D
This could be said of every kind of doctor. A lot of times you think a PCP or specialist was listening, but the office notes afterward make you realize they were completely lying to your face during the whole visit.
I think mental health professionals could do more to acknowledge that housing is mental health care, adequate income is mental health care, social inclusion is mental health care, etc. Social factors make such a huge difference. Also I think it's time for people to acknowledge psychiatry/psychology doesn't have all the answers. For whatever reasons some symptoms don't go away, some people don't respond to meds as planned, people recover and then relapse and have to work towards recovery again, etc. We want people to have the best lives possible, but we can't win them all everytime. I've seen people idealise psychology and be disappointed when it didn't solve everything. Be frank about these tough realities. Never over promise and under deliver.
I am a participant in a 20 year brain study at the Cleveland Clinic having myself started in it since the previous December...the goal is to have 6,000 people involved after 5 years...200,000 total people involved in 20 years...involves a battery of tests every year, and a survey of life involvements every 6 months...staff is very attentive and conversational...next visit one year plus one week of my previous annual appointment...surveys conducted by email...
They cannot study "mental illness". The brain is effected for spiritual causes that cannot be detected or made sense of by "experts". Hence the reason this has been untreatable since forever. Even the bible talks about hearing voices written thousands of years ago. Clearly you all have this wrong.
Thank you so much! I'm also a mental health advocate and I've been designing a PDF/handout for mental healthcare providers titled "7 Things Your Patients Are Probably Not Telling You." One of the things I'm doing in this handout is reminding providers that even if THEY don't see a power differential, their patients sure can, and provide some ideas for addressing those problems and letting their patients know they want to get feedback on how their meds are working or other mental health things. And double-YES to providers explaining to patients about their condition and what their meds are designed to do. I think that here in the U.S., low-income and homeless people get the worst treatment from care providers, in terms of quality, providers staying at a job long enough to develop a relationship with patients, and general attitudes toward poor and homeless people in America.
@JaneAKelley I like that you are designing such a thing. That's awesome! Yes, the low income DO get the worst treatment. That's why it's important to have advocates out there for the vulnerable people. Not everyone can self advocate for themselves and even if one can, one can greatly benefit from outside help. So, Thank You.
@@LukePoljak 100% agree! I'm fortunate that my mother role-modeled talking to doctors as if she is their equal and advocating for me when I was really sick. I hope to be able to pass on that magic to others. 🙂
Im a retired nurse and many times physicans would talk and patients dont understand their treatment plan. After they leave the patient want you to explain. Cant count the times I would encourage them to speak up its as though they become tongue tied. Many times it excalted because I would go after the physican as let them know the patient did not understand. What a fight. Its sad to hear its still happening as much as we all talk abut listening being as important as prescriping. Keep educating and advocating. You're helping a whole lot of people.
I'm also retired RN, in US, many many times had "interactions of correction" with MDs. Have had to educate about SE asian cultural issues as NOT signs of mental illness, have taught about the use of non pharm interventions in student populations, Reframed infant loss care and threatened testicular torsion over postpartum depression causing experiences and giving resources. Yet when I miscarried twins and hemorrhaged, emotions were discounted as not important because of my expertise. I found such difficulty finding a counselor, called the pastor who was dismissive until 5 hrs later he called back saying if he had been even having a bad day making these calls would have devastated him. When I had adopted child showing massive difficulties and called every provider in area unable to find someone to initiate diagnosis unless either referred by police or hospital ER. So frustrating
During my first hospitalization my psychiatrist withheld his diagnosis from and let me believe that he was treating me for the diagnosis my normal psychiatrist had given me. This included prescribing new medications that were indicated for the dx he didn’t agree with AND was not indicated for the dx he made. He never told me the dx, not even upon discharge. Both my family doctor and normal psychiatrist informed me of the new diagnosis during my appointments with them. They both basically said the same thing, “that they disagreed with withholding such information from me, that they thought it was inappropriate and unethical, and that they would not be party to deceiving patients.” I was furious. The reason given for withholding that information was that info could make me want to unalive. I don’t think that argument makes any sense as if I was stable enough to leave shouldn’t I be stable enough to be told such information? Furthermore, I was going to find out about said information almost immediately, so if he actually believed that that means I would be having that event in a space that was not safe. I ended up being admitted into the hospital a year later for a psychotic depressive episode. He was assigned to my care and I was not as articulate but I basically told him I cannot trust anything he says or anything he prescribes. My mother ended up getting an advocate involved who got a lawyer involved and that resulted in a different psychiatrist being assigned to my case.
As a mental health care provider I really appreciated this. This would make a phenomenal series honestly. I follow your channel to gain a better understanding of the subjective and lived experience of my clients and I would love to hear more about what folks have to say about the care they obtain. This video also is encouraging me to be more self-reflexive and humble about what I do and do not know experientially. Thank you. 🙏
Psychiatry is evil shit, you people are sick as fuck what you do. I wonder if some of you don't really even know what those psychiatric torture drugs actually do.
