Posted by Willow on May 14, 2003, at 12:16:14
In reply to Re: how bout a board for schizophrenia » Dr. Bob, posted by medlib on May 14, 2003, at 9:06:27
>First, I doubt that there would be enough traffic to support it (I'm remembering the PB for kids board).
Quoting from stats on the Mayo website, there are more than 2 million Americans affected by this illness. If we were to change it to a board for "family and friends of people with psycotic illnesses," this would then include Bi-Polar I. Or perhaps, "Thought Disorders" with this definition given from the same site:
"Thought disorders. These are disorders that impair your perception of reality, such as schizophrenia."
http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?objectid=9C61909F-3AEE-438E-8BC1E0FD9C4997A7I can recall a poster who has bi-polar posting regarding her delusional thought process and getting a reply to the effect "what type of drugs are you on." I'm not saying that this isn't possible on a seperate board, but do believe it would give people a safe haven to talk about such issues.
Another quote from the above website:
"By its nature, schizophrenia is not an illness for which someone is likely to seek treatment on his or her own." Which I believe also applies to bi-polar before it is diagnosed. It is my belief, that because of the nature of the illness you are more likely to have people acquainted with an ill person to post for feedback than the individual themselves.
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> There's an even greater potential for overlap when considering negative sxs of schizophrenia.Yes, initially when someone becomes ill it is the doctor's job to figure out which illness a person has. Symptoms of most illness do overlap with others. I believe that by the time a family member is searching for help and support for this illness they will have a probable diagnosis made by a psychiatrist.
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> A poster to a schizophrenia board would still have to read and post to PB to get the most complete med info for their diagnosis.Yes, a poster may want to consider checking on the regular babble board concerning meds, but the dosages discussed on the babble board may alarm family members. Sometimes to get a patient stable comparing the dosage required to ones mentioned on the med board can seem lethal. A large component of success for patients is having someone monitor their drug usage and I wouldn't want to see a caring person lowering a dosage because of something they read on the net.
Here's my comparison of the more common mood disorders to a thought disorder as defined above. First, having a bad day ~ being cranky or sad would be equivalent to being hit by a tennis ball. Sure it stings, may leave a bruise, but most likely it wouldn't significantly disturb your life. Next a mood disorder, you're in a car accident. Severity really flucuates here. You may walk away, may affect you for months, even for life, and a bad one could even kill you. Finally, a thought disorder ~ the plain you are on crashes.
Yes, it is just an idea for board, one that I feel very strongly about. I was disappointed when the board concerning children was removed. I don't believe the overlap between the old-timers boards and social would be anymore so with another avenue for people to reach out to others for support. I've been on other boards and they were hard to handle or just not as supportive as the atmosphere here. If it would be a question of having someone monitor the new board, I may be willing to do this, if acceptable.
WILLOW
poster:Willow
thread:226231
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20030508/msgs/226576.html