Topic : 11/23 Schizophrenia

First of all Mary, may God bless you for your courage in letting everyone know what people really experience.  I know that you said the voices tell you that you are fat and ugly.  What I took from the show is this:  When you smiled, your smile lights up your entire face.  You are not only a beautiful person on the inside, you are truely beautiful on the outside.   

I would also like to applaud your husband, for caring, for sharing and sticking with you through this all, what a wonderful man you truely are!  Oh that the world possessed more men like you. 

Stay strong Mary, you will be such a role model to all those people dealing with the same thing you are dealing with.  I wish you only the very best in life.   You deserve it.  

I just posted a message about the person I am dating. He is suffering from schizophrenia, and I hope that you will write me back! I could use some support! Thanks, Tori 

E-mail me please 

trm_hhs18@yahoo.com  

I was immediately drawn to the TV when I overheard the situation Ann Marie and Tim face with regard to their mother’s mental illness.  My older sister suffers from the exact symptoms and deals with many of the same paranoia attacks.  She has been diagnosed with bi-polar and a manic depressive disorder, and has been legally labeled insane for a charged criminal act.  Our family has had numerous court orders to try getting her the proper help that she needs.  She insists that there is nothing wrong with her, just as Ann Marie's mother has done.  With previous court orders, she is held for only a few days and released.  My sister's illness became prevalent with her addiction to illegal drugs.  I have concerns that she continues to abuse illegal drugs, and/or prescribed medications.  She does not take her medication properly, this I do know.  I'm not sure she is able to do so with her given mental state.  She is divorced and has 2 daughters.  Her oldest daughter, age 21, carries most of this huge weight herself.  She, along with every other family member, has tried to get her the help she needs ...to no avail.  My "real" sister is a very loving, caring, talented lady...she would do anything for anybody, give you her last dime, and surely make you smile and laugh.  Unfortunately, at age 39, she lives an unthinkable life.  I can't see how her body can last much longer.  I do fear that she may hurt herself and that she 'could' hurt someone else.  With most of her teeth rotted and gone, her hair completely pulled out piece-by-piece, no sleep, and no food....how can her body continue?  Please???!!!  If there is a suggestion or recommendations that can help us get her the help she so desperately needs ~ tell me -------  We are at a loss for what to do next.  I had lost so much hope, until today, feeling that unless she commits a major crime that sends her to prison - she will never get the help she needs....that she so desperately deserves!  Thank you… Ann Marie and Tim for sharing your story.  It  has helped me restore my faith and hope for her future with this horrible mental illness.  I really started to think she was just 'crazy'.  I'm telling you the scenes are so similar...voices, CIA watching her through the TV, the murder mysteries, phones unhooked, blankets hung over things (like the TV) so people can't see her....right down to the crazy talk about her and President Bush.  Unfortunately, I live 1200 miles away from my sister (she lives in IA and I live in LA) so I'm not there to support for my nieces who deal with this everyday.  My father, who lives in the same town, is in denial about 1/2 of the time and the other 1/2 he struggles with guilt as if he is responsible.  I do have an older sister who is a mental health specialist.  She, too, has tried absolutely everything to get her help.  I don't know what is next??  But, after today, I don't want to give up trying.  I would give anything to give her back her life!  It would offer the greatest gift to my nieces, who need and want their mother to be part of their lives.  Finally, for anyone who knows Mona (the true MONA) you would agree that a person with her character and genuine good heartedness deserves a better life.  Thank you.  

I'm basically in the same boat as you.  I can remember my mom being taking away when I was 5 to go to the hospital for the first stay....here it is 30 years later...but now I am the one who has to make those tough decisions.  However, I went to court and was granted a "limited guardianship" for medical decisions when my mom is having issues and can't make logical decisions.  I don't have to go back to court each time that I need to hospitalize her.  I do have to fill out some yearly paperwork for the court system, but it really isn't a big deal.   

Often a person with frontal lobe epilepsy may not know they have this disorder but will see divine or demonic visions. Similarly a person with a psychosis or schizophrenia may hear "voices, or demons" or even smell things that none else can smell. The following is an encyclopedia definition of epilepsy.  Perhaps someone decades ago prayed for a person with the same disorder, we now have medication that can help with the uncomfortable effects of her chemical imbalance.  

In the past, epilepsy has been associated with religious experiences and even demonic possession. Historically, epilepsy was called the "Sacred Disease" because people thought that epileptic seizures were a form of attack by demons, and that the visions epileptics experienced were sent by the Gods. Hippocrates remarked that epilepsy would be considered divine only until it was understood [1]. 

thank you so much for airing a show on the issues of schizophrenia and mental illness. i am a nurse working on an acute inpatient mental healh unit who works every day with people afflicted with this and other mental illnesses.  

Mary, you are a strong, beautiful person who has shared valuable information with the world about this very important issue. Professionals can lecture until they can no longer speak, but people like you are the ones who can really teach about mental illness. I learned about all of the mental illnesses in books before seeing a client with schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar disorder. No book can tell you as much as spending just 5 minutes with someone living the experience of the illness. You struggle daily to live a life with your husband and son, and have immense strength to share with the world your experience. I hope you continue to teach those around you.   

I am worried that i may have Schizophrenia. I have a small case of ADD and I am Dyslexic, so I dont know if that has any thing to do with it. 

I havent seen people/ demons while I was awake, but I have dreams of people critisizing me and makeing me feel like i cant do things good and Im not good enough, often they are people I know. 

I also feel as if some one is always watching me when ever I am alone and I tend to hear foot steps when I am alone, as if they are coming towards me.  

I also imagin things happen to me.. and I also have like kind of arguments in my head with a voice that isnt mine. Once I heard my self (the self that doesnt sound like me) telling me that i should kill my self and every one would be happier. 

Please Contact me ASAP.  

Heheheh. 

Leyna.  You sound cool.  I bet if we got to know each other, we'd be fast friends.   

"my health insurance doesn't cover exorcisms of schizophrenia due to demonic posession," 

You sure? Not even under  the "Archaic and highly suspect torturous treatements" clause?