Thank you for sharing. I'm a paramedic so I also respond to mental health crises (and also a patient for severe depression). I've taken multiple "specialized mental crises" courses over the years, but I don't get the chance to get feedback since my main job is to do my best to stabilize you (both physically and mentally) and deliver you to a hospital. Please, if you know of somebody having mental issues, try and convince them to get help. I've seen enough teenagers attempt to commit, or commit, suicide to last me a lifetime and a half.
Education and experience makes your life more valuable but not more valuable than anyone else's. Sympathy and love towards patients makes them answer with same feelings, except situations when they fall in psychosis. I noticed how ice is melting between me and new patients when i start to smile and be polite.
My psychiatrist told me I had schzioaffective disorder but didn't explain to me what that meant. It was difficult at that time to try to figure it out (pre-internet). It would of been nice if he'd at least given me some kind of information--maybe a pamphlet? He said he didn't want to stigmatize me, but it left me in the dark.
I'm so sorry. I think this is a key issue worthy of putting in bold and underlining. We are not trusted or respected enough to receive information or support to navigate our diagnoses, and sometimes we are not even given our diagnoses at all. It feels dehumanizing and wrong.
Get a second opinion. Seems like he just made the diagnose to be able to prescribe antipsychotics. It sounds fishy. Schizoaffective means, you have bipolar episodes which are interrupted by psychotic episodes without any underlying mood issues. If psychotic symptoms and the bipolar mood issues overlap, it's bipolar with psychotic elements. Schizoaffective also requires a longer period to diagnose properly (at least one year observation), as it's a really rare disorder, schizophrenia is more common than sza. If this diagnose was made within minutes or weeks, it's 100% been diagnosed for insurance/law reasons. So, keep quiet about this diagnose and get an additional opinion.
@kareendeveraux1847 This psychiatrist diagnosed me after I was hospitalized for a delusion that I couldn't shake. I believe his diagnosis. I just don't like the way he didn't explain anything about it to me and I was left to try to figure it out on my own. Appreciate your input. 🙂 (I have a new doctor now.)
As a mental health therapist, thank you so much for sharing this. I cannot speak for all therapists, but I can speak for myself as a therapist, and I want you to know that I am hearing, listing and will continue to educate daily on ways to better assist all who come to seek guidance. You are a warrior, an inspiration and thank you truly for this videos, and all that you make.
Keep doing what you're doing, it's very courageous of you to be putting your own struggle with mental health on line for all to see. Keep up the great work you are doing 👏👏👏
You're brave woman! And your videos're very important for people who have some problems of mental health! I wish you health, energy and peace of your mind and heart!
Licensed clinical psychologist here, I really appreciate what you are doing with your channel and this video, it is going to save lives. I appreciate you.
My twin bless his heart died from antipsychotics. He was acutely schizophrenic. He lived the normal lifespan of a person suffering from schizophrenia. But he could have lived longer. At his death he had afib, blood pressure issues, a weakened heart and finally his heart seized up causing his death. Not a heart attack but heart seizure when his heart muscles seized up. So antipsychotics were his nemesis. His final years were spent in a group home.for about eight years where they gave him a lower dose of meds which kept him alive longer. He was behaving about 4 on a scale of 10, but I could communicate with him okay. I was just glad he was alive for me to talk to regularly. With his case perfect was the enemy of the good. He alas was transported to San Francisco General due to noncompliance. While there they over medicated him to be perfect which killed him. I wish I had kept him off antipsychotics and put him on a CBD regimen. He would have lived much longer and enjoyed his life much more. He would not have been perfect, likely far from it, but I believe the quality and longevity of his life would have been easier and much healthier for him and our family to endure. I wrote a fictional novel loosely based on our lives under fictional names. It is called "Pity the Devil's Wife" under a pseudonym, W. Hanelan. In the book I created a ranch setting for both of us to live together and my brother to enjoy an emotionally stable structured environment and toss in some adventure and intrigue.
I was in inpatient once and they lied and said they'd give me my narcolepsy meds. Once admitted into inpatient another nurse scoffed and said they didn't even have those 2 meds available. So I wasn't able to sleep. The next day I was physically and mentally exhausted, I didn't trust any of the staff and felt unsafe. I wanted to leave and even though I had admitted myself (not on a hold) they wouldn't let me leave. When I told my mom what was happening (I was 38 at the time) my mom tried to talk to them about how I needed my medication but they wouldn't do anything, so my mom called the local police and told them they were holding me against my will. Suddenly the hospital director and a bunch of management came in to talk to me. Too little too late. I was so done.
They abused me and I tried to call 911 inside from a patient phone so they disconnected the patient phones and told the dispatcher that it was a fake call and they wouldn’t allow me to call for help for days. They also “forgot” to give me my meds for days. I had bruised up and down both my arms from their abuse to me. They locked me in a silent room for hours when I needed medical care and injected me with multiple sedatives against my will so i couldn’t ask for help. I never got Justice for what they did to me in there.
