I’ve also seen people arguing that it wouldn’t have been possible for her to be in psychosis and for him not to be aware of it, trying to turn it on him for not intervening.
Most people generally aren’t aware of the warning signs, he probably just assumed she was acting weird solely from depression and stress
My mom’s boyfriend went through a temporary psychosis episode last winter, and for the first month or so we genuinely had no idea; we just assumed he was extra quiet/ solemn and sometimes a little grumpy. It wasn’t until we pressed on some of his behaviors that it escalated to aggression and yelling at everyone, accusing us of poisoning him and messing with his vision, accusing my mom of being an undercover agent, the dog of having cameras in her eyes, then trying to run away with his passport, etc. All of these irrational things completely out of touch from his usual self seemed to come out of nowhere. (We called a crisis hotline and got him admitted to a psych ward, which I think ultimately saved his life before it was too late)
ANYONE of any age can experience psychosis for the first time (particularly from extreme stress, trauma, social isolation, and/or sleep deprivation); and when you enter that state you often distrust everyone around you, and so you may hide what’s on your mind. Or you may phase in and out of your psychosis, experience memory lapses of many prior mental delusions, and are trying your hardest to appear normal to others, especially if you feel obligated to remain stoic/ strong for others. And like every mental condition, there’s no universal presentation of it
Professionals aren’t likely to catch it without being told about it, because the client would have to be experiencing severe psychosis during a session to show it. Apparently the woman in this case never told any of her doctors about the psychosis. She should be hospitalized rather than imprisoned, but I don’t think it’s really on her doctors for missing the psychosis in this case.
HA yeah no. It’s definitely possible to be oblivious or not really paying attention enough to someone else’s mental state such that you don’t notice acute psychosis.
It can be especially tricky if they’re someone for whom some outward symptoms are somewhat normal (eg. You might dismiss some signs as being a panic attack and then not think about it the next day) or if they’re self medicating or otherwise effectively masking in some scenarios.
Absolutely, yeah. It’s actually pretty easy to not notice someone is in acute mental distress.
I think there’s a perception that mental health crises like this are cartoonishly hypervisible, that everyone in psychosis is babbling incoherently, stumbling around, and screaming at voices in their head. Or that if someone’s manic, they’ll act like early Daffy Duck.
I swear some people think someone having a psychotic episode always has to look like a stereotypical “crazy person” wearing a tin foil hat and rambling nonsense.
I’ve also seen people arguing that it wouldn’t have been possible for her to be in psychosis and for him not to be aware of it, trying to turn it on him for not intervening.
Most people generally aren’t aware of the warning signs, he probably just assumed she was acting weird solely from depression and stress
My mom’s boyfriend went through a temporary psychosis episode last winter, and for the first month or so we genuinely had no idea; we just assumed he was extra quiet/ solemn and sometimes a little grumpy. It wasn’t until we pressed on some of his behaviors that it escalated to aggression and yelling at everyone, accusing us of poisoning him and messing with his vision, accusing my mom of being an undercover agent, the dog of having cameras in her eyes, then trying to run away with his passport, etc. All of these irrational things completely out of touch from his usual self seemed to come out of nowhere. (We called a crisis hotline and got him admitted to a psych ward, which I think ultimately saved his life before it was too late)
ANYONE of any age can experience psychosis for the first time (particularly from extreme stress, trauma, social isolation, and/or sleep deprivation); and when you enter that state you often distrust everyone around you, and so you may hide what’s on your mind. Or you may phase in and out of your psychosis, experience memory lapses of many prior mental delusions, and are trying your hardest to appear normal to others, especially if you feel obligated to remain stoic/ strong for others. And like every mental condition, there’s no universal presentation of it
Professionals aren’t likely to catch it without being told about it, because the client would have to be experiencing severe psychosis during a session to show it. Apparently the woman in this case never told any of her doctors about the psychosis. She should be hospitalized rather than imprisoned, but I don’t think it’s really on her doctors for missing the psychosis in this case.
HA yeah no. It’s definitely possible to be oblivious or not really paying attention enough to someone else’s mental state such that you don’t notice acute psychosis.
It can be especially tricky if they’re someone for whom some outward symptoms are somewhat normal (eg. You might dismiss some signs as being a panic attack and then not think about it the next day) or if they’re self medicating or otherwise effectively masking in some scenarios.
It’s possible to mask psychosis, sometimes you’re able to have a psychosis episode and not realize it until it’s over.
Absolutely, yeah. It’s actually pretty easy to not notice someone is in acute mental distress.
I think there’s a perception that mental health crises like this are cartoonishly hypervisible, that everyone in psychosis is babbling incoherently, stumbling around, and screaming at voices in their head. Or that if someone’s manic, they’ll act like early Daffy Duck.
those people have never interacted with anyone going through a psychotic episode, and i hope they never do for the other person’s sake
I swear some people think someone having a psychotic episode always has to look like a stereotypical “crazy person” wearing a tin foil hat and rambling nonsense.