Hi, I am new here. I need some advices. My son started to has both visual and auditory hallucinations since last September I guess when he was 16. He asked me to take him to therapist for depression last year. He told the therapist that he hear his own voice, negative is stronger than positive. He also see the world differently. The therapist had to secretly inform me at the end because he doesn’t want anyone to know. He also denied about his symptoms when he saw the psychiatrist for evaluation the following week. It had been a year now, he still denied about his disease and refuse to take med. I can tell by his negative symptoms is getting worse but he really want to finish his senior year. I don’t know how often does his symptoms occur. He never open up to anyone. Every time I asked him to seek help, he just get really mad and said he is fine. I have been living in sadness, fear and worry for one year. He is trying really hard in school but I know he is not going to make it through senior year. Do you think I should get police involved to get him to the hospital ? If I make that move, it most likely gonna make things worse. I really don’t want to make him scare and lost his trust. Any advice will be helpful.
I’m sorry you are having a hard time of it.
You don’t say what country you live in, but police involvement usually requires demonstrating a good reason, such as potential harm to self or others. It doesn’t sound like you’ve reached this point yet, but rules may be different for your country and his age may be a factor.
I’d exhaust all other resources first. Consider the LEAP approach of Xavier Amador. I haven’t read his book ‘I Am Not Sick. I Don’t Need Help.’ but as someone who’s recovered from some of what you son is going through, I believe the approach is based on sound principles.
Excellent advice from @Maggotbrane. Read that book!! Also, go to NAMI.org and find information and support group options in your state on their site. In addition to support groups, many NAMI affiliates will be offering the no cost to you Family-to-Family class in the very near future. That is the first step my husband and I took to get help and information and it was excellent. Search this Forum, also. There is a lot of information and it is also a place where people just “vent”. You are not alone.
This is journey…not a sprint but a marathon. But there IS hope for a better future!