Neighbor is unmediated schizophrenic; anything to do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure why a Bethesda like neighborhood matters.

Be kind to him and his parents. See what you can do to help out.

Because you’d think in a neighborhood like that, the “elderly parents” would be more conscientious of this sort of thing & would have hired a caretaker. I know you can’t afford to live in such a neighborhood, but this is one of many reasons why people pay top dollar to. To have peace & quiet.

Its clear you have no experience with mental illness. What exactly do you think a "caretaker" would do to prevent this?

I meant a live-in caretaker. And, the mentally ill individual stay inside.

Not going to happen. Next!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that schizophrenics can become paranoid and violent. I would be very worried if I were the neighbors. Set up cameras, fence, etc, and help out the parents with county information and resources.

+1 Posters saying they're rarely paranoid and harm others are incorrect.

No, statistically those posters are correct and you are not.

PP here. You can quote statistics, but it's not a rare occurrence for unmedicated individuals with schizophrenia to experienced paranoia and become aggressive. (I didn't say most.)

A. This poster actually has no idea whether or not her neighbor is unmedicated. None. Zip. Zero. I realize the armchair mental health warriors here strongly believe that if people with schizophrenia just took their meds, they would act normal. That is not the case.

B. It is nowhere near common enough to justify calling the police just because a person is behaving in an unseemly way in public. What exactly do you think the cops are going to do?

Sadly, there are many men and women walking the streets of big cities because people think it's a better life than being in long-term care in a hospital or group home. I strongly disagree.

[Anonymous]

Please understand that the parents are overwhelmed and the mental health system in this country is so poor. Before the 1980's there was effective help for mentally ill people, it's very difficult now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that schizophrenics can become paranoid and violent. I would be very worried if I were the neighbors. Set up cameras, fence, etc, and help out the parents with county information and resources.

+1 Posters saying they're rarely paranoid and harm others are incorrect.

+1. This is the primary concern. Sorry for the parents and family but OP should be concerned about the safety of her own family. If you can afford to move, do it. Your children do not have to live next door to a schizophrenic who could potentially be violent to learn about mental illness. Safety first.

Note all the PPs advising that OP care for the neighbors mental state, call parents to offer support, and essential dismiss her own safety are typing away from the safety and comfort of their own homes - where they are likely not living next door to potential risks to their families.

What a bizarre idea. I have a severely mentally ill person in my home with me; that's the basis for my advice. Clutch your pearls all you want about it, I guess.

Don't call the cops.

If there is ever an unstable, mentally ill human who could potentially cause harm to my family wreaking havoc in the streets, I am absolutely calling the police.

No crime has been committed. “Wreaking havoc?” Are you 80?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that schizophrenics can become paranoid and violent. I would be very worried if I were the neighbors. Set up cameras, fence, etc, and help out the parents with county information and resources.

+1 Posters saying they're rarely paranoid and harm others are incorrect.

No, statistically those posters are correct and you are not.

PP here. You can quote statistics, but it's not a rare occurrence for unmedicated individuals with schizophrenia to experienced paranoia and become aggressive. (I didn't say most.)

A. This poster actually has no idea whether or not her neighbor is unmedicated. None. Zip. Zero. I realize the armchair mental health warriors here strongly believe that if people with schizophrenia just took their meds, they would act normal. That is not the case.

B. It is nowhere near common enough to justify calling the police just because a person is behaving in an unseemly way in public. What exactly do you think the cops are going to do?

Sadly, there are many men and women walking the streets of big cities because people think it's a better life than being in long-term care in a hospital or group home. I strongly disagree.

Have you been in long-term care in a hospital or a group home?

[Anonymous]

Is this on the hill? May not be the same person of course, but there is a situation like this on the hill. The police are aware and neighbors have been told to call 911 if he’s seen on church or school grounds, or trespassing private property.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that schizophrenics can become paranoid and violent. I would be very worried if I were the neighbors. Set up cameras, fence, etc, and help out the parents with county information and resources.

+1 Posters saying they're rarely paranoid and harm others are incorrect.

+1. This is the primary concern. Sorry for the parents and family but OP should be concerned about the safety of her own family. If you can afford to move, do it. Your children do not have to live next door to a schizophrenic who could potentially be violent to learn about mental illness. Safety first.

Note all the PPs advising that OP care for the neighbors mental state, call parents to offer support, and essential dismiss her own safety are typing away from the safety and comfort of their own homes - where they are likely not living next door to potential risks to their families.

What a bizarre idea. I have a severely mentally ill person in my home with me; that's the basis for my advice. Clutch your pearls all you want about it, I guess.

Don't call the cops.

If there is ever an unstable, mentally ill human who could potentially cause harm to my family wreaking havoc in the streets, I am absolutely calling the police.

