Aa
chemical imbalence
A person in my family blames her husband for breaking things around the house, but he doesent do it...(ex: she blamed him for switching around the fan blades, when, they were never even switched)....she says her husband wants to kill her, but noone sees him doing this...
could this be a chemical imbalence?
could this be a chemical imbalence?
I agree w/ shelzmike in that the person is displaying symptoms which "might" be consistent with schizophrenia (or paranoia). Of course many other things could be causing this but in any case, she should be evaluated by a medical doctor and a psychiatrist as many of the conditions she may have are very treatable.
I suggest you actually join this forum so we can communicate with you more freely about this situation. At the end of this response you'll see some material on what to do.
Chemical imbalance? OK, suppose it is. So what? Where do we with that?
In a larger sense, there are no chemical imbalances, there are simply the outcomes of chemical interactions. If we don't like those outcomes, regard them as inappropriate or think they are harmful, we then say it is an "imbalance." Check my journals and you'll fins some material I've prepared on the chemical imbalance question.
One thing we know for sure - no matter WHAT we feel or do or think or say, it is ALL about the chemistry. But that doesn't mean we are necessarily very skilled at adjusting the chemistry, because those chemicals are made up in our brains and bodies, and we're only just beginning to understand how it all works -which is my medication has such a variety of results. The best chemist is the brain itself, so anything we can do to get the brain to pump out the right juices is a good thing. This can be accomplished to an extent with drugs -but also, and usually to great effect, with therapy -depending on the individual.
Which brings us back to your situation. Someone needs to assess what's going on here. If you've been appointed to wear the detective's hat for this, get a consult with a mental health professional. You may find the mental health section of your local health department to be a good start. But don't waste your time taking a poll of folks here on whether it is chemical or not. Either your family member IS at risk of her husband's action, or at risk of an unhealthy mental condition and serious delusions. EITHER WAY, if you are a caring family member want to help, then get in the company of people who can help you.
What we can do is help you develop a context, a framework of understanding -and a place to safely spill your gut. You'll get lots of support. OK, following is how to join. After you do it, please let us know what happens with your family member.
One of the BEST ways to get the most out of this forum to work is to JOIN it - become a part of it. Its easy -just click the Join Link -enter some profile information about yourself -even a picture if you care to- and anything you think would help us get to know you faster and better, and you can change this material whenever you like. You will also be accessible to receive private messages when other members click the name you've given yourself -sort of a "push to talk" feature. After you've done that, spend some time just using various features of the forum. For example, to see all the posts or responses that someone has made, just click their handle, go to their profile, click Posts, and read to your heart's content. You may also enter search terms -including member names- in the search box at the upper right of your screen and the system will retrun everything matching the term(s) you entered. This INCLUDES a drug database that will give you both user posts about drugs as well as the medical information about the drug. A great way to get quick answers about therapeutic effect, side effects, interactions, etc.
One of the profile categories is your mood, which you may change anytime you like.
Along the right side of your screen is a section of Recent Activity, which not only alerts you to new posts, but new ANYTHING, including journal entries and mood. This is a way to telegraph the community at large without actually creating a separate post. Thus, if you see a friend's mood has changed while you are working on a response or post, it can alert you to send them a private message to learn more or simply let them know you're thinking of them. Likewise, if you are going to be "out," you could enter something like "off line for the night" as your mood, and people would know you're away from the forum for awhile.
If you do this kind of exploring and experimenting right away, you'll be up-to-speed quickly. If you see the message you are reading now as part of a direct response I (or anyone) has made to one of your posts, it was probably copied and pasted from this journal. I hate form letters and auto-responses as much as anyone -but I also hate forgetting to tell people what they need to know, so this is my safety-net. Consider it as part of your "Welcome" kit. So -please join and try things out.
You might also want to read my entries for the "Right Click Trick" and "When in Haste, Use Copy 'n Paste" for some other convenient time-savers.
We're glad you are here!
Chemical imbalance? OK, suppose it is. So what? Where do we with that?
In a larger sense, there are no chemical imbalances, there are simply the outcomes of chemical interactions. If we don't like those outcomes, regard them as inappropriate or think they are harmful, we then say it is an "imbalance." Check my journals and you'll fins some material I've prepared on the chemical imbalance question.
