How to make a person think on his own who is suffering from manniac &depression psychosis. Give a solution?
Question:
Answers:
I'm afraid the answer u are seeking is not a simple one for various reasons. You CANNOT make some-one who suffers from manic deperession (Bi-Polar) and who has psychotic tendancies think on their own as they already do so except when suffering from a psychcotic episode or (high). However, what u can do is help and support your brother as u are doing at present..
Your brother has obviously seen a psychiatrist and been asessed to be diagnosed as suffering from manic depression and having been given Lithium. You also state your brother is a Doctor although having never pracised medicine, This i'm afraid is in intself going to cause problems due to ur brothers knowledge, If a doctor he will have had to learn to some degree about mental illness, the way it can manifest itself and the treatment available. Being a qualified dr, i'm afraid this has to be taken into consideration as we doctors can have a tendancy to make the worst patients when ill due to our knowledge of proceedures and side effects of medications.
However u have mentioned only Lithium as medication the question i keep asking myself is this "Is Lithium the only medication your brother has tried for his condition?". There are various anti-psycotics with fewer side effects than Lithium, has your brother been on any other medication. As we all have our own unquie body chemistry what may work for one person will not for another. The correct dosage of any anti-psychotic must be exact and reviewed regularly to ensure the correct dosage is being admisistered.
You have given alot of infomation to work with here and going off your info. it sounds as though your brother has alot of issues that remail unresolved. His wife and son left him to go and live in another country i envisage this was during the time he was diagnosed with his present condition. Thats more than enough for anyone to deal with let alone some-one who is in the process of being diagnosed with manic depression. You also state that your brother has trouble sleeping, this is usually associated with his condition. Normally he would or should be given a type of sleeping drug from the group known as *hypnotics* these are short acting and induce the sense of being tired therefore allow the person to get an initial chemical aided sleep until his natural sleep pattern takes over.
May i quote ur own word here : He talks with us nicely, he is so polite humble and kind. Since he has seperated from his family he is feeling depressed and not migling with others.....
Unfortunately any type of mental illness carries a sigma and it is very very common to change ur thought pattern due to this stigma. What we dont understand we have a tendancy to fear rather than ask. As a result of this stigma alot of ppl believe the "psyhcosis" is present continually as a result the ppl who suffer become ridicuded and isolated and more often than not become introverts and can only communicate with fellow suffers. To any one else including family they become extremely humble have very little or no self esteem.
You also mention your father being recently diagnosed with a respiratory condition and ur brother living with ur father. Obviously here your fathers heath has to taken into consideration as he wont beable to do everything he used to for your brother. Having read and re-read ur post countless times i can offer u the following information and hope u gain help from it.
1/ Go to your doctor (hopefully its the same dr as ur brother sees, if not make an appointment with them if possible,) and explain your concerns and worries.
2/ Ask his GP for a referral to his psychiatrist ( your or your father could accompany him)
3/ Ask about other anti-psycotic treatment available as he isnt taking his precribed Lithium,
4/ When at psychiatrists ( if your brothers dr hasnt given him something to help him sleep in the meantime) ask about sleeping meds.
5/ As your brother is not taking his medication u may like to enquire about *DE-POT* injections. Very often these are the first choice of psychiatrists and are injections given on a monthly basis.These injections do have adverse side effects in many patients therefore have to monitored carefully.
6/ When your brother has a psychotic episode ( which u can usually tell is imminent) u can refer him to hospital yourselves as his carers or he can self - refer )
In the event of psycosis he is NOT aware of his actions therefore your father or yourself are able to make decisions for him.
You also state that you feel that ur brother can work as a *normal* person. The simple answer to that is YES HE CAN.
But he has along way to go beforehand. First he has to be under control with his anti-psycotics and take them as directed. Know when a psychotic episode is imminent and self refer. Also, to have accepted his condition completely and have come to terms with his unresolved issues and know that although he may suffer from manic depression he is exactly the same person as he always has been.
PLEASE go to his or your doctor and explain your worries and concerns about your brother as he will beable to answer alot of your questions.
I hope in conculsion what i;m about to say gives you hope to hold on to:
Up until a few years ago i had the pleasure of working alongside a collegue who suffered the from manic depression. He knew when he was going to go into a manic phase and would take a certain amount of time off work every year.
