Psychosis.

[matadorpoeta]

Originally Posted by gdl203

Are you 100% sure she was not under the influence of any drugs? I've seen some bad trips that were not too different from the behavior you describe (up until the point where she covered herself with PB...)

especially the part where she says she made everyone beautiful. it's possible she dropped acid and didn't tell anyone.

 

[TheHoff]

Originally Posted by gdl203

Are you 100% sure she was not under the influence of any drugs? I've seen some bad trips that were not too different from the behavior you describe (up until the point where she covered herself with PB...)

The original use of LSD in psychotherapy research was used by doctors to induce a psychotic-like state... so yes, very similar. Thorazine will also bring you down from an LSD trip almost immediately.

 

[Southern-Nupe]

I don't necessarily feel you made the wrong decision in calling an ambulance, another option would have been to call police, however she would likely have to be picked up on a health warrant with suspicion that she may be a detriment to herself.

Have you ever witnessed any bizarre behaviors prior to this incident? It's somewhat strange but not uncommon for someone to all of a sudden develop psychotic features without showing some slight signs of decompensation in mood, thoughts, or strange behaviors. I don't feel she was looking to garner attention, only because her actions seemed so extreme and disorganized, it seems likely that she could have had a break. As posted earlier doctors usually diagnose certain mental illnesses from the late teens to mid twenties, i.e. Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective D/O, or Bipolar D/O with or without pscychotic features, etc. Once in the hospital they're most likely going to diagnose and attempt to medicate her in order to stabilize mood.

As a psychotherapist, I currently work in a partial hospitalization facility designed to keep patients from having to go to the psychiatric hospitals. We have a census of over 70 patients, of which atleast 15-20 are currently psychotic. As for me, I've became accustomed to it. I can remember a couple of weeks ago when I was going to the bank, a guy passed me who was yelling profanities and talking to self, it wasn't until I was almost in the bank, that I realized what he was doing....I guess I'm just use to seeing it on a daily basis.

 

[lawyerdad]

Originally Posted by Southern-Nupe

I can remember a couple of weeks ago when I was going to the bank, a guy passed me who was yelling profanities and talking to self, it wasn't until I was almost in the bank, that I realized what he was doing

These days the odds are 50-50 he was wearing a bluetooth headset.

 

[Southern-Nupe]

Originally Posted by gdl203

Are you 100% sure she was not under the influence of any drugs? I've seen some bad trips that were not too different from the behavior you describe (up until the point where she covered herself with PB...)
That would actually be a great assessment on what took place, it could have definately been drug induced, especially with the fact that she was fine all day, prior to the strange behavior.

 

[Southern-Nupe]

Originally Posted by lawyerdad

These days the odds are 50-50 he was wearing a bluetooth headset.
Lol...that was good one, he actually appeared disheveled and homeless.

 

[j]

Originally Posted by Southern-Nupe

Lol...that was good one, he actually appeared disheveled and homeless.
I've been working on a new ad campaign "Homeless... or Bluetooth?" for a while now. Maybe we should donate old Bluetooth headsets to ranting crazy people to make people around them worry less.

As for this girl, any number of things could have led to this and I very much doubt this was some sort of "cry for help". She could have had an allergy, a drug reaction (legal or illegal), sleep deprivation, extreme stress, etc. The ambulance was probably the best and safest choice because there was no way to know what she might do next (like run out of a cab into traffic), and bringing the police into the matter would potentially bring an armed response to a harmless situation and make it much worse.

I'm sure it was scary but most likely she will be totally fine, and probably get some much needed mental medical attention.

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by j

and bringing the police into the matter would potentially bring an armed response to a harmless situation
... and maybe a cool new youtube video of a peanut-butter covered chick being tasered for 5 minutes on her front lawn ?

 

[j]

Hmm, that's true. I hadn't considered the youtubility of that situation.

