Mental Health Crisis in America: what do we do?

[RetiredGySgt]

WinterBorn, I'd love to talk more with you on ADHD. We both have it, lived it, experienced it.

As for kids we need to stop diagnosing childhood behavior as mental illness.

Does this include ADHD?

ADHD is hereditary, and a biophysiological disorder.

I seriously doubt the millions diagnosed as children with numerous supposed conditions have them. Some may but the over reaction and the lazy parents that demand treatment are part of the problem, the rest of it is the doctors that over medicate for simple childhood behavior.

You can not tell me that suddenly in the last 20 years we have millions of adhd when their parents never had it if it is inherited.

We have a local facility here that I was in and out of from 96 to 2001. It went from a very small child section with a geriatric section and large adult section to no geriatric and very few beds for adults. There is no way that many kids suddenly had problems so severe they had to be locked up.

There are certainly children misdiagnosed with ADHD. ADHD certainly exists. It is real.

Working in a neurorehabilitative hospital, during orientation we were shown slides which contained pictures of brain scans. Ones of those with ADHD, and those without. The differences were apparent.

It could be that ADHD has gone untreated and misunderstood because people of the past generation were ignorant. They thought hitting a child suffering from the disorder was well enough. People know how the mentally-insane were treated in centuries past, too.

Children do not get locked up for having ADHD. That is not logical. That is not factual. You should study what ADHD and its various forms are.

I never said they got locked up for adhd. I pointed out that a facility went from having few beds for children to be locked up to almost all their beds being for children and then I pointed out that in 6 years it was not likely that that many children suddenly developed such severe problems that they all needed to be locked up. Hell I saw a 5 year old in lock up at lunch.

 

[Wake]

Society only recently became aware of the existence of ADHD.

ADHD may only be part of the issues those children are dealing with.

 

[Disir]

Most psych wards aren't going to even admit you if you aren't suicidal. That's key.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Most psych wards aren't going to even admit you if you aren't suicidal. That's key.

S a 5 year old was suicidal? I met those kids most of them were just normal kids. I spent time with them because there were no adults to do programs with. The teenagers were for the most part just fine, a couple did have suicidal problems of course.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

WinterBorn, I'd love to talk more with you on ADHD. We both have it, lived it, experienced it.

As for kids we need to stop diagnosing childhood behavior as mental illness.

Does this include ADHD?

ADHD is hereditary, and a biophysiological disorder.

I seriously doubt the millions diagnosed as children with numerous supposed conditions have them. Some may but the over reaction and the lazy parents that demand treatment are part of the problem, the rest of it is the doctors that over medicate for simple childhood behavior.

You can not tell me that suddenly in the last 20 years we have millions of adhd when their parents never had it if it is inherited.

We have a local facility here that I was in and out of from 96 to 2001. It went from a very small child section with a geriatric section and large adult section to no geriatric and very few beds for adults. There is no way that many kids suddenly had problems so severe they had to be locked up.

There are certainly children misdiagnosed with ADHD. ADHD certainly exists. It is real.

Working in a neurorehabilitative hospital, during orientation we were shown slides which contained pictures of brain scans. Ones of those with ADHD, and those without. The differences were apparent.

It could be that ADHD has gone untreated and misunderstood because people of the past generation were ignorant. They thought hitting a child suffering from the disorder was well enough. People know how the mentally-insane were treated in centuries past, too.

Children do not get locked up for having ADHD. That is not logical. That is not factual. You should study what ADHD and its various forms are.

Did you have english classes? I am amazed you do not understand the concept that a separate paragraph in a body of work can actually be about something not covered in the preceding paragraphs. How else could you think that simply because I talked about ADHD that meant I was talking about them being locked up?

 

[Marianne]

Bring back the long term psychiatric facilities.

And that's it.

I agree. As a parent who has had this problem, long term residential facilities need to make a comeback because some children don't belong in jail but out patient therapy doesn't always work well enough either. When a person falls into the category of being in-between with a combo of behavioral issues and psychiatric issues there is no place to put them to get the 24 hour professional help they need.

 

[Old Rocks]

The costs to society without them is even higher, in my opinion.

Bring back the long term psychiatric facilities.

And that's it.

Yeah but that costs tax money. And its mean. So both sides hate it. Their answer is...call the cops. Which is a terrible solution as we see because, well, cops arent psychiatrists.