One thing we know for sure - no matter WHAT we feel or do or think or say, it is ALL about the chemistry. But that doesn't mean we are necessarily very skilled at adjusting the chemistry, because those chemicals are made up in our brains and bodies, and we're only just beginning to understand how it all works -which is my medication has such a variety of results. The best chemist is the brain itself, so anything we can do to get the brain to pump out the right juices is a good thing. This can be accomplished to an extent with drugs -but also, and usually to great effect, with therapy -depending on the individual.
Which brings us back to your situation. Someone needs to assess what's going on here. If you've been appointed to wear the detective's hat for this, get a consult with a mental health professional. You may find the mental health section of your local health department to be a good start. But don't waste your time taking a poll of folks here on whether it is chemical or not. Either your family member IS at risk of her husband's action, or at risk of an unhealthy mental condition and serious delusions. EITHER WAY, if you are a caring family member want to help, then get in the company of people who can help you.
What we can do is help you develop a context, a framework of understanding -and a place to safely spill your gut. You'll get lots of support. OK, following is how to join. After you do it, please let us know what happens with your family member.
One of the BEST ways to get the most out of this forum to work is to JOIN it - become a part of it. Its easy -just click the Join Link -enter some profile information about yourself -even a picture if you care to- and anything you think would help us get to know you faster and better, and you can change this material whenever you like. You will also be accessible to receive private messages when other members click the name you've given yourself -sort of a "push to talk" feature. After you've done that, spend some time just using various features of the forum. For example, to see all the posts or responses that someone has made, just click their handle, go to their profile, click Posts, and read to your heart's content. You may also enter search terms -including member names- in the search box at the upper right of your screen and the system will retrun everything matching the term(s) you entered. This INCLUDES a drug database that will give you both user posts about drugs as well as the medical information about the drug. A great way to get quick answers about therapeutic effect, side effects, interactions, etc.
One of the profile categories is your mood, which you may change anytime you like.
Along the right side of your screen is a section of Recent Activity, which not only alerts you to new posts, but new ANYTHING, including journal entries and mood. This is a way to telegraph the community at large without actually creating a separate post. Thus, if you see a friend's mood has changed while you are working on a response or post, it can alert you to send them a private message to learn more or simply let them know you're thinking of them. Likewise, if you are going to be "out," you could enter something like "off line for the night" as your mood, and people would know you're away from the forum for awhile.
If you do this kind of exploring and experimenting right away, you'll be up-to-speed quickly. If you see the message you are reading now as part of a direct response I (or anyone) has made to one of your posts, it was probably copied and pasted from this journal. I hate form letters and auto-responses as much as anyone -but I also hate forgetting to tell people what they need to know, so this is my safety-net. Consider it as part of your "Welcome" kit. So -please join and try things out.
You might also want to read my entries for the "Right Click Trick" and "When in Haste, Use Copy 'n Paste" for some other convenient time-savers.
We're glad you are here!
The term "chemical imbalance" is not one that is as "specific" as people think. In fact, many normal people have chemical imbalances every day. In fact, when one's emotions overwhelms them to the point of saddness or anger - this is an (albeit temporary) example of chemical imbalance.
Now, onto this issue. Let me first preface this by saying that I AM NOT a doctor. However, this sounds to me like a possible classic case of schizophrenia (barring that alcohol or drug use is not an involved party here).
The thing that absolutely needs to happen is that she needs to see 1st, a med doctor, and 2nd, a psychaitrist. The hard part is convincing her to do so. She needs to be talked to by someone that she trusts - a sibling, parent, child, good friend etc. Point these things out without being judgmental at all. Furthermore, that person would also want to possibly visit the doctor with her, for she may not even realize these things that she is doing.
Mike
Now, onto this issue. Let me first preface this by saying that I AM NOT a doctor. However, this sounds to me like a possible classic case of schizophrenia (barring that alcohol or drug use is not an involved party here).
The thing that absolutely needs to happen is that she needs to see 1st, a med doctor, and 2nd, a psychaitrist. The hard part is convincing her to do so. She needs to be talked to by someone that she trusts - a sibling, parent, child, good friend etc. Point these things out without being judgmental at all. Furthermore, that person would also want to possibly visit the doctor with her, for she may not even realize these things that she is doing.
Mike
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