reer wrote:
I can't help but wonder what's going on with his mother. Based on the quotes in the article she really seemed to drop the ball and wasn't taking her son's situation seriously. Of course, maybe she did try to get him mental health treatment but he refused, and because he's an adult there wasn't much more she could do.
Just stop with this line of thinking. If you and your family have not dealt with a mental illness in a family member, then thank your stars. Too often, people blame the mom for "not doing enough," but if you haven't lived with someone who has delusions like this and goes in and out of treatment, then you just don't understand what that experience is like.
The illness has a mind of its own. Family members both remember the person he was before the illness set in and see who he becomes when the episodes are bad. Grappling with the juxtaposition of those two things is difficult and, as others have posted, the ability for family members to intervene effectively is blunted by our health system. HIPAA laws and other regulations make it incredibly difficult for anyone other than the patient himself to seek help for him.