I work with people here who have schizophrenia or psychosis. Often homeless and addicted. I just met one of them 5 minutes ago.
Sometimes it really saddens me. The guy I just met is someone I worked with at Salvation Army before. He used to be a high-level banking director. Extremely bright, accomplished, respected. He fell ill. Ended up in the streets for years, went to ruins. Now he strolls the streets. He still always wears a suit jacket, but it is dirty. He poops on the streets. People treat him with contempt and fear. He speaks only word salad. He never gets out of psychosis. He more or less recognizes me, I think, but there is no conversation possible. Afaik he has no family caring for him.
It was kind of funny…he did not want to when they said: you need to get off the streets and live in a group home. Until our two managers decided to show up in a very formal suit, saying in posh tone: “sir, a room has been prepared for you”. They guided him there, treating him as a bank director rather than a patient. And showed him: “see, sir, it has your name on the door here”. He accepted. This is where I met him. I am not happy about “class differences”. But what I did like, is that it helped him, when they connected to his pre-illness self.
To be honest, meeting him really struck me. I feel sad for him. I wish I could help him. And I realize how thin was the line, for me, between that life, and my current life. I tend to compare to my 30 year old normal self. Or my bright, social, rich university friends with a husband, a family, a career. And think I lost everything. Then, I realize, maybe not. Maybe I got very, very lucky.
You know I remembered a guy in one of the school here,
he wares a suit as well but he will be in the same every day,
every one keeps him as an example if you don’t study well,
you guys will end up like him.
I also recollect a mother in my own college,
she sent her kid to college but due to drugs he passed.
She asked the permission of the principal,
that she would come every day to college in morning,
to check if her kid will show up in college one day
As the kid said he will go to college and never returned alive.
I LOVE that they did this to help him. Yes it’s wrong to care about how much money someone has, or what their socioeconomic status is, but the fact is this guy does, he’s extremely I’ll, and can be reached and helped no other way. They are really good people to meet him where he’s at in order to help him. Maybe with meds and therapy, over time, he’ll learn poor people are worthy of love and friendship too. I hope so. Living there and receiving help may be very enlightening for him.
@LilyoftheValley, I liked it too. They tried to work in a way that really connected to the patient’s world and goals. In this case, they reached him. Got him off the streets. He has been there for years now, it was a while back. He is treatment resistent. Save for a miracle, don’t think he will ever recover more. Such a loss. He is safe though, and in a rare moment of slight clarity said he was happy to live there and enjoyed the food. It is really good to be grateful, and see what else could have been the outcome. I have been picked off the street once by kind people…could have been like that.
I was thinking what touched me so today. It was also…because I have been like that…I know there is a humanbeing, and even the old humanbeing, underneath the surface of odd behaviour. A human like all the rest of us humans.
And then I see people look in disgust. And gossip. And frown. And walk around him in fear, when he doesn’t hurt anyone. And pretend they are totally different and superior species from him. And they are not. I want to throw rocks at them.
And I want to hug my old manager for trying to help, by seeing the person he was before getting ill.
In all fairness, I’m afraid of people who are totally lost in psychosis because you have no idea what they’re going to do. So, I don’t blame people for being nervous around him. But I’m really glad he’s getting help and being treated kindly
Yeah. You are right. It is natural to be frightened. Some people still manage to be kind and respectful though. Others dehumanize him, e.g. making nasty jokes.
That is sad. I have a different sad story; stalkers made me homeless, then I met someone I thought I was attracted to. He hates women and likes lying about them. I was generous enough to spend a lot of money on food and things when we went out. He or a friend are obsessed with telling the world disgusting lies. I was a lab Scientist once. His friend is an idiot.
He is safe though, and in a rare moment of slight clarity said he was happy to live there and enjoyed the food. It is really good to be grateful, and see what else could have been the outcome. I have been picked off the street once by kind people…could have been like that.