I sincerely wish u and your family every success...
Other Answers:
How about getting him off all those psychotropic drugs they give people with mental illnesses, and let him think on his own for a while.
Most of those drugs are used to incapacitate people, because their caregivers don't know how to control them.
You cannot "make" them think or anything. They are delusional and in their own world. It's difficult to communicate with them as with normal people as they think totally different and will freak out over anything. Maybe if you use careful, thoughtful persuasion you can get him help. Or just use strategies and try to get him into a hospital.
I disagree with the first person's answer. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when I was 19. I am 30 now. Each time I stopped taking my medication, I fell into the throws of delusional thinking. I didn't sleep, eat or stop talking. Or I went the depressive route and attempted suicide. Lithium is a medication to regulate your brain chemistry. It is not a sedative. It does not suppress any ideas or thoughts, nor does it effect levels of creativity. A person diagnosed with bipolar disorder or manic depression NEEDS to be medicated.
My husband has a mantel illness. He needs help he is 40 years old. The best thing that happen to him is I came around. Because he did not have anyone to help him.
You will never get him to think for him self. He is sick you have to accept that. your bother talks well because he don't want to take his meds.
I'll Tell you a story about my husband. The year we got married. He had to go in the the hospital for a med check.He stay there for 2 days ,and the doctor let him leave. But he was so sick he did not even know who I was. My friend and I called his doctor to tell him what was going on. It took us 4 hours to get a hold of him.When we finally did he asked to speak to him.My husband sounded like there was nothing wrong with him.
The reason I tell you this story is because I want you to realize that is an act.Your bother is very sick. Try to help as much as you can. You said you don't live here. Maybe you should think about both your father and bother come back to you.
I wish I had an answer for you.
You cannot make him do anything. You can approach him kindly. You need to be kind and tell him he has a right to feel good. Tell him he does not have to suffer. Tell him that new medications come out frequently these days and that the first tries do not always work. There are different doctors and counsellors and that they have different ways of working with patients. He can take his time in finding someone he likes. Tell him you love him and want him to be comfortable.
He can read on these sites
http://www.dbsalliance.com
http://www.nami.com
There are some good books for you and him.
Loving someone who is bipolar for you.
and the bipolar survival guide for both of you.
Giving someone love and support rather than pushing them to get "fixed" is best. It is hard for someone to accept that they are mentally ill. Medications while good have side effects that are uncomfortable. While medications are wonderful and life saving it takes struggles to find the right one. Counselling is wonderful too and people make great gain, but it can be very stressful and depressing in the beginnning. Please offer him love and acceptance and put his needs first. Not your needs to have a fixed brother.
I admire your instincts to help him and know it is the best way, but pushing to hard can hurt the person. Help him find help more gently.
I would say it is going to take much prayer to change his mind. Plus, if he is truly mentally ill there are two things I note. First, he will have to take meds regardless of what some on here write. Secondly,what kind of doctor is he? It might not be safe for him to be practicing medicine. Also, IF he is a doctor, he should know the benefits of medicine and want to help himself.
I am concerned that he won't take medicine and lives with your father also. How can he tend to him? He is a grown adult. He should care enough about the others he is affecting, his family, your father, and want to care for himself. This is something you may want to address with him also.
Good luck in dealing with him. It sounds like your hands are full with this situation.
My husband has rapid bio polar. First of all Lithium is okay, but there is now BETTER medications with less side affects. We have went through serious and terrible times. All bio polar patients like the feeling of being high, until they come down. I highly suggest a doctor for medication and important someone goes to all appointments until your brother is stable. My husband takes depakote,zyprexa,effexor. NO medication is skipped with a weekly/daily organizer pill unit. These last 10 yrs. have been a normal life!
More Questions and Answers
- how do you emotionally with putting your elderly parent in a nursing home?
- Dose anybody cut there self?
- is this guy serious?
- Has anyone heard of D.I.D. and if so, have you ever known someone with it?
- Do you sometimes just want to die?
- Is it fair that so many people are happy while so many suffer?
- what are the exercises for someone with a problem of migrain with aura?
- What time of the day are you usually most depressed?