Posted by JayMac on October 19, 2008, at 13:54:22
In reply to Re: Mental Illness in Your.... » JayMac, posted by obsidian on October 18, 2008, at 22:50:20
Great question! Honestly, I'm not sure if she fully understands her state of mind. Without medication she is gravely disabled-meaning that she unable to take proper care of herself (basic stuff like showering, eating, and such). Even with medication, she is unable to drive more than 5-10 minutes from her home, so basically to her doctor's off, to her mom's house, and to the grocery store. She also has trouble with both long and short term memory, she'll forget how to get to places that she frequents. She has trouble remembering my age. She'll make up a lot of stories about herself and other family members. For example, she'll call me and tell me, with the upmost conviction, that my brother is having another baby. I'll call my brother and he'll tell me that our mom is having crazy thoughts (in a jokingly and loving way, we try to make light of the situation). My mom is single(divorced my father 20 years ago), and it's devastating to hear her stories (delusions) that she met a wonderful guy and they are spending time together. She has a male roommate, but it's not a romance, it's more of caretaking friendship. He's got his own issues, but he makes sure my mom is generally ok. Her mom, my grandmother, lives close by, but their relationship is up and down.
Anyhow, that's more than what I can handle to write right now. Even writing that brings up a whole lot of stuff that I've pushed away.
I appreciate your interest =)
poster:JayMac
thread:857980
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20081018/msgs/858253.html