Not when you live in a gated community. ..OR when your views on society is that enough hugs and govt ass kissing can cure crazy.

Sure didn't help you.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

The costs to society without them is even higher, in my opinion.

Bring back the long term psychiatric facilities.

And that's it.

Yeah but that costs tax money. And its mean. So both sides hate it. Their answer is...call the cops. Which is a terrible solution as we see because, well, cops arent psychiatrists.

Not when you live in a gated community. ..OR when your views on society is that enough hugs and govt ass kissing can cure crazy.

Sure didn't help you.

And here we see part f the problem.

 

[depotoo]

The costs to society without them is even higher, in my opinion.

Bring back the long term psychiatric facilities.

And that's it.

Yeah but that costs tax money. And its mean. So both sides hate it. Their answer is...call the cops. Which is a terrible solution as we see because, well, cops arent psychiatrists.

I said bring back the long term psychiatric facilities not wipe them off the planet.

Who said anything about wiping them off the planet? They need care they are not getting, and their families need relief from the stress of never knowing if they are ok or not.

 

[Disir]

Most psych wards aren't going to even admit you if you aren't suicidal. That's key.

S a 5 year old was suicidal? I met those kids most of them were just normal kids. I spent time with them because there were no adults to do programs with. The teenagers were for the most part just fine, a couple did have suicidal problems of course.

Or expressed some thoughts of wanting to harm themselves or was homicidal. Or exhibited bizarre behavior for that age group. I mean bizarre.

It's a money thing.

It's not how people function in a psych hospital.

It's how they function outside of the hospital.

 

[Disir]

The costs to society without them is even higher, in my opinion.

Bring back the long term psychiatric facilities.

And that's it.

Yeah but that costs tax money. And its mean. So both sides hate it. Their answer is...call the cops. Which is a terrible solution as we see because, well, cops arent psychiatrists.

I said bring back the long term psychiatric facilities not wipe them off the planet.

Who said anything about wiping them off the planet? They need care they are not getting, and their families need relief from the stress of never knowing if they are ok or not.

My apologies. I misread what you wrote and thought you meant that I was implying to get rid of the people.

 

[depotoo]

Boredom in children with higher intelligence can lead to that misdiagnosis. Kids with problems at home can be misdiagnosed. Some with allergies, same thing.

As for kids we need to stop diagnosing childhood behavior as mental illness.

Does this include ADHD?

ADHD is hereditary, and a biophysiological disorder.

I seriously doubt the millions diagnosed as children with numerous supposed conditions have them. Some may but the over reaction and the lazy parents that demand treatment are part of the problem, the rest of it is the doctors that over medicate for simple childhood behavior.

You can not tell me that suddenly in the last 20 years we have millions of adhd when their parents never had it if it is inherited.

We have a local facility here that I was in and out of from 96 to 2001. It went from a very small child section with a geriatric section and large adult section to no geriatric and very few beds for adults. There is no way that many kids suddenly had problems so severe they had to be locked up.

I think ADD/ADHD has always been around. There are two reasons we see more cases or why it shows up more.

First of all, it is more easily diagnosed since they know what they are looking for. Are there bad diagnoses? Sure there are. And plenty of parents looking for an excuse for little Johnny. But the inability to stay focused, and the other issues are not fake.

Second of all, our world requires more and more multi-tasking and focus. We also have more and more details to maintain and remember.

Third, in my day you had your ass kicked for things that would be recognized as ADD/ADHD today. That didn't help my problem. It taught me to hide the problem and fake it. So instead of brilliant student with some issues, I became a C student who didn't buck the system.

 

[Disir]

Bring back the long term psychiatric facilities.

And that's it.

I agree. As a parent who has had this problem, long term residential facilities need to make a comeback because some children don't belong in jail but out patient therapy doesn't always work well enough either. When a person falls into the category of being in-between with a combo of behavioral issues and psychiatric issues there is no place to put them to get the 24 hour professional help they need.

Edited for: They have long term residential facilities but .............they are usually unaffordable and sometimes inadequate for psyche issues.
And too, there are kids that are never going to be able to live on their own. They reach the age of majority and the parents can't legally control them or physically control them. So the parents do the best they can and when they pass away there is nothing or no one to care for these individuals.

It's a constant dealing with a ticking time bomb in some cases.

 

[hunarcy]

Bring back the long term psychiatric facilities.

And that's it.