That is disgusting and I am very sorry you had to enduré this torture. This is exactly why people do not trust their health to psychiatric hospitals. Every generation has the same abuse, misery and ignorance to countenance, and this is why tragedies happen.
Autistic/DID young adult here, I find this video so helpful, I related to everything, and this wonderful points you presented here, I can note and share with my clinicians.
Here is the advice I hope the professionals hear: 1. Most patients don’t know what other treatment options are available. Explain why you choose specific treatments, give them specific trade offs with other medications (ex. “This one is best for patients with depression like yours, but if it makes your anxiety worse let me know since we might need to switch.” Or, “this one is stronger so it should help more, but it might make your hands tremble. If it starts impacting your work or school, we’ll reduce it.”) 2. Be proactive about non-medication-related treatment. Don’t beat patients over the head with “just meditate!” But provide specific guidance on things like diet, sleep, hygiene, etc. that could help. 3. If the patient is seeking guidance that you don’t offer, tell them. Idk about all healthcare systems, but in the US I had a psychiatrist(?) for medication and a therapist for talk therapy. I didn’t really understand the distinction between them at first and would ask for stuff they couldn’t do. Make sure to clarify your role to patients, explain who they should seek out instead (or in addition to you, if that’s what’s best). 4. Know that part of your job is making sure patients have the ability to complete their treatment. Offer to make a list of what their current regimen is to hand to friends or family. Explain what to do if medicine gets missed, if something goes wrong at the pharmacy, or if they miss an appointment (BEFORE it happens!!). If the patient doesn’t have a support system, you might need to brainstorm with them about ways they can be self-sufficient. Things like medication timer caps can go a long way. 5. Thank you for what you do! I think there are a lot of problems in healthcare, but I also think the majority of them are systemic, not individual. I hope you know that you are making a difference and that you take breaks when you can. I hope you balance the fact that you’re not the right person for every patient, with the fact that people are trusting you with their lives. You have to make hard calls sometimes, both for people and for yourself. Thank you for taking care of us, and I hope you continue to do your best everyday. ❤
This is good, I've found it nearly impossible to get the help I need. It's been a huge battle and I've had to learn a lot about the medications and what suits me. I do feel lucky now though to have a psychiatrist I feel I can work with.
1990 to 1995. I worked at saint Francis hospital Lynwood california. I was majoring in psychology and I worked in psych ward. I saw the Philippino Psychiatrist just giving patients medication. They give the patient 30 seconds and prescribe there medication. It really hurt. They didn’t’ provide talk or help these people. I saw drug sales men alwys bringing new drugs it was a business. I changed my major to electronics. I can fix something. Californian Surfer Downey Cali. Nov 5 to 11 2023. Huntigton beach pier Paraligic Olympics. I love volunteering and helping . There are no drugs being pushed.. thank you.
it took me many years to even talk to someone,i trusted no one,as many id ask for help and what i got alot was what drugs am i on?i felt nearly everyone i turned to didnt wanna help or didnt know how,so i suffered for 10 years then one day i got a new dr..and i didnt trust at first,,i wanted ro just give up. but kept seeing this dr,and over time i trusted her,she really cared and wanted to help,so after 10 years im getting the help i needed,the moral of this story is NEVER GIVE UP
After going to the psychiatrist for several years nothing has changed about me. The only difference is now I lie and say I’m fine and try to make small talk which I have a lot of trouble with. Inside of me it’s still the same. I take his medicine or I will just go days and days without sleep. I told him once that I had a mystical experience but he changes the subject.
It`s a very complicated matter. As a psychiatrist, I understand there might be a tendency to go directly to the "familiar" medication tool we've got, and I'm sad to admit that the power dynamic may give the chance to be condescending to some patients. I might also that's how the other way goes, sometimes. Many patients are quite resistant to the idea of medication or, as you well said, in denial about their diagnosis, and any proposal of adjustment will be taken badly. Same might go for the recommendations you can make. Not agreeing with patients or being clear about disagreeing with their interpretation of how bad they're doing or how to deal with their issues doesn't always mean you're trying to be condescending. That being said, it's not about who's right or wrong. I think it's a matter of good communication to work for a goal in common. We both (and families too, generally) want people to get better, even if there are discrepancies about how to get there. Patients have a right to ask anything they need to know about what's happening with them and it's our duty to listen, answer those questions, and make all relevant information as clear as possible. If patients don't have any doubts and believe they've understood everything, we expect they help us help them by following those recommendations and indications and, at least in my practice and I hope in many more, be available for answering unresolved questions or report possible adverse effects of medications. Thank you for your videos, they're still as relevant as always. I'm sorry if you're having disagreements with your psychiatrist. I've seen you speaking positively about him/her before. I hope better communication with him/her helps you repair the relationship and your trust.
Psychiatric medications are too strong, their potential side effects too devastating, to be forced onto people, their efficacy is also in question in some areas (example, anti-depressants, serotonin, depression). Many mental health professionals are very high handed with patients, abuse their power consequently, or have become cynical which they inflict on patients duly slowing down or even preventing stabilization and/or recovery.
