A mental health professional is generally the best person to diagnose a mental illness but sometimes the person who needs help the most refuses to see a professional. Then relatives do the best that they can to try to sort out what is happening. It might be helpful for relatives to consult with a mental health professional to see what the best course of action might be. In some cases the person with a problem may refuse treatment. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n We live in a country where the rights of individuals come first so I know people who are quite convinced that they will make fifty My mother was institutionalized in the fifties for 3 years for her For those of you who are wondering about mental health issues, BPD Central: a list of resources for people who care about someone with borderline personality disorder (BPD).<\/a><\/p>\n Borderline Personality Disorder<\/a><\/p>\n Signs and symptoms of bipolar disorder.<\/a> <\/p>\n Bipolar Disorder – NIMH<\/a> <\/p>\n Bipolar Disorder – on Psych Central<\/a> <\/p>\n Persecutory Type of Delusional Disorder, Previously called Paranoid Disorder. Can be one of the symptoms of bipolar disorder.<\/a> <\/p>\n McMan’s Depression and Bipolar Site<\/a> <\/p>\n Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) : "How to recognize a narcissist" by Joanna M Ashmun, 1998. <\/a> Some of the most interesting reading that I’ve seen on NPD. Also has links to other useful sites and information on NPD.<\/p>\n Symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder<\/a><\/p>\n From Psychology Today <\/em>on Narcissistic Personality Disorder<\/a><\/p>\n Dick Sutphen’s The Battle for Your Mind.<\/a> A site that discusses brainwashing in our culture & cults – sometimes involved in estrangements. <\/p>\n The Foster Report on Scientology<\/a> Scroll down on the linked page for references to Scientology being implicated in family estrangements.<\/p>\n Steven Alan’s Freedom of Mind Center<\/a> Cult Counselor and Mind control Expert<\/p>\n About Schizophrenia on NAMI<\/a><\/p>\n Understanding and responding to symptoms of schizophrenia <\/a><\/p>\n Not a mental illness but a type of alienation: Parental Alienation Parental Alienation Syndrome: Articles<\/a><\/p>\n
\nwhen someone refuses to go for treatment, then we have to accept that
\nthey have that right. Many people manage to function in their day to
\nday lives remarkably well even though their thinking may be quite odd. <\/p>\n
\nmillion dollars in the next few years and have been convinced of other
\nhuge windfalls several times in past years. They have had other
\ninteresting ideas as well that result in their believing that the
\ngovernment is watching them and that others just don’t recognize the
\nbrilliance of theiir ideas and that others might want to steal their
\nideas to make the money for themselves. These people have convinced me
\njust how entrenched a psychological problem can be and how futile it is
\nto expect them to get treatment. They still pay their bills. They still
\nget by from day to day. They still believe that they are going to make
\nmillions of dollars on each new idea that they get. Nothing changes. I
\ncould make myself ill if I tried to get them to change. They have
\ntaught me that.<\/p>\n
\nmental illness. She has been in and out of psychiatric wards many times
\nin the last 50 years. She has been seeing psychiatrists for over 50
\nyears. But she doesn’t think that she is mentally ill. She thinks that
\nshe sees a psychiatrist because she needs medications and that seeing a
\npsychiatrist is the only way that she can get her medication. She
\nthinks that other people have far more mental health issues than she
\ndoes. She has often accused me of being crazy or stupid or dumb. She is
\nthe one who is fine … in her own mind she thinks she is fine.<\/p>\n
\nwhether someone else’s or your own, here are a list of links on various
\nmental health issues that can be involved in or result in estrangement:<\/p>\n
\nSyndrome (PAS) refers to a type of alienation that may occur between
\nchildren and one parent after a divorce, particularly after a bitter
\ndivorce.<\/p>\n