Posted by Dinah on June 24, 2010, at 7:28:56
In reply to yes, I think so..., posted by Christ_empowered on June 23, 2010, at 18:29:13
That's what my mother thought about my cousins. Until she spent time with them in an unmedicated state. Now suddenly all her complaints about the mental health system have disappeared into thin air.
My cousin's family have been through h*ll dealing with the situation. Off the hook? They'll never ever be off the hook. They will never be free of wondering when one of them will do something dangerous and self destructive, or destructive to others. They aren't violent towards others. But when they are psychotic, they make choices that are dangerous for themselves and others.
I also remember an aunt who didn't really gain a close and warm relationship with her children until she got on meds and stayed on them. Yes, they had side effects. But the side effects of not taking the drugs were far worse for her.
That's the way my favorite of my psychiatrists put it when I discussed my concerns about side effects. He said that, yes, medications do have side effects. Not taking medications also have side effects. It's my choice which side effects I wish to have.
My cousins shouldn't have that choice. When they go off their meds they do things that have nearly gotten them killed, things bad enough to require long medical hospitalizations. And things that have brought danger to their families. They don't have the objectivity and insight to understand that themselves. That's part of the illness.
It really upsets and angers me when I read advocacy for the mentally ill to choose whether to take their medications, because I remember my cousins. And their families.
poster:Dinah
thread:951979
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100615/msgs/952053.html