@@kimberleymarkova3641 I'm sorry you feel that way about it. I understand those are, unfortunately, common impressions on treatments and therapists. Nevertheless, I don't think it's something you can generalize so easily, it's not black and white. There are indications for treatments and with the proper dosage (which sometimes requires cautious calibration) you wouldn't expect adverse effects. Sometimes it needs time. As a physician, you can't guarantee a treatment won't cause adverse effects, but you can commit to have the patient's back through the adjustment process and be available. If you are a patient, I hope you find a treatment and therapist you feel you can trust.
I understand. I have been a patient (for a month) and I am a therapist. There are more people working in the mental health field than you might realize. I can name five examples off the top of my head,
This is spot on, really sums up fears, needs, approaches, outcomes brilliantly and is universal, I mean, geographically speaking whether one is in the US, else where in the Anglo-Saxon world or mainland Europe. I will use this as a model in my search (my psychiatrist retired about 2 years ago, very difficult for me since then). Btw, completely agree on the point of diet and à more holistic treatment approach too.
As a mental health professional, I can say I really appreciate this feedback. I would add that as hard as it may be due to the power differential noted, it’s often okay to give this feedback directly to your provider. Their response to your feedback - especially if you’ve conveyed it in a respectful manner - will be valuable in helping them improve (or in showing you they may not be the right person for you).
I am in Scotland and have depression and Anxiety. With our NHS and Mental health minster. Our system is not perfect but i don't think any system is but in my experience it works well. After a suicide attempt. I was vistited by the psychiatrist while in hospital. After i left hospital i went to my GP and from there it was on to my local mental health unit. In Scotland my prescriptions are free at the point of use and delivered to my door. I have regular visits to my Gp if my mental health is getting worse i go to see my Psychiatrist or Psychologist at my local mental health unit. I have free gym membership to help my mental health. I have a crisis team i can connact 24/7 if my mental health gets suddenly worse they will come to my home to help me if i need them. They are based at my local mental health unit. Take Care Stay Safe.
Thank you for addressing over prescribing. I've suffered so much from that in my care process. They gave me ptsd and I was experiencing flashbacks from being forced to take too much.
Thank you so much for sharing this. I would add that every suggestion here can and should be applied to all other sorts of medical treatments. All patients are people.
I find it difficult to describe most mental health care workers I've had the misfortune to attempt to seek help from 'professional'. Several of them seem to be extremely ego driven and abusive narcissists.
Yes, when I was hospitalized with schizophrenia. After my first night, the nurse came in the room. I just woke up and she said “ do you feel like committing suicide today? I thought that totally unprofessional. I made a complaint. she should be working at Denny’s, not in a mental hospital!
I was never given a diagnosis, not sure if this is a good thing or not. Found out what my meds (anti-psychotics) were for and my parents were quite shocked at the time.
@@Lifestinks Feel the same. Solitude is very nice most of the time. People are already problematic on their own. Add in deep paranoia and I'd be fine being alone for most of my life if I had the means.
Totally agree! It beggars belief to me that there are no feedback loops in medicine to aid improvement in patient care. Literally every other industry does this, why not medicine?
Yep. I have BPD and I can absolutely tell when a professional is invalidating me & have split on psychiatrists many times. The system needs to be better.
Thank you for putting this video together, Lauren. All good points. What struck me about your initial info-gathering post was how many of us were not even told about our very serious mental health diagnoses. I think the fact that we are intentionally kept in the dark speaks to the dangerous paternalism of the mental health system.
The patient is capable of knowing the burden that schizophrenia (and any severe, disabling condition) places on everyone. It would help if everyone understood this. My son suffered with schizophrenia for 22 years and unalived himself in March of this year. He never used illicit drugs, he took his medication if he had support, but his schizophrenia was severe and he often forgot or lost track of the days. He would disappear for weeks and years at a time and wound up on life support in 2019, then finally made his way back in 2021 after a year of rehab and home healthcare. He told me after this that he had felt he had been "too much of a burden" to everyone, and he struggled daily with thoughts of him being "the problem" and others around him being "the problem". No matter how much I would try to tell him that it is an illness, any illness in general is a problem, not the people who become ill, his schizophrenia always turned it around. I cannot help but think that the reason for that was how his family and those he loved so much responded...and not the schizophrenia. Thank you, Lauren. We do the best we can, right? We are all in this boat together.
A little bit of appreciation for mental health professionals would have been nice to hear. This is a potentially dangerous job and not an easy one. Of course there is a power dynamic, people who are very ill cannot make their own decisions and rely on the expertise of someone with a medical degree to decide the best course of treatment to get them well. I love my Psychiatrist, he is the reason I am functioning so well today.
Yes, the Holistic approach has been helpful for my daughter with her only medication being depakote (mg. was lowered). B Vitamins, flush-free Niacin, Vitamin C, etc. are nutrients 😢 that are lacking in our food/diet. Herbs, Royal bee jelly, Red Panax ginseng, Aromatherapy & Essential oils. Lots to learn & it's worth it!
