Posts by Hannah Edwards12

My apologies, but is a title truly a prerequisite just to open a thread?

I find myself at a complete loss regarding how to proceed.
Recently, my partner opened up to me, suggesting that he might be dealing with some sort of psychological issue.
He claims he can "hear voices" that are constantly talking about him.
It is difficult for me to take this at face value, frankly, because he is the type of individual who avoids any semblance of hard work and tends to dodge his responsibilities even when he's currently employed. To make matters more complicated, he has a colleague at his job who struggles with depression and is frequently out on medical leave.
He attempted to discuss this with his parents, but they don't seem to take him seriously at all; they argue that ever since he was a child, he has had an overactive imagination and a tendency to "embellish" the truth.
The reality is... life is never dull with him, as I seem to discover something new about this man every single day; he was quite the charmer when we first met, but he has been caught in lies far too many times.
There have also been instances of bizarre behavior and an intense, irrational paranoia regarding other men, which occasionally leaves me wondering if there is an underlying clinical condition at play.
Now, he is insisting on seeking professional treatment, but we are all deeply concerned that if he is simply manufacturing these symptoms, he will end up being handed a diagnosis and a heavy regimen of medication just because he insists he has schizophrenia—given that his grandmother suffered from the same thing. In my more cynical moments, I suspect he is inventing this illness merely to avoid having to work.
Does anyone have any advice?

It seems we are dealing with the exact same struggle.
I actually ended up heading to an interview right when those intrusive thoughts started hitting me multiple times a day; frankly, I have no desire to live a life governed by that kind of chaos.
I’ve started seeing a therapist, and things are slowly beginning to shift...
If I may offer some advice, please consider speaking with a professional! Those irrational loops in your mind are incredibly draining and leave you utterly exhausted—it’s so easy to fall into a vicious cycle...

Hang in there!

Casey Bennett said:It’s not possible; that username is already taken. Please, just go back and read the opening post of this thread.

Is it possible, Hannah Edwards12?
There isn't a username like that available...

It should be fine; just reach out to Nica.

Greetings.
Would it be possible to undergo a nickname change for the sake of my own privacy? Perhaps something like Yessi?

driftingcobra39 said:I suppose I’ll have to go... though I've always had an aversion to medication. Does anyone know if they allow phones during a psychiatric evaluation for hospitalization? If they try to take my phone, I might actually have to defend myself...

I highly doubt most people here are popping pills just for the sheer fun of it.
Medication isn't a magic wand, certainly, but when a person reaches that state where basic functioning becomes impossible, these drugs can act as a sort of scaffolding—they steady you enough so you can actually begin to tackle your problems, engage in psychotherapy, and essentially reclaim your own will. From there, you gradually taper off under your doctor's guidance.

As for your phone, you're allowed to have it on the ward, though you'll likely be charging it at the nurse's station rather than keeping it on a ledge in your room.
Go ahead and talk to someone in the ER; perhaps a little something could help right now (are you asking about Sulpiride, for instance? It tends to work quickly and acts as a bit of a lifesaver in an acute crisis).
But please, pull yourself together and seek help. If things don't improve in a day or two, will you reach back out to them?
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.

driftingcobra39 said:I suppose I’ll have to go... though I've always had an aversion to medication. Does anyone know if they allow phones during a psychiatric evaluation for hospitalization? If they try to take my phone, I might actually have to defend myself...

Don't use words like "suppose." If this is a crisis, grit your teeth and head straight to the emergency room.

And don't worry too much about their assessment of whether you need inpatient care; based on how you're writing right now, I'd say you aren't exactly showing up as a danger to anyone.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/departments-centers/psychiatry/

Look, just head straight to the emergency room; specifically, the crisis stabilization unit. They accept walk-ins without any prior notice or a referral every single day from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM—or maybe 9:00 AM depending on the shift—and you’ll be seen by the doctor on duty who can sit down and actually talk to you. From there, they might adjust your current medication regimen or perhaps provide a temporary prescription for something else to bridge the gap until your regular doctor returns from their trip.

driftingcobra39. You need to call a Shrink.
A hospital is an option, certainly, but it isn't a cure-all.

If you end up in a standard inpatient program, they basically just provide you with medication and meals, while meaningful dialogue with a doctor remains surprisingly scarce.
Most of your interaction will be with your roommates, and let's just say... people there have all sorts of heavy baggage and very specific diagnoses.
What exactly are you dealing with?

Look, I’m no doctor, so I can't claim to know what would work best for you. Regarding the Fever, how long have you been on it?
Perhaps the current regimen simply isn't hitting the mark?
If things are truly spiraling, consider checking into a facility just to help you weather this particular storm.