Yeah but that costs tax money. And its mean. So both sides hate it. Their answer is...call the cops. Which is a terrible solution as we see because, well, cops arent psychiatrists.

Mean?

Getting people the treatment they need is not "mean". It's the most compassionate thing that can be done, even as it prevents the mentally ill from being a danger to themselves and others.

 

[depotoo]

Those that haven't dealt with the mentally ill don'-t understand that normal to the seriously mentally ill is when they are off their meds. On their meds feels abnormal to them, thus they find any way they can not to take it.

 

[Marianne]

Bring back the long term psychiatric facilities.

And that's it.

I agree. As a parent who has had this problem, long term residential facilities need to make a comeback because some children don't belong in jail but out patient therapy doesn't always work well enough either. When a person falls into the category of being in-between with a combo of behavioral issues and psychiatric issues there is no place to put them to get the 24 hour professional help they need.

And too, there are kids that are never going to be able to live on their own. They reach the age of majority and the parents can't legally control them or physically control them. So the parents do the best they can and when they pass away there is nothing or no one to care for these individuals.

It's a constant dealing with a ticking time bomb in some cases.

I'm almost at that cross road myself. My child is 17 and I can't see her functioning well in society as much as we've tried to help her.


My cousin is "slow" and is currently being taken care of by my aging aunt; he's in his 40's. He is stuck at about the mental age of 14 and has had violent outbursts. I have no clue what's going to happen to him when my Aunt passes. He has a brother and I assume the brother will be given care of him. He can't live on his own but he does function well enough to hold a job at a grocery store. I feel bad for the brother because he has already raised his own kids by himself,his sister died a year ago and now he's raising her kids and at some point he's going to get care of his brother.

In both cases there is only so much we can do. When my child turns 18 I won't be able to do anything legally. I have a feeling there's going to be a long road ahead for both of us.

 

[Marianne]

Those that haven't dealt with the mentally ill don'-t understand that normal to the seriously mentally ill is when they are off their meds. On their meds feels abnormal to them, thus they find any way they can not to take it.

Meds really haven't helped my child anyway.

 

[depotoo]

It can take many years and many different docs and different combinations to come up with a working formula, and then, the attempt by the patient to avoid feeling 'normal' as we know it, can undermine all the hard work that has been done.
I can't imagine the fears you must have of the future for your daughter, Marianne. I am sure you just have to take it day by day. I will pray you find an answer. My hat is off to you.

Those that haven't dealt with the mentally ill don'-t understand that normal to the seriously mentally ill is when they are off their meds. On their meds feels abnormal to them, thus they find any way they can not to take it.

Meds really haven't helped my child anyway.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Took me 10 years of trial and error to find the drugs that worked for me. They don't solve all my problems but they allow me to handle my problems. I can't work though but I am not in and out of the hospital all the time. I still had the problem initially with not wanting to take medication but the meds work and after a few months of seeing them work I am pretty good at taking them. I have stopped a few times but I feel myself slipping back into the same condition so start taking them again before I lose it completely.

 

[Disir]

Bring back the long term psychiatric facilities.

And that's it.

I agree. As a parent who has had this problem, long term residential facilities need to make a comeback because some children don't belong in jail but out patient therapy doesn't always work well enough either. When a person falls into the category of being in-between with a combo of behavioral issues and psychiatric issues there is no place to put them to get the 24 hour professional help they need.

And too, there are kids that are never going to be able to live on their own. They reach the age of majority and the parents can't legally control them or physically control them. So the parents do the best they can and when they pass away there is nothing or no one to care for these individuals.

It's a constant dealing with a ticking time bomb in some cases.

I'm almost at that cross road myself. My child is 17 and I can't see her functioning well in society as much as we've tried to help her.


My cousin is "slow" and is currently being taken care of by my aging aunt; he's in his 40's. He is stuck at about the mental age of 14 and has had violent outbursts. I have no clue what's going to happen to him when my Aunt passes. He has a brother and I assume the brother will be given care of him. He can't live on his own but he does function well enough to hold a job at a grocery store. I feel bad for the brother because he has already raised his own kids by himself,his sister died a year ago and now he's raising her kids and at some point he's going to get care of his brother.

In both cases there is only so much we can do. When my child turns 18 I won't be able to do anything legally. I have a feeling there's going to be a long road ahead for both of us.

I'm so sorry, Marianne.