Love your work Lauren and Rob. Just an editing note, Lauren vanishes into the orange-pinky flesh coloured chair and the same tone of background on the power point cards is also unappealing.
Thank you very much for starting a channel to help people with Schizophrenia. I've been struggling with 24x7 auditory hallucinations for two years and have been on off medications. Did your auditory hallucinations go away entirely with meds? Thank you.
@@akshorts2115 According to my limited knowledge and understanding, people lose hope, the possibility of becoming a burden,, and lack of social, financial, and medical support.
Okay I left your Living Well with Mental Illness Discord. One criticism I have is that intervention shouldn't be done so at an emergency level of crisis. By the time an emergency situation occurs as far as psychosis goes the person may be too far gone to be able to understand direction in order to access the help resources they need. Other than that it was an alright experience. Thanks.
I was a mental health worker for about 10 years. I think what always seemed to work best is a team : psychiatrist, psychologist/therapist and Social worker. Medication increasen or change is not always the answer...a treatment team can look at the whole person and everything going on in their life. The problem, not everyone can afford a treatment team, not every county, city or state feels its necessary. #mentalhealth is #healthcare
I literally just got out of the hospital for mental health issues and I have to say the whole structure including the rooms and hallways especially at the hospital I was at have to change. Nurses need to realize not every patient is completely out of it and if your going through a major depressive episode it's not fun to hear nurses laughing and having a great time literally standing in the hall in front of patients rooms with doors open. Also how they speak and yell at all the patients about meal times and anything really. It's not good for mental health to be yelled at like you should know when you have literally never been there before. I was asked what was the issues about 6 times and it's a very long story so it was so much repetition and having to replay the bad feelings. Find out if the patient trusts their loved ones enough with that information because not all loved ones are that loving or understanding. They need to also let them wear their own clothes or something more than just basic thick paper towel shirts and pants. It's humiliating when your already mentally struggling so much your in the hospital. Sorry it's such a long post I'm just trying to share all my thoughts while they are still fresh in my mind. One more thing if a person goes in voluntarily it should not be changed to involuntary for any reason. It seems like they make up whatever reason they have to, to put you on a hold and make it involuntary and then not even mention it to you.
It’s hard, a lot of people with negative symptoms get unintentionally taken advantage of even by psychiatrists /psychologists who generally mean for the best and try to be receptive. It can be very damaging for someone and further complicate ipseity symptoms. I’m not using terms like “gaslighting” I’m just saying a lot of psychotherapy that has gone wrong or been ineffective can exacerbate issues like schizotypy for example. Schiz disorders even 10 years ago weren’t understood as well as even today and they’re still incredibly complicated challenging and multifaceted but things like the covid pandemic really helped bring light and a gentler understanding to mental health of all types. In my opinion we have a lot of really good medications and treatments on the horizon tackling negative, personality and cognitive symptoms in these disorders and we should be focused on getting these compounds approved and available.
When i was involuntarily commited (without having threatening someone else or myself) after calling an ambulance because i thought i had a brain aneurysm rupture alot of strange things happened. There was a very thin line between the healthcare workers and the people that werent allowed to leave and that was terrifying. I got the psychological thriller show treatment for the first couple days i was there. I definitely needed some help but damn. 1) after arriving at the emergency room they took a blood sample and the same nurse refused to take the needle out of my arm after i politely asked several times. Then after she walked back and forth she came back with a needle and began injecting it into the one they used to draw blood without bothering to look at me or mention what was in it. I still dont know what was in it. 2) they accidentally used a bp cuff that was too small and it left a red blood blister welt on my arm. As i was sitting there in pain my brain told me i had to stay still and not say anything. 3) that night when i was taken up to the ward (the second one on a higher level) after they refused to tell me how much the mri was going to cost i was met immediately by the chaplan selling me jesus. 4) they knew i was scared of needles and put one in my arm hours before they needed it. They nurse turned around after putting it in and happy as a clam just walked off. 5) decided to give me a sedative before the mri even though i wasnt moving around. 6) the first day after i woke up i thought i might have been assaulted because i guess they had done a cavity search the night before but when i brought it up to the nurse she didnt tell me anything (i remember the nurses taking me to a bathroom to perform it jusy not exactly what they did.) 7) also the first morning when i woke up the guy walking in to take my vitals had this expression on his face like he wanted to murder someone. (I guess in deep thought but his timing was impeccable) 8) they only gave me a few personal hygeine items and withheld the others. I guess so i had to ask for them? (I did, the mistake I made was taking the first nurses response that went somewhere along the lines of them not giving out more supplies.) 9) we could hear them talking about the other patients through the vents that went to our rooms so HIPPA? Also about the fact that i wasnt wearing a bra. 10) i thought i had been poisoned one day and was sitting there thinking i was about to die. I asked to hold a nurses hand and she looked at me like i was the most disgusting thing she had ever seen. When i was discharged i wasnt even sure which hospital i had been taken to and noone went over any of the tests they had done (except that i had a vitamin D deficiency). I signed a contract stating i would do 6 months of therapy which wasnt too bad actually. I realize everyone was being controlled (now, i didnt back then) so i dont blame anyone for these incidents but it was rough. Shout out to UNC hospital in north Carolina if anyone cares to explain themselves (they were playing along to the cosmic script) Ok i see the parallels now. I was vitamin d deficient so the assault (gross). I originally pushed the nurses hand away who was injecting something into me without explaining what it was and then asked to hold a nurses hand later when i thought i was dying. The mri person told me what he was giving me (the sedative) after the nurse didnt originally. A delusion i had once i got to the hospital was that i had radiation poisoning and needed iodine which i got when i had the mri done. Probably more but i cant see them right now. When i was there there was construction outside on that side if the building including soneone going ham with an excavator. I ended up using an excavator at the next job i got when i got out. While at that job i noticed the last four digits of my phone number was the default password to the combo locks on all the gates of our main client. It could have been worse. But it also could have been so much better. I guess i played my part. As i was leaving the hospital a voice daid "ok, lets give her a break." And they did. For about 9-10 months i believed it had all been just a bout of psychosis. Also after i holding the nurses hand while believing i had been poisoned, i died in my head and the worst of the "psychosis" just ended. With like the snap of a finger. The last couple days werent made to be nearly as bad for me and the food was actually decent.
