Encounter With a Crazy Lady

[MIflyer]

I returned home yesterday after visiting my brother in GA for Christmas. and was astonished to see some items scattered around my driveway. Turns out they were brought by a crazy lady who lives up the street. It seems that she has a small son but thinks she had twins and spends her time looking for the missing son. She was convinced that the absent son broke his leg just before Christmas and was in my house. She brought a small bike, a wagon loaded with toys and food and a pair of crutches. When she was unable to say where she lived we called the sheriff dept and they were able to get her home. But as I headed down the street to the grocery store a little later I saw her on a bicycle on her way down the sidewalk to my house. When I got home there was a bag with food, coloring books, and child's clothing in front of my door. I called the sheriff dept again but since they had told me which development she lived in I then carried the bag down the street, knocked on a door randomly and asked where did the crazy lady live; everyone up there knew who I was talking about; such antics were SOP for her. I dropped off the bag in front of her house.

But at 0155 my doorbell rang. I did not even have to get up to know who it was; nocturnal visitations at 0200 were mentioned as part of her routine. There is another bag out front and I'll drop it off at her house when I walk the dog in a few minutes.

 

[swampyankee]

I returned home yesterday after visiting my brother in GA for Christmas. and was astonished to see some items scattered around my driveway. Turns out they were brought by a crazy lady who lives up the street. It seems that she has a small son but thinks she had twins and spends her time looking for the missing son. She was convinced that the absent son broke his leg just before Christmas and was in my house. She brought a small bike, a wagon loaded with toys and food and a pair of crutches. When she was unable to say where she lived we called the sheriff dept and they were able to get her home. But as I headed down the street to the grocery store a little later I saw her on a bicycle on her way down the sidewalk to my house. When I got home there was a bag with food, coloring books, and child's clothing in front of my door. I called the sheriff dept again but since they had told me which development she lived in I then carried the bag down the street, knocked on a door randomly and asked where did the crazy lady live; everyone up there knew who I was talking about; such antics were SOP for her. I dropped off the bag in front of her house.

But at 0155 my doorbell rang. I did not even have to get up to know who it was; nocturnal visitations at 0200 were mentioned as part of her routine. There is another bag out front and I'll drop it off at her house when I walk the dog in a few minutes.

Has anybody tried getting her to a psychiatrist? Like her family?

 

[MIflyer]

Has anybody tried getting her to a psychiatrist? Like her family?

I assume so, but she has been judged merely an irritant and of no danger to herself and others, so cannot be restrained.

The book "The Sixties, the Dream and the Nightmare" points out that following the introduction of the new anti-schizo drugs in the late 50's, in 1960 a group of psychiatrists successfully pushed for a redefinition of what constitutes insanity: "There are no sick people, just sick societies." Insanity was a normal reaction to the pressures and oppression imposed on people by an unjust socioeconomic system. One of the doctors had worked in the Eastern Bloc and had seen how the Communists would declare someone insane just because they did not like Communism and imprison them; he asserted the same thing was happening in the USA. And from that assertion, letting the nuts run loose became official policy.

And it also removed from the mental health community the icky, dirty, irritating business of dealing with the insane. Kind of like Jiffy Lube deciding that actually changing the oil in a car is nasty and messy and interferes with their bridge games at work, so they just hand you the oil and filter and let you do it at home.

 

[Snautzer01]

That is one sad story.

 

[swampyankee]

Her family is definitely not being supportive in any real sense, in a way that, at best, only verges on being abusive.

 

[GrauGeist]

That is really sad.

The neighbor's see her as a nuisance, but for her, it must be a personal hell.
She's trying her best to care for a child (providing food, toys) that she can't get to and it must consume her thoughts all hours of the day/night.

I truly hope she gets the help she needs.

 

[Crimea_River]

It starts with not calling such people "crazy" but recognizing that they have a mental illness that requires treatment, just like you'd treat a broken leg. Mental illness does not get the attention it deserves in our society.

