My Friend

[Sundae]

Thanks Pico, I've been trying to find CBT a) within my budget and b) somewhere closer than the moon and having no luck. I'll look out for the book instead.

[Cicero]

Don't take my advice, everyone I know died. However, my brother who is extremely handicapped that will never take medication is still alive....And he never tries to kill himself.

Hmmm....strange torments and illnesses. I do not have any of this figured out. One thing I do know is that nothing thus far has been reliable or constant in regards to those particular illnesses. You can do all you can, and do what's best, but it is still no guarantee, so if something does happen, try not to blame yourself .

[Number 2 Pencil]

Having been through a severe bout of mental illness myself- mostly depression but with complications- I can say with confidence that it was the caring and love and attention of friends that pulled me through the worst of it- far more than the medicine. Though medicine probably did help me for the better, and medicine is helping me now pull out of the lack of motivation part of depression.

ECT really scares me. It was recommended to me by my shrink in the hospital last time I was sick, but I refused against their recommendation, and I pulled through anyway. That is not to say that ECT may help some people, but I saw its effects on someone else, and there is a reason it is considered a last resort item.

I wonder sometimes how my life would have been different if I had given in to this doc and signed up for a few sessions under the electrodes. I hear it can wipe a few weeks of memory off your record, and that sort of thing would have left me at an earlier stage of my illness when I had not done as much thinking and had not reached a certain emotional state that ultimately helped me straighten myself out. However, for some people I can see how not remembering the worst of one's illness might be a blessing.

[Aliantha]

ECT does end up creating memory loss (is that an oxymoron?), but my friend found that it was only the short term stuff she forgot and for that she was pretty happy; afterall, she had just spent several months in a mental facility.

The docs don't think she'll need ECT this time. They think she came in just in time and they should be able to get her on the straight and narrow again by adjusting her medication.

I went to see her again yesterday. She's doing ok. Actually, she seems fine most of the time, and then she'll say or do something that's completely wacky. At least she's not off with the fairies totally now though. She should be home in a month or so.