Hi, sis. Could you send me a link to an association for schizophrenic patients. I want them to share some of their experiences on negative symptoms and the way they are coping with these symptoms. I have schizophrenia and I am struggling with negative symptoms. I really need that. Thank you in advance.❤❤❤
LCSW here. If I were teaching clinical skills, I would show this to my students. I like the work you are doing on behalf of the recovery model of mental health.
After having schizophrenia for more than 25 years, you know what is the most painful? It is the sense of dread that acompagny me everywhere. The whole act of experiencing reality (me in the world) is dreadfully dark and strange. My life is a never ending horror movie, but not the blood bit, the tension before some crazy shit bit. even just sitting there quietly it never leave NEVER. It goes from cosmic horror low humm to the infrequent high note violint. but you can be sure it wont leave ever. Most therapist dont even grasp that. even a psychologist (they have pdh by the way) told me. "But it is not there when you talk to your cat" as if it is a thing that happne and goes when im calm. NO even when i talk to my cat it is there. It is the way i experience reality, it is final, always there. And i know every schizophrenic experience that. Sme (competent, at last) psychiatrist made a series of video in french were he explain it is a core component of the whole point of schizophrenia, from which every halucination come from. The fact that therapist dont even know that is troublesome, or that it seem a novell ideas to them is more than troublesome.
I think most peole are not even capable of undestanding and knowing they are in their mind and they are experiencing something like a reality. I heard only 30% of people even think the rest just go through life on automatic. NPC if you will. it is a friggin frightening though, are they even humans? Might be why they keep argue with when i said how i felt when i "live" reality" They dont even begin to have the tool to understand. They keep arguing with me i must have not feel like that at least some time, and they keep puttting stress in the equation. as if i was hyperbolic and basicly saying "i never had a single not stress moment since im schizophrenic" i was going bonker "im i using words here wtf is happening"
Thank you thank you thank you 🙂 I wish I could meet once and chat with you for an hour. I know you are not a concillor but I would just want to talk about my partner who has terrible delusions and is on hard drugs but denies both problematics. My heart bleeds 😢. I am sure you of all people would REALLY understand. I will have to let him go 😢. I just cannot follow him any longer because we can not even discuss that it is hard on me... Because I and the psych and doctors and his family are inventing false stuff and I should just chill. 😕 Sometimes I absolutely cannot get whats happening because he disappears, or intentionally makes things hard to figure out for me. But sometimes it is SO CLEAR. The fear that morphs into a delusion, the grandeur to distance himself from a childhood wound, the robotic speach, the empty eyes of the dissociation, the terrible stings thrown at me when I get to close to uncovering a terrible pain. He is a wonderful person and I love him. But I will need to sever him of myself so I can work on my complex ptsd and many adjacent problems. 🙂 I must admit my limits and hope for the best. 🙂 keep up your wonderful work! I admire you. Your partner also, but you above all. Its sooooo hard! Dont give up!
Free schizophrenia tip to cope naturally with hearing voices. Ask your brain / voices simple questions leading to a point where you've exhausted your knowledge bank to simply remind yourself that the voices are just your sub-conscious and the voices only know the extent of what you know. This helps train your brain in the firm rooting / understanding that voices are just our minds out loud. For example, a very common thing is people talk to voices who have names or they believe are other people. Ask them information you don't know such as, "what's your last name?" "What's your middle name?". Rebuilding the confidence and re-training yourself that the voices are fake goes a long way. They cannot answer questions you don't know because they are your own mind.
I was hospitalized with schizophrenia. It took a team of 10 doctors to diagnose me. I tried to get disability and they said their team of drs said I couldn’t prove I had schizophrenia. Social security and hospitals don’t work together. All ss had to do was call the drs that diagnosed me but ss wanted ME to prove I have schizophrenia!
