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Yesterday I was so happy about my al/ad drgoing to an n/a meeting, and she said she was going to go to an a/a meeting also. Today was another story, we were talking and I was enjoying her and happy I decided to let her stay for a few days. Then she started talking about witchcraft, and feeling she has been voodoo and it happened before she was born, the voodoo was meant for me but it was passed on to her in my wound, because they didn't know I was pregnant, it was her grandmother who had it done because she didn't like me because I took her favoriate son from her, she expressed other stuff that sounded real delusional and crazy. She said I was never there for her esp. with this, she has talked about this voodoo stuff before and I told her I didn't believe in this, didn't understand it, and didn't want to hear it. I asked her what would make me more helpful to her, she said be more understanding and openmined about this. I told her the only thing I could do was to help her get into the mental health services. She said that would help, so I will go with her and get her involved. There was a lot of other stuff she said, but tonight I'm very tired, this was really stressful. I'm thinking this is the insanity that is referred to of the 3 options we have. I did tell her that I think this is the result of chronic al/drug abuse. Any help/insight would be helpful. Thanks! Ruby!!
You wrote: 'I did tell her that I think this is the result of chronic al/drug abuse.'
It takes more than 1 or 2 meetings to overcome years of addiction and it would not be unusual for the someone to come up with all sorts of 'other' issues to take the focus off the biggest problem - the alcolhol and drugs.
The 1st 2 steps of AA are;
1. We admitted we were powerless over alcoholthat our lives had become unmanageable. 2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
I think what you told her is probably right on target. Are you going to Al-Anon meetings?
I have lots of experience with delusional people I find it helpful to say something along that lines of... I believe that you believe that, but I don't believe it. Challenging thier delusion is like trying to make them stop drinking or drugging. She truly believes this is true.
Ruby...Don't catastrophize too much. I am a mental health counselor so I can field this one with a little more than just life experience. Your daughter could have a mental health diagnosis of schizophrenia and it could be treatable. I can't say because I am only going off the little bit you wrote. The type of delusions you are talking about are persecutory ones and they are common in schizophrenia. This doesn't mean she is "crazy" but again, it's a sickness.
Drug and alcohol use will trip off an underlying mental health condition like schizophrenia, but it's a chicken and egg questions. You don't know which came first because some people with mental illness with use drugs because everyone talks crazy and says stupid stuff when they are high and hanging out with other drug users and doing drugs makes them seem normal. It also might make the disturbing thoughts go away. It is also true that using lots of drugs and alcohol will take it's toll and it could cause a brief psychotic reaction or brain damage resembling schizophrenia.
I would definitely follow up with her at a mental health clinic.
Thanks for your help, I do plan to follow through with mental health asap. I thought about Schizo. also, I do have a brother with paraniod schizo. I also think she maybe trying to get a "crazy" check, that's what they call it when you get an ssi check due to mental illness. I also have a mental health background. She has no income other than her sons ss check he get due to a learning disability. She need help no matter what the reason. I have decided not to let her start this up again with me, she left soon after this and didn't come home last night, probably somewhere having fun, getting high etc. and I spent part of last night and so for this morning, here I'm again dealing with it. I know I'm not God. Thanks for being here....With love...Ruby!
Question for pinkchip. If the person has a problem with both drug/alchohol and mental illness. Should they be getting help for both problems at the same time? Or should they be working on being sober first? Then attack the mental health problem. Plus AA is free. Most mental health clinics we checked into are very expensive.
They do need to be treated concurrently which is why we have dual diagnosis units on hospital wards and such. There are what is called "double trouble" meetings in AA and NA but they aren't well attended because the relapse rates are so high. Studies have shown that people with mental illness who can develop a program of sobriety actually do better in the long term than those who never had addiction issues. Evidently checking in and having the consistency of AA and belonging to a group like that has stabilizing effects.
All this depends on how serious the mental illness is also. If a person has super intense schizophrenia or bipolar so bad they keep trying to kill themselves, they need mental health stabilization first. In most case though, the substance abuse poses a more immediate danger and the person needs to take their meds, participate in weekly therapy, and also AA/NA. You might never know how much the MH problems were causing the substance abuse and vice versa, but the above "perscription" will make both better to the point that it doesn't really matter.