No crime has been committed. “Wreaking havoc?” Are you 80?

Have you not heard the expression? I suggest you read more.

And yes, screaming and creating disturbance in the streets, posting a threat to neighbors and/or surroundings, is a reason to call the police. You PPs are absurd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that schizophrenics can become paranoid and violent. I would be very worried if I were the neighbors. Set up cameras, fence, etc, and help out the parents with county information and resources.

+1 Posters saying they're rarely paranoid and harm others are incorrect.

+1. This is the primary concern. Sorry for the parents and family but OP should be concerned about the safety of her own family. If you can afford to move, do it. Your children do not have to live next door to a schizophrenic who could potentially be violent to learn about mental illness. Safety first.

Note all the PPs advising that OP care for the neighbors mental state, call parents to offer support, and essential dismiss her own safety are typing away from the safety and comfort of their own homes - where they are likely not living next door to potential risks to their families.

What a bizarre idea. I have a severely mentally ill person in my home with me; that's the basis for my advice. Clutch your pearls all you want about it, I guess.

Don't call the cops.

If there is ever an unstable, mentally ill human who could potentially cause harm to my family wreaking havoc in the streets, I am absolutely calling the police.

No crime has been committed. “Wreaking havoc?” Are you 80?

Have you not heard the expression? I suggest you read more.

And yes, screaming and creating disturbance in the streets, posting a threat to neighbors and/or surroundings, is a reason to call the police. You PPs are absurd.

Let's see who is absurd here. Screaming itself is not a threat. What exactly do you think the police are going to do? The actual, Montgomery County MD police who will come if OP calls them? Spell it out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But doesn’t he have a right to be an unmedicated mental patient?

He has not actually injured anyone (yet).

It is time to restore the inpatient mental asylum system, though in a companionate way with ample safeguards.

Oh, it’s you again. You didn’t get enough attention on the other thread?

I'm sure that there are many of us who think long-term hospitalization is appropriate for some mentally ill individuals.

Do you have any idea how expensive long-term inpatient care is?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But doesn’t he have a right to be an unmedicated mental patient?

He has not actually injured anyone (yet).

It is time to restore the inpatient mental asylum system, though in a companionate way with ample safeguards.

Oh, it’s you again. You didn’t get enough attention on the other thread?

I'm sure that there are many of us who think long-term hospitalization is appropriate for some mentally ill individuals.

Do you have any idea how expensive long-term inpatient care is?

+1 we were trying to help out a family member and it was over 8000/month.

[Anonymous]

screaming in public probably qualifies as "public disorder"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:screaming in public probably qualifies as "public disorder"

Again. What do you think the response of the Montgomery County, MD police to this will be?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

As a coincidence, on my way home from an errand this morning I was stopped at a light and saw a floridly psychotic person having an animated conversation with imaginary friends at the roadside. I felt no fear. I recalled what my grandmother always told me when we would see someone different like that out in public. Touched by God, she would tell me. These are the people God sends among us to test our compassion and character. Would you pass?

I have a floridly psychotic person who lives 4 houses away from me in a quiet neighborhood. But his conversations aren't animated with imaginary friends. That'd be AOK with me.

His screams are deeply troubling. He shouts for long periods of time from his front yard, cuss words, words of death and destruction and anger at someone (usually the FBI). It's horrible to have to hear it. I feel nothing but sorry for him and his family, but this isn't behavior that is just easy to let roll of your back.

I do feel fear when I hear him. The tone of voice and content of his words sound angry, violent, and deranged. I have no idea if he has any access to guns.

[Anonymous]

The people that are arguing about statistics can both be right. Most mentally ill people are no more likely to be violent than anyone else. But if you are talking about a subset with delusions that make them extremely angry and prone to expressing violent views, those statistics are very different. Like the person who shot gabby Gifford or the one who shot up the movie theater in Colorado —- those individuals had delusions that they were enraged by, and their family members were seriously concerned they were a danger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

As a coincidence, on my way home from an errand this morning I was stopped at a light and saw a floridly psychotic person having an animated conversation with imaginary friends at the roadside. I felt no fear. I recalled what my grandmother always told me when we would see someone different like that out in public. Touched by God, she would tell me. These are the people God sends among us to test our compassion and character. Would you pass?

I have a floridly psychotic person who lives 4 houses away from me in a quiet neighborhood. But his conversations aren't animated with imaginary friends. That'd be AOK with me.

His screams are deeply troubling. He shouts for long periods of time from his front yard, cuss words, words of death and destruction and anger at someone (usually the FBI). It's horrible to have to hear it. I feel nothing but sorry for him and his family, but this isn't behavior that is just easy to let roll of your back.

I do feel fear when I hear him. The tone of voice and content of his words sound angry, violent, and deranged. I have no idea if he has any access to guns.

Are you an FBI employee?