I really believe Social Security gets paid to keep people off Social Security. It can take years and lawyers to finally get the paltry payments so you can have a roof and food.
I heard that Social Security denies almost everybody the first time. Then you have to get a lawyer and keep trying. So basically expect to be denied at least once.
@@Catlily5 yes, after the 10 drs diagnosed me with schizophrenia. I made a disability claim and they (ss) made me take a test to see if I was fit to work. They asked questions like, how much I can lift, how far I can drive, how long can I stand. Then concluded I was fit for work! Then I concluded the whole system is evil! Its not designed to help you! There are so many things that they could do to make things easier in the system, but they don’t. They make it harder on purpose by asking unnecessary questions and going through unnecessary lengths and that makes everything 10x worse when you have schizophrenia. Imo there are no meds that can help you. All they do is give you side affects, then you need another med for the side affects. It’s a money maker for them. The system is stacked against you. Feeling nauseous is not a symptom of schizophrenia, it’s a side affect of too many meds. Honestly my advice would be to join a gym, exercise every day and sit in the jacuzzi. It’s not a cure for schizophrenia but meds arnt a cure either. Your just causing more problems with them.
Very excellent video, I'm will share with others. Thank you for listening to viewers and expressing this so well. When I sought mental health treatment I felt lumped in with a list of symptoms and the social workers seemed to not ever make a personal connection with me to see where I was at, where I was from nor did they seem to have an idea of who I was. I met very few people at the walk-in sessions who were able to remove themselves enough that I didn't feel them projecting onto me, they could listen and give a little conservative advice where to go next. I kept going to public services hoping I'd find someone to help me feel accountable to my goals (but what I really needed was grace to rest and time to figure out life on my own. I would hope for a mentor or instructor type person but it is hard to ask or find someone like that). Some counselors would act surprised I had a desire to work again. Worse I know one of my previous counselors (who I did not like much at all) had authority to author her own diagnosis onto my file and it radically changed how any counselor I met after that talked to me. She wasn't the only either, I had another bad experience during quarantines when I went in and allowed myself to sit almost 12 hours in emerge. During that experience I felt the nurses I met in the end were laughing at me, the notes I had to show my fragmented mental state and the fact I fainted while waiting to see someone. I did a virtual referral with a psychiatrist and was prescribed a moderate dose of seroquel/quetiapine (which I did not complete - felt like I was having 3 drinks before bed. I also felt myself adjust to the dose within 2 weeks and refused to increase it after that). It was a couple years before I started having symptoms like hearing a voice in my head, after an assault and my friend's repeated hospitalizations. I went like that for half a year but that symptom has stopped. I'm in a relationship with someone who isn't doing well, they use marijuana and became severely alcoholic and being abused by them made me very closed to reality and agoraphobic. It's easy to blame myself since I tend to lean towards isolation and things that are regular to others seem to affect me entirely more. For example "screen addiction"; if I use a computer or phone too much I really lose a sense for what's going on. I miss the version of me that could compulsively read books for hours. That would foster a meditative and relaxed mind state for myself. After finding my own quiet space I'm getting ready to step into life again. Reading has helped me, it was hard to focus on it but doing so has paid off well. Life is getting better. I did not have a helpful experience with the mental health system however, I feel it was very deleterious to my identity. Just luck of the draw I suppose. Many of the employees I met with seemed to be there for their paychecks. A few seemed to interested in helping people get their lives back.
I'm going to ask the psychiatrist if I can try a prescription for wellbutrin (bupropion). My reasoning is I am a recurring cigarette smoker and seem to use nicotine to cope. (going to add I notice I'm less distracted when I do quit smoking but I get sad sometimes and nicotine helps me keep going). I also had developed an addiction to marijuana which is a dopamine agonist Wellbutrin has a small affect over dopamine and also is prescribed to help in smoking cessation and for depression. I sleep a lot and reportedly it helps with excessive fatigue. There also isn't reported weight gain and it's important for me to be a healthier weight (another change in my mental health and energy came when I gained +30% body mass during quarantine). (I've quit marijuana 6 months now very important too) I have symptoms of adhd and tbh, I tried speed a little in my 20s and I found it didn't have much of an effect on me. There is a chance methyl-type medications like Concerta or Ritalin could help (My sister likes Concerta for herself) but I also don't know if it would be what I need. Just like my coffees and caffeine relationship, I don't know if it really is something I need to stimulate. I had a strong adverse reaction to fluoxetine and sertraline which are SSRI's, that act on the serotonin system. I think that kind of medication is bad for me. Last time I saw this psychiatrist I said I did not want to try her recommended gabapentin and she canceled the appointments for me refusing it. I've heard it has side affects on the nervous system like Ataxia and I also know it was effective in treatment of alcoholism, but alcohol isn't really something I've ever liked medicating myself with much. I'd rather drink 1-5 times a months sometimes going close to a year without a drink. There is alcoholism in my family... in general it was a medication I didn't want to try though yet. Ideally I don't want to be on any medication but it would be nice to have a good match as a boost until I figure out my life right now.
