Posted by Dinah on June 26, 2003, at 9:44:44
In reply to Re: spiritual crisis vs. psychotic behavior? » Dinah, posted by bookgurl99 on June 26, 2003, at 9:09:31
I've had it happen in a few relatives and a friend of my husband's. It's not the end of the world. In one aunt it was just a brief psychotic break brought on by the stress of spousal abuse and divorce. Perhaps your friend could benefit from a change of jobs.
I talked to my therapist about it re. the friend of my husband's. He said to just be low key about it. In this particular case there was no possibility of danger to anyone, and he said that was very frequently true.
It's a shame that people get frightened enough to quit being friends over things like depression or OCD. I admit that psychotic illnesses can be a bit frightening. I remember my aunt speaking in a deep voice as a messenger from God warning that my family would be killed in an accident. This was when I was really young. I was scared witless then, but I hope that I would handle it better now, as my mother in fact did at the time.
They rarely put people on thorazine any more (and it wasn't that bad as I recall - sort of like super-valium). They use things like Zyprexa and Risperdal. And there's no reason she can't continue with a perfectly normal life with the proper medication.
That's assuming that it really is a break from reality. It's just hard to think of being afraid people are out to get her at work, and some of the other things you mentioned, as a purely religious phenomenom.
But your friend with the MSW should be able to help sort things out a bit better. I hope all goes well.
poster:Dinah
thread:237122
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030626/msgs/237201.html