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Something’s not right

Glimmer
Casual Contributor

Delusion disorder at 16

My daughter was diagnosed with delusion disorder - persecutory in September while in a mental health hospital. She has no insight into her disorder and needs to be readmitted to trail her 4th antipsychotic medication and possibly another anxiety/depression medication but is refusing voluntary admission. I am scared I will have to trick her to get her to hospital and loose her trust when part of her delusions is that she doesn’t trust anybody as she perceives others, particularly teachers and nurses to be plotting against her. Has anybody been in this situation and have any advice?

5 REPLIES 5

Re: Delusion disorder at 16

hi @Glimmer and welcome
I don't share the same experiences as you but I wanted to welcome you and to let you know ive read your story.
@Smc may be able to offer some advice here

please feel free to have a look around the forums and join in where you like. a little tip is to place an @ before a members name and itll tag them for you so they receive a notification/

Re: Delusion disorder at 16

Thank you

Re: Delusion disorder at 16

Hi Glimmer.

I've got a daugter with different problems, but which started showing at a similar age.

There's a few hard "facts" that will get in your way.
You cannot legally compel her to receive any treatment without an involuntary admission. If you trick her into going to the hospital, as well as losing her trust, the moment she makes it clear that she's there against her will, the psych/medical staff can't legally touch her. At 16, they can't even talk with you about her treatment without her permission. This is a regulation that makes reasonable sense when it's in relation to physical care, but is at times very obstructive when it comes to psychological care for someone who lacks insight or is obstructive to their own care... or whose families simply need feedback about what they're dealing with.

 

Psych specialists' attitudes to involuntary treatment orders vary from one place to another, but generally they're reluctant to put them in place unless the person is a real danger to themselves or others. Even then sometimes they won't. The problem with an involuntary order is that it can make things worse. The majority of mental illnesses are exacerbated by feeling out of control. It's the basic precursor for most forms of depression. With persecutory delusions in the mix.... yeah, it would just confirm what she already thinks is happening to her. 😞

 

So that's the bad news side. "Best advice" side, do everything you can within reason to keep her trust. In doing so, be as honest as you think you safely can be. If she sniffs out any lies or half truths, you're immediately one of the persecutors. Talk with her about where she feels safe, and who she feels safe with. If there are any medical professionals or people in counselling roles that she trusts, see if they're willing to try to talk her around to trusting the treating psych.

Sorry I can't give you much of a way forward. Hang tight, get help and backup for yourself, and keep loving her. Sometimes that's the thing that proves to be the lifeline.

Re: Delusion disorder at 16

Thank you for your response.

Re: Delusion disorder at 16

Hi @Glimmer - sitting with you through this. How are things going? Do you have any supports for yourself while you support your daughter?

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