 

[swampyankee]

It starts with not calling such people "crazy" but recognizing that they have a mental illness that requires treatment, just like you'd treat a broken leg. Mental illness does not get the attention it deserves in our society.

When my wife worked at the VA, one of the physicians, who was from India, said the US mental health care sytem was worse than India's.

 

[Snautzer01]

She's trying her best to care for a child (providing food, toys) that she can't get to and it must consume her thoughts all hours of the day/night.

Now is that the saddest thing you have ever read?
But damm , this story gets through my armour.

 

[GrauGeist]

Now is that the saddest thing you have ever read?
But damm , this story gets through my armour.

Agreed.

I'm going through hell right now, but her situation is on such a higher level, I cannot even begin to comprehend.

 

[Snautzer01]

Agreed.

I'm going through hell right now, but her situation is on such a higher level, I cannot even begin to comprehend.

I feel it. I do.

 

[MIflyer]

Mental illness does not get the attention it deserves in our society.

And per my comment above that is partially because the US Mental Health Community came up with a philosophical approach that justifies their going AWOL 60 years ago. I heard one noted psychiatrist call it a "libertarian approach." I would call it benign neglect. It has become racist to view mental illness as a disease; it is asserted to be an acceptable lifestyle. The courts have ruled that you cannot lock someone up for being "eccentric" and pointing out that the guy in a dress is in reality a guy in a dress is horrible.

Mental illness is the main cause of homelessness and is also can't be uncoupled from drug addiction. I wonder how many of the thousands of people who die from opiate overdoses started out by using marijuana? I would guess 100%. But the approach is to legalize it, and that can only result in one thing.

My Mom had dementia in the last years of her life and I took care of her during that period. And one thing you find very quickly is that disease cannot be handled with logic, which leaves ... what?

 

[GrauGeist]

My aunt (Mom's older sister) ended up with dementia the last year's of her life. As it progressed, she stopped recognizing anyone but me and I found that discussing past events/situations seemed to be comforting to her, so I did that as much as possible.

It was really hard to see such a healthy person with a sharp mind decline like that.

If her loss wasn't tragic enough, she was also the family's historian and I begged her for years to write down what she knew and she never did, so information that could have filled volumes was lost.

 

[ARTESH]

This might not work well, but it also doesn't cost money! And is based on my personal experience, when I was wandering streets...

Best way to know her story, is to make her friend, with a girl / woman ( or a man, if you have same problem with a man) a little younger than herself.

These people needs ears, it's best way to communicate with them.

These type of people are not interested to visit doctors, of any kind ... For many reasons.

When you know the story and reason, you will find best and easiest way to help her.

Just no rush, it's a long program, could last upto 6 months or even more.

 

[pbehn]

My aunt (Mom's older sister) ended up with dementia the last year's of her life. As it progressed, she stopped recognizing anyone but me and I found that discussing past events/situations seemed to be comforting to her, so I did that as much as possible.

It was really hard to see such a healthy person with a sharp mind decline like that.

If her loss wasn't tragic enough, she was also the family's historian and I begged her for years to write down what she knew and she never did, so information that could have filled volumes was lost.

It can be tragically sad. My uncle lived in a home with his wife, she suddenly didnt recognise him, so they had to have separate rooms, he was broken hearted losing his wife while she was still alive, she was also broken hearted, she was always looking for her husband, she just didnt recognise the one she had in front of her. They had been married 38 years when she passed away.

 

[Escuadrilla Azul]

Her family is definitely not being supportive in any real sense, in a way that, at best, only verges on being abusive.

Not knowing the whole story and risking to give an unpopular opinión, maybe the family had been supportive to the verge of collapse and are extenuated and can't archive any more. Of course It will be great for the family to care about her all the time but I don't think we know if they are simply given the f•ck from the start, if they don't have any more resources or are just to exhausted to do more.