Challenges I Faced Navigating the Mental Health Care System

excelente!

Lauren, you voice the many concerns and trials of all of the folks of all ages who have mental disorders. Our 48 year old son has had issues since he was a teenager and we hi loving parents have tried to help him all along the way. He has ended up in a locked ward in a nursing home and will not talk to us. We spent thousands on a lawyers getting legal guardianship of him in order to at least be told [by law] how he is doing. He is drugged and sat in the corner mainly. So sad this fine young man who has never done anything wrong has never had a chance to have a real life. All we can say is at least he is safe where he is. Better than freezing and starving to death on the street.

I'd love just a second to speak with you if it's possible! I'm really struggling finding support for my sons father. He's been in and out of facilities for years and on and off of drugs. He's been off of drugs for a long time now but has had absolutely no progress or proper support and I'm afraid Ill either lose him to suicide or never see him start to come back to himself again

i recently did a mental health first aid training and one part i really liked was they didn’t focus just on crisis situations. they had us practice active listening and recognizing early warning signs and then worsening symptoms so that we can help before it gets deadly, and i really thought that’s a great way to look at things

You are so right about the system only caring if you’re actively suicidal. Cynically I could say it’s so they can keep billing you. But it’s probably that they are normally very conservative with your treatment until something happens that forces them to change.

Brillant, beautifully articulated Lauren – you are providing such a great service and so I thank you …

The system is sickening.

I relate with you. When I was 14 I was diagnosed with depression. But as my symptoms progressed through years I was finally diagnosed with schizophrenia. Still my medications shuffle to help me. I still never feel stable. Therapy is very expensive here.

I'm in a fluctuating level of psychosis that is gradually worsening. The waitlist to see a mental health worker or psychiatrist has been 6 months long so far, and I'm considered an urgent case. The delusions are distressing and have caused my regular life to be severely disrupted. I'm scared they're going to cause me to die.
But I'm not a direct harm to myself or anyone else. A slow death is easier for them to ignore, I guess. My hope is gone. I don't recognize Ontario's system anymore.

The medical industry are also abelist, AF and we are disabled by them, too, in part?

We need to study more the layers of the brain, alpha, beta, gama, to theta? The lower, the more subconcious?

My sister is schizophrenic. This last year has been terrible. She keeps committing crimes like assault or destruction of property and the courts just keep dismissing the charges because shes Not mentally sound right now. She broke all the windows in my moms kitchen by throwing a chair. The police keep telling my mom that eventually she will get a judge who will force her to get treatment. Thats all she can do. My sister is almost 40. Has a 12 year old daughter who was diagnosed with PTSD just from living with my sister. I had to move out of her house because she was always screaming at the kid. But CPS wont do anything because in that state there has to be physical neglect for them to do anything. My sister wont give my mom custody and she refuses to let my mom talk to her doctors. Its a fucking nightmare. I have my own problems- I'm bipolar. What a family tree eh.

You’re the first middle class schizophrenic I’ve seen on YouTube. At my ward I’m always the only middle class appearing, educated woman in the wards, I am always mistaken for staff because I dress well.

I know how you feel. I can relate 99.99% because I'm currently having the same issues with the healthcare system here in Québec. 🤔😒🙄🤨👎🏻😠🖕🏻 Fuck the Québec healthcare system!

Thanks for this channel! I’ve watched many of your videos and they are very helpful. One of my sons lives with a mental illness and after over a year of experiencing psychosis – hallucinations, voices, etc, he is stable on meds (with side affects mind you buts another story) but no therapy! He gets monthly injections but that’s it. He’s an adult so as much as we do it is still his choice not to seek further help. I guess that’s the “catch 22” … we can’t make him talk to anyone but why can’t the system/doctors make it mandatory to see a psychiatrist AND take the meds? Hmmm …

My First case with Mental problems was when I was in the 1999-2000 School year at Garinger High School here in Charlotte; N.C. United States; I was paying attention at the teacher in My class in 9th grade and then My head dropped down to the desk all of a sudden when I was sitting in the classroom and then I didn't feel nothing in My brain for several minutes and then I woke up afterwards from the desk and before I knew it I had to go to the next class; At that time had to take Me out because He knew something is going on with Me Mentally; After that when I was in Quito; Ecuador with My Father's Family; After that I was with My Father's former friend and her sister used to work as a Psychologist and She noticed something is going on with Me Mentally; After that I saw with My Father at that time a Psychiatrist Dr. Cruz on April 18th 2001; After that I was falling into deep depression and I saw Dr. Manejwala at that time in March of 2002 and I was put in a Mental Health hospital for two weeks I was with My weight at 94lbs because the food tasted bad to Me; The room I was in looked like there was a bed and a closet no electronics there in that room at that time; I was seeing My Father in the guest area in the hospital there were TV's at that time; After that I was discharged from the Mental Health hospital; After that I was take My medicine with the right brand and I was feeling good Mentally but Now it says Psychosis so I think they are misdiagnosing Me so I decided to stop take taking the Medicine.

I had 2 and a 1/2 years of no voices. I think you have to truly forgive yourself and your voices in order to receive true clarity. Now I'm hearing voices. I think its cause I hate them. I gotta find forgiveness again

Lauren is not only a smart and beautiful woman. Her voice is wonderful, pleasant and full of emotion, I think she could do voiceovers if she chose to.

What an inspiration to see someone using their mental health story to help others. This whole channel is a testament to how you can turn your worst experiences into your biggest life purpose and what brings you fulfillment and meaning. Thank you for what you do!

Thanks for posting this. Psychiatry is quite unique in that it not only is the only “medical specialty” where otherwise competent adults are treated against their will — it’s also the only profession where the social and environmental determinants of health are almost entirely ignored. There are very few diseases where genes alone influence the development of disease, irrespective of the environment. In almost all instances, the onset and severity of illnesses with a strong genetic risk can be offset by environmental and lifestyle modifications.

But hey, throwing pills at problems is certainly easier and cheaper than addressing complex, systemic socioeconomic problems that would require uncomfortable conversations and yet still more uncomfortable public policy changes! Unfortunately, psychiatrists remain very close to their historical functions of being “madhouse keepers” — who were tasked with locking away and “managing” various “social undesirables” and keeping polite society free from the eyesores and inconveniences that the “crazies” presented.