Reply to Need URGENT help - Have seriously mentally ill young adult child

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]First of all it's a disease, don't blame your child and who cares what their GPA was or is.  stop with expectations.  Recovery is possible but you also have to change.  with that said this sounds just like one of our kids.  Is there substance abuse?  It sure sounds like it especially with the 
psychosis.  They need to want to get better and you have to have strong boundaries and not enable which is extremely difficult because you don't want to see a child go through this.

Seeing they are over 18 your options are limited and they will drain you of yourself without the boundaries.

Seek help for yourself if they are not going to get help, heck, even if they do get help, get some for yourself. therapy is a good things and don't shame this situation.  
[/quote]

I am typing this fast and lacking sleep for days together. So I am not eloquent and may have miscommunicated. I do not care about the GPA or blame DC for the disease. I am just feeling hopeless with the lack of support system for seriously mentally unwell AC who are expected to decide about their own healthcare. Mental sick patients lack the capacity to make self-preserving decision and yet out healthcare burdens them with the decision! How do parents let kids wither away?

I am attending NAMI classes and trying to educate myself fast. Yet I find this whole situation lacking solution. Is there any experienced parents who know any other way than letting adult mentally ill child languish?[/quote]

The problem is that it’s virtually impossible to hospitalize an adult for any length of time beyond when they’re a danger to self or others unless they’ve committed a crime.  And without hospitalization, stabilization is hard.  People with serious mental illness need medication, along with other supports.

This link has some resources that may be helpful: https://nationalepinet.org/resources/clients-and-families/

The RAISE/EpiNet initiative is a real success from NIMH and has helped a lot of people with psychosis, and their families.  The model of care the clinics use is called Coordinated Speciality Care.  It’s easier said than done, but it’s the gold standard treatment for young adults in this situation.[/quote]

Is the link above for families with repeat psychosis? I will try to reach out to them and see if I can get some help for DC. Thank you so much![/quote]

You’re welcome.  That link is for people with early psychotic episodes, which it sounds like your DC would fall under, in contrast to someone who was diagnosed with schizophrenia 10+ years ago, for example.  The overall takeaway is that care for people with repeated psychosis requires multidisciplinary care, and that care should be team-based.  There are good residential programs out there (e.g., Sheppard Pratt), which may ultimately be helpful for stabilization, though they’re not a long-term solution.  Ultimately, supportive care that allows your DC to live as independently as possible is the goal.

With respect to meds, there are clear downsides in the form of significant side effects.  At the same time, antipsychotics are also one of the best treatments we have to minimize risk of psychotic episodes and improve functioning.  Any competent, ethical psychiatrist with experience in this area would acknowledge the dialectic: the meds are vital AND have significant side effects.  That can mean titrating the dose to the lowest one that yields improvement, trying different meds to see what has the best benefit: risk ratio.  It doesn’t mean foregoing meds entirely.  While spontaneous and lasting recovery with meds is possible, it’s not common.

Please know this internet stranger is sending you hope and wishes for the best possible outcome for your child.  You’re doing your best - this stuff is damn hard.  Hugs.[/quote]

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