It truly grates on my nerves to be sitting here listening to three elderly women right outside my window, relentlessly berating me because I’m not out there gathering the fruit falling from the tree in my neighbor's yard—their little mantra being, "Oh, she just drives right past in her car, she won't do it, she absolutely WON'T"

Good grief, the sheer triviality of their preoccupations; when I hear them sitting there gossiping and prattling on, it’s usually just two retirees and a third woman who has apparently exhausted her entire intellectual capacity simply by raising three children, though she certainly has plenty of opinions to dish out until she turns her back

The reality is, I am in my own home, in my own yard, in my own driveway, with my own vehicle; if I decide to take a bag of fruit I've gathered from the ground and carry it inside, that's my business, and they can go ahead and make some jam out of whatever falls, provided they don't mind the mess left behind by the local dogs wandering through the yard—one neighborhood pet and a few overly eager strays
In general, I find people quite irritating, particularly certain women who seem to believe that having lived a bit longer grants them a monopoly on wisdom, citing nothing but their offspring as proof of their superiority; now, I have immense respect for mothers, truly, but certain individuals—mostly from the older generation—are exceptionally taxing. A large portion of my relatives on my father's side includes those self-proclaimed sages whose sole purpose in life was raising kids while the men worked away at the factory... honestly, what an exhausting way to live. It’s always something like, "My daughter-in-law has to wear one of those orthodontic braces, why on earth would she need that?" or "Oh, my son already has two grown children," or "My youngest is still in high school"—even when the woman in question is clearly struggling to maintain any semblance of a relationship with her husband
And then there are the various idiots who show up at the house unannounced, along with these meddling neighbors; I find myself increasingly drawn to the idea of moving somewhere much smaller, perhaps a quiet town in the Midwest, where you aren't forced to listen to the neighbors' nonsense while you're trying to eat dinner

I genuinely fail to comprehend why people feel such a profound compulsion to obsess over the lives of others
Personally, I have never felt the urge to pry into why a couple doesn't have children, or why someone has fallen leaves scattered across their lawn...

Death of Art said:the worst part is, I’m not even being hyperbolic here.

I neglected to mention that at one point, I was genuinely convinced that down in the basement of Petrov Memorial Hospital, they were sacrificing women to some pagan deity, drugging them up and doing God knows what else...

and now, I find myself scouring the internet for those medical-grade stethoscopes doctors use, just so I can personally monitor my baby's heartbeat.

My OBGYN referred me to a psychiatrist to get authorization for stronger sedatives, because apparently, my current meds are about as effective as a placebo.😂

Yet, there is this pervasive dread regarding seeing a psychiatrist—this fear that I'll be slapped with an involuntary commitment, where they'll forcibly pump me full of medication, and I won't be able to make them understand that I am pregnant and cannot risk those drugs.
I already have the entire harrowing sequence playing on a loop in my mind:
"Oh, she's delusional. She thinks she's actually pregnant... let's just hit her with a double dose of antipsychotics mixed with heavy sedatives..."
And I'm just there, screaming, "No! That will kill my baby!!!"
Then they restrain me, inject the medication, and in the chaos, there's physical violence, and I end up losing the baby... a complete catastrophe!...

And looking back on it now... if I can actually navigate this pregnancy, I feel like I could endure anything life throws at me, because this experience feels like a descent into absolute, terminal psychosis.

🤣

Legendary !!

Death of Art said:What truly grates on my nerves during this pregnancy—and I mean strictly internal, nothing to do with how other people treat me—is quite simply this:

-THE PARANOIA:
It’s everything and anything. Every conceivable ailment, whether medically plausible or purely imaginary. In these last four months, I am convinced I have diagnosed myself with everything from a common cold to a brain tumor.
And it doesn't stop there; even something as mundane as sitting down on a park bench triggers it. It’s revolting. My skin starts itching the moment I wonder if the fabric of my coat or skirt is thin enough to allow some microscopic bacteria or virus to migrate through my clothes, past my skin, and straight into my uterus.

Don't even get me started on medication.
I endure these migraines that drive me to the brink of insanity, and then I came up with this peculiar little ritual where I drink a glass of water and just pretend I've taken a pill.
And honestly? It actually worked.
After a while, it occurred to me that if this kind of autosuggestion could dull a headache... perhaps it's possible to trick the body into secreting its own version of Advil or something similar...
Eventually, even that thought turned into a new layer of paranoia, leading me to stop trying the mental trick altogether because who knows... maybe the mind possesses such terrifying power that it can spontaneously manufacture Voltaren within my own bloodstream.

Now, the current obsession is HPV, which I am certain I contracted about two months ago. I had a Pap smear three months back and everything was perfectly fine.
But now I'm convinced I picked up HPV at the OB-GYN right after that exam, so I'll be heading in for a DNA PCR test to settle it. You see, I once sat directly on the exam table without a sheet, and later realized the paper covering hadn't been replaced at all; someone else had clearly been sitting there before me, and they undoubtedly had HPV, and I simply sat right in the path of it.
God help me... now I have to worry about HPV too. I'm even starting to question whether I should stop seeing the gynecologist for pelvic exams entirely, because at this point, I can't trust anything.

Then there is the sheer paranoia regarding herpes.
I went to try on a new blouse the other day... and suddenly, I felt a wave of nausea. I thought I might actually faint when the realization hit me: I was trying on an unwashed garment that hundreds of strangers had likely worn, and now I'm just sitting here waiting for the symptoms to manifest.

And towels... I wouldn't dare touch my private areas with a towel anymore, even if Anthony of Padua himself commanded it. Even if it's been washed, who knows whose hands were on it previously, or where those hands had been before that?
I'd much rather use disposable wipes that feel slightly more substantial than toilet paper.

And so it continues....

🤣

Law

Much obliged...

Greetings. I find myself wondering—does anyone happen to know the proper procedure for scrubbing my previous posts from the record? It would be most appreciated if someone could point me in the right direction... thanks.