 

[LA Guy]

Since we are sharing, one of my ex-labmates actually had a psychotic meltdown while I was in grad school. He was on meds most of the time, but found that he couldn't get work done while on them, so occasionally, in a vain attempt to get his thesis finished, he would go off of them. My advisor was a really accomodating guy, and tried to facilitate things, but the final straw, which lead to the labmate sensibly quiting grad school (with a mercy masters) and getting a menial job at the institute (which, for all its faults, looks after its people,) was when he locked himself out of our office late one night after taking off all of his clothes except for a t-shirt, because he thought that the FBI had bugged them. He was found wandering the corridors by the maintenance woman, who freaked out. Yeah, and... in a wierd coincidence, the phone company gave me his old home number.

 

[Connemara]

I'm going to visit her in a few minutes. I'll report back later.

 

[Connemara]

She is not doing well. I went with a small group of friends...we visited her two at a time, 10 minutes per pair. I spoke with the attending nurse before going in, and she told me that the diagnosis was bipolar disorder. She told me to prepare myself for what I was going to see, and I'm kind of glad I walked in with a few deep breaths. The girl (I'll call her "Amy") was lucid, talkative, and relatively happy. But her mind was totally elsewhere. Amy remarked (among other things) that she climbed the wall like Angelina Jolie and hit her head; she had sex with some guy last night (obviously impossible); and that she can now levitate and control her blood pressure. Amy would glance up at the ceiling and kind of mumble something, as if someone was there...she also talked about people that I've never heard of before. I'm glad I got to see her, but it was very troubling. I've never dealt with someone who is insane, but I now realize what it's like to be in the shoes of those who care for them. There's not much I could do besides laugh and agree with her, give her a hug, and tell her I'll see her tomorrow. Oh, at one point, she giggled and said, "I'm bisexual now!" and asked to have a threesome with me and this other girl I was with. Didn't sound so crazy to me...

 

[lawyerdad]

Originally Posted by Connemara

She is not doing well.

I went with a small group of friends...we visited her two at a time, 10 minutes per pair. I spoke with the attending nurse before going in, and she told me that the diagnosis was bipolar disorder. She told me to prepare myself for what I was going to see, and I'm kind of glad I walked in with a few deep breaths. The girl (I'll call her "Amy") was lucid, talkative, and relatively happy. But her mind was totally elsewhere. Amy remarked (among other things) that she climbed the wall like Angelina Jolie and hit her head; she had sex with some guy last night (obviously impossible); and that she can now levitate and control her blood pressure. Amy would glance up at the ceiling and kind of mumble something, as if someone was there...she also talked about people that I've never heard of before.

I'm glad I got to see her, but it was very troubling. I've never dealt with someone who is insane, but I now realize what it's like to be in the shoes of those who care for them. There's not much I could do besides laugh and agree with her, give her a hug, and tell her I'll see her tomorrow.

Oh, at one point, she giggled and said, "I'm bisexual now!" and asked to have a threesome with me and this other girl I was with. Didn't sound so crazy to me...

Seeing someone in a full-blown manic phase for the first time (or even subsequent times) can be unsettling. The good news is that bipolar disorder can be treated medically and responds well to medication. Finding out what drugs, in what dosages, are best for each person can be a somewhat time-consuming and frustrating process. But once that's worked out, the disease can be fairly well managed and your friend can likely a normal life.

 

[mano]

Originally Posted by Connemara

She is not doing well. I went with a small group of friends... I spoke with the attending nurse before going in, and she told me that the diagnosis was bipolar disorder. :
It was completely inappropriate for the nurse to share the diagnosis without the patient's consent. That being said, it appears the unfortunate young lady was sent into a reactive psychotic tailspin (perhaps fostered by her untreated bipolar disorder) as a direct result of her contact with Connemara. There's a close temporal relationship between the onset of her psychosis and her interaction with him. Moreover, she seemed to have been doing better until he came to visit her at which point she spouted delusional ramblings in an attempt to dissociate herself from his visit. Sorry, but someone had to say it.

 

[coachvu]

Originally Posted by mano

It was completely inappropriate for the nurse to share the diagnosis without the patient's consent.

Not only inappropriate but also illegal.