Help/Advice Pls!!

[kb2]

Hi All!!

I'm basically looking for some advice for myself and my family on how to go about getting help, for a family member who is suffering very badly from mental health issues at the minute.

Im sorry i cant give a definination of what exactly her disorder is because we dont know ourselves. We have tirelessly contacted doctors and mental health hospitals but we have received no help at all, and feel really let down by those we believed were there to help. Im just hoping someone will read this thread and might be able to help us or point us in the right direction.

Heres the story.....

My aunt has suffered from depression most of her adult life. She also had addiction problems with alcohol and prescription meds, thought she still lead a normal life, being independant and goin about her normal everyday life. Until around a month ago....

She began to become very withdrawn, she always seems nervous or kind of distant. As my mum (her sister) had just died suddenly , i thought she was maybe still trying to come to terms with it as we all were. Then she started to tell our family that an ex boyfriend of hers and his new girlfriend were 'torturing' her as she put it. She said they would bang on her door, shout thing at her, phone her threaten her etc. We had no reason not to believe this, so she went to stay with my gran (her mum) as we all thought she'd get some peace from them there. Over the next few weeks we began to realise that this infact had never happened. Her ex did not have a new girlfriend and no one was hasseling her etc. My aunt was having thoughts or hallousinations. They started gradually at the begining maybe once a day, but now it seems like these thought have taken over her completely.

She thinks that people are spying on her, that people have stolen money from her, that someone drilled a spy hole in her bathroom, that my gran is seeing her boyfriend, basically everyone is conspiring against her. She has also admitted (to family and docs) to hearing voices in her head. Shes always looking out of windows and shouting for ppl to leave her alone etc.

She was also talking about stabbing ppl at one stage, and attacked my brother because she thought he was stealing from her. Last night my gran woke to find she had a knife that she has set out on a coffee table.

What worries me is that now she seems totally unable to have a normal conversation with anyone, she cant physically look after herself (she went for 3 days with no electric/heat/food until her daught could finally get into her house). She laughs to herself when no one has said anything, she will stare at one spot for hours on end and now her eyes have even started rolling into her head at times.

My family is at their wits end, we just dont know what to do. We just want to get help for my aunt, but as i said before doctors etc have offered us no help at all. They basically told us there is nothing they can do until she gets 'alot worse' that we should send her down to her own house and give her time alone, but we are too worried about her to leave her alone.

The doctor asked her is she was feeling suicidle and she said no, but surely they cant just take the word of someone who is obviously having dilusions and unable to engage in any normal conversation??

I'm sorry for this really long story but i want everyone to know the details incase someone has been through the same thing or can help.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

 

[iffybob]

Sorry

I am sorry for your situation ...

I am answering you cos no one else has.....

You do seem to have left out some details, like what country you are in ( this is an international site ), I will assume that you are in the UK.

They tend to go for "A danger to themselves or others", until she crosses that line, they will tend to ingor the situation, you dont mention how old she is, is this part of an age related degeneration.. even if she is quite young there is "early on-set" of some conditions ....


If you are in England , one thing you can try is contacting the "Crisis Team" (part of the NHS) next time she has an episode the numbers are local, though you can contact them through the local AnE switchboard, or even a charity like MIND... and ask them for help..

I hope this is of help....