Comments on: Schizophrenia, James Holmes, and Hindsight

By: olga

olga — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 23:30:49 +0000

James Holmes is a victim of his illness. He was alone and nobody see this illness before tragedy happened. Our health system dosent open any help to person with mental illness unless he become violent. The health system is not smart enough to diagnosed the problem in advanced. I absolutly sure, that James did not understand what he did because of nature of his illness. He will get back and it will be huge tragedy for this young person, who is a victim of his illness.

By: Randye Kaye

Randye Kaye — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 13:54:02 +0000

Hi Patrice – I am so sorry for the pain your son – your entire family – is going through. The lack of services to support recovery is staggering and shameful, I agree. One of the reasons I advocate (and the book is a big part of that) is to put that human face on mental illness – and I know we are so lucky that, at last, my son agrees to the “rules” of monitoring his health and supervision of medication. We live with the fear that tomorrow will not go as smoothly as today, and though Ben has “support services” in place, I honestly don’t know where he’d be if we hadn’t stepped in. There is, indeed, so much work to be done. I hope your son can eventually get the help – and hope – that he needs. You too. Hang in there, and know you are not alone. best, Randye

By: Patrice

Patrice — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 10:08:47 +0000

My son is an “intractible”. No meds worked for him until they put him on clozapine, which will kill him in a heartbeat unless I make sure that his white cell count is monitored. A few years ago he decided to stop his meds, decompensated, and there was nothing I could do unless he committed or tried to commit an act of violence. So this young man, my son, who had a record of at least twelve psychiatric hospitalizations, was allowed to simply run amok. I was finally able to get him into the hospital by precipitating a violent outburst in front of a policeman. There has to be a solution for this that will not increase the stigma against schizophrenia and yet protect the victims of this terrible illness.

By: Randye Kaye

Randye Kaye — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 20:57:55 +0000

Hi Bonnie – I agree, this is indeed a very complicated issue, with more than one facet and more than one answer. Still, it’s clear that many who need services and treatment often are either ignored, or told that they don’t “have to” be treated if they don’t want to be. Until the issues of mandated treatment and assisted outpatient treatment are clarified – not simple, but necessary – those with mental illness, and those that love them , will continue to feel the frustration and pain of a mental health system gone awry.
thanks for writing – increasing awareness is a first step, as we share our experiences.
Randye

By: Bonnie

Bonnie — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 00:20:58 +0000

It doesn’t help to see the signs or report the signs or even to drag an obviously “off” person to the hospital as long as all they have to do is sign a piece of paper stating that they won’t kill anyone–which covers the hospital’s liability but do they seriously believe it stops a person from acting on one of those horrific impulses? And a child of 17 can sign that paper and be released–my son did. He didn’t go out and kill anyone, but I was terrified that he might. I feel for those parents–there is nowhere to get help. I get the whole civil rights thing, but when a person is obviously psychotic there should be someone who can help.

By: Randye Kaye

Randye Kaye — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 13:11:18 +0000

Hi Laurie – You are so right, and thanks for writing. Early detection is a hot issue right now – the DSM IV (Diagnostic Manual) requires an incident of psychosis before a definitive diagnosis can be made. This is partly because there are no other clear tests (like brain scans etc.) for mental illness – research is in early stages and unfortunately underfunded – kind of where cancer and heart disease detection processes were a couple of decades ago, when no clear diagnosis could be made until about what we now refer to at Stage 3 cancer, or an actual heart attack.

As you can see, the results of waiting too long to insist upon treatment can be tragic. Early detection can save lives, both directly (the patient) and indirectly (extreme cases like Aurora, or simply the emotional lives of family and friends).

All we have to go on are early symptoms, and one of the reasons I wrote my book is to advocate for early detection, a watchful eye, and earlier treatment. Ben’s path might have been very different, if his illness had been diagnosed earlier.

There are several lists of signs – but symptoms can also look like drug use, another mental illness, psychological problems, or even just plain old teen hormones. One such list is supplied by the author of Defying Mental Illness, Paul Komarek, in this post .

It includes:

CHANGES IN THINKING OR PERCEIVING
– Hallucinations
– Delusions
– Excessive fears or suspiciousness
– Inability to concentrate
CHANGES IN MOOD
– Sadness coming out of nowhere, unrelated to events or circumstances
– Extreme excitement or euphoria
– Pessimism, perceiving the world as gray and lifeless
– Expressions of hopelessness
– Loss of interest in once pleasurable activities
– Thinking or talking about suicide
CHANGES IN BEHAVIOR
– Sitting and doing nothing
– Friendlessness
– Abnormal self-involvement
– Dropping out of activities
– Decline in academic or athletic performance
– Hostility, from one formerly pleasant and friendly

and continues, along with possible steps to take.

One problem with issuing such a diagnosis is stigma – and sometimes families, especially if not yet educated about mental illness, will resist the idea. So, I might add, will the people who are exhibiting the signs of mental illness – partly because the logic centers of their brain are impaired (anosognosia), and partly because of the shame and stigma we still associate with mental illness.

Your comments are right on. Wanna run for congress?
Thanks,
Randye

By: LAURIE ELISCU

LAURIE ELISCU — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 06:09:13 +0000

Hi Randye,
I didn’t know you’ve had this challenge, but glad to hear things are getting better and that you’ve been sharing this important information. This is what gets me: one keeps seeing signs that say “If you see something, say something” referring to terrorist attacks – especially in the city (where I now reside). But mental illness is just as potentially dangerous as terrorist attacks. Why don’t behavioral scientists publish “signs to look for” regarding this kind of illness – and a place/number to report it? Schools, especially, should know these signs. Social workers can visit people at risk. All these type of killings always say “he was a loner” and other traits. Apparently that’s a marker. Add to that, the person “left their school program or job.” In addition, there’s the need for some record of internet sales of guns and ammunition – and investigation into that. If we can send rockets to the moon, we should be able to identify “at risk” behavior, teach everyone what to keep an eye out for (just like signs of choking or heart attack), and create social work teams to investigate before it is too late. Mental illness IS real and can be dangerous to others. Anyway, bravo to you for writing about it and dealing with it so successfully.

By: Randye Kaye

Randye Kaye — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 17:49:43 +0000

Hi Paul. You are so right. Let’s hope that, step by step, we can make changes that add up to restored – and saved – lives. Thanks for writing, and for all you are doing. Your book Defying Mental Illness is a great help.

By: Paul Komarek

Paul Komarek — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 17:38:09 +0000

Hello Randye

There is so much tragedy and sadness building up around this incident.

I think this case shows what happens when everyone who wants to help has limitations, and the person at the center retains the capacity to show up anywhere looking okay. None of our formal systems can reach everywhere or everyone. Holmes faked sociability, did not live in a community, and seems not to have had any visitors at all.

Isolation is poison for people with mental illness. That’s why I always encourage people to connect with allies. I also promote strategies that keep families working together. Visiting family members and nosing around just a little keeps people safe.