@Livingwellwithschizophrenia I couldn't agree with anyone more than what you talked about in this podcast 💯% spot on! 👍 I also have a lot to say about this specific topic, please bear with me. Yes there's been a lot of new awareness about mental health now. But it surely isn't reaching the staff of these mental health hospitals/institutions or the psych units. Mental health diagnosis and or a physical diagnosis it's a label that gets pinned on a patient and numbered. People with physical illnesses can sometimes develop a mental health issues due to it. When they're committed for an emotional breakdown physical health issues goes right out the window as far as staff goes. As overworked, weekend and night skeleton crews, psychiatrists using a revolving door just to write prescriptions for psych meds. The physically ill are now labeled as having suicidal tendencies, bipolar, schizophrenic, personality disorders, anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses too many to mention. Mental health patients like myself develop physical illnesses because of it. Then it gets ignored because they say "it's all in your head" When committed into these psych wards we're frightened and alone which magnifies our conditions both mentally and physically. Being afraid and withdrawn, staff either injects us with medication or restrain us for acting out because of just the sheer fear of being there. Alone. Which makes it worse. Why? Because psych ward staff is afraid of us they're afraid of the diagnosis and what it means for their own safety. Of course they've dealt with violent patients and always will in certain cases. All they see is the diagnosis a patient is pinned with. They don't look past the labels to who that person truly is. We are all unique individuals with different needs. Not one size fits all as the label says. The problem is the health care industry cannot and does not look past that label they don't see the true heart and soul of the person that's suffering. Of course there's some very caring healthcare staff out there, unfortunately most are not. Why? Because they're afraid of us. They are the ones that have labeled us and stigmatized us, not the average citizen. Instead the institutions themselves have. Nothing's going to change unless it starts from the inside of these mental health institutions. That's where the horror stories came from in the first place. I have been an advocate for myself and other patients that have been cruelly treated. I've talked to staff members that worked in these institutions telling their first hand accounts of the unjust extremely cruel treatment patients are subjected to. When these institutions get hit with lawsuits and malpractice suits they make a quick settlement time and time again to keep it quiet instead of having it brought to trial for the public to see. Google any Mental Health hospital anywhere and click on to their reviews you'll see it for yourself. Or you've already lived it. I would love to mention by name just a few of these mental health institutions in the United States that are beyond an absolute disgrace. If it's that bad here in the USA I can even imagine what it's like around the rest of the world. I'm sorry my comment is so long I'm very passionate about this subject. #Icare #insideinvestigations #mentalhealthadvocate #newlife
I get people thinking I am more well than I am because my main coping skill is acting. My psychiatrist told me today she is being replaced by a nurse practitioner. I am very disappointed because my psychiatrist has almost 50 years of experience and she is the only one who can see through me. At least I think so. It's a sense you get when around others.
Since I work in a behavioral hospital let me say...do the survey and access the pt advocate when needed. I have seen meals increase in size, dishes removed.. I have seen staff given kudos and others dismissed. the person doing this is very high function for having schizoaffective disorder
Your advice in this video is very reminiscent of R.D. Laing's book "The Politics of Experience and the Bird of Paradise." Have you read this book or followed his theories?
Thier egos won't like the title of this video ( not all of them tho) some think they know it all when they've got a certificate to say they have a qualification they learned on a computer, not saying all are know it alls just the small percentage of eXperTs 😉😇 God bless you for having the courage to make these videos and speak about your life and your struggles I'm sure you have helped many people not feel quite so alone anymore 😉💖
When you hear the phrase you are not ready for discharge, it really means we can charge your insurance more by keeping you here. They give you weird meds that manipulate your behavior. A real doctor will look for the cause, rather than treat the symptoms. But it doesn't bring in more profit.
I had a really horrible experience 12 yrs ago when i attempted suicide from depression and anxiety. I ended up throwing up most on my own bc realized the mistake i made, but i still hallucinated for a few hrs from the amount i took. In the hospital while i was still hallucinating and also crying hysterically bc of what happened, a psychiatrist with a major language barrier was asking me all these in depth questions on how i was feeling.. uh clearly not good! I couldnt even put a thought together let alone a sentence, on top of not being able to understand what he was saying. And then when i got referred to a therapist after that hospital visit, she diagnosed me with major depression and i told her i didnt wanna be on meds bc it was a moment of everything gone wrong all at once and i dont feel this often, and i was only 20 yrs old needing to know how to cope with lifes struggles as an adult better. She automatically referred me to a psychiatrist to get prescribed meds. Never saw her again. Still havent been on meds, and i do have my moments when everything goes wrong at once whenever that occurs, but i know more coping mechanisms as an adult and have a fanatasic therapist that ive had for 5 yrs now.
I've had a few doctors that wouldn't even read the chart. I'd complain, and they'd ask what my prescriptions were and just up the dose. At least read the chart!
This is a weird question, but I run. Try to eat really clean etc- how does one stay in good shape while Taking antispsychotiics? At this point. All I can think of is Metformin or something else?
