Alex

#4 Freethinker

Thank you for sharing that.

(I am aware of several tragedies in the desi community which in some ways reflect the type of traumatic experience you described – thankfully in your case with a different and more hopeful outcome!)

Beena, thank you for your well-intentioned piece! (I feel nothing but the deepest level of sympathy for Alex`s family.) One can never emphasize enough – most mental disorder has physical, organic causes and most mental disorders need medical, clinical intervention (as well as counseling therapy) which mostly helps (though not always).

real Life is exactly, Beena, as your touching story unfolds, it just unfolds in front of your eyes. even if you are one of the real living characters in a real life story involving a mentally challenged person; the events just keep unfolding and you cannot control them. and soon you come to the last chapter, which is a foregone conclusion in many cases, but still one clings to hope, and the last page proclaims death, and you are in a state of shock. normal people of the family keep saying and doing normal things around the mentally afflicted person in the hope that normality rubs off on him, and he can cope with life better. often this is a vain hope. normal folks fear that worrying about keeping the house `suicide hazard free, like long strong ropes and the like, and mundane duties like, a normal family member taking rounds to check baths; bedroom; and never leaving the `candidate for suicide` alone for l o n g.............will drag them into depression and they will become victims of stress. as drug therapy has a no no thin line, as some drugs for depression must never be given to a diagnosed psychotic in big doses. accurate diagnosis supported by blood levels of d a n e, would be waited for. but one thing can be started immediately and without fear, (non-drug) psychotherapy. your patient` s good friend through thick and through thin.

Schizophrenia is a terrible disease. Nobody knows how to cure it. The doctors try various experimental drugs but there is no sure treatment.
I know it from close quarters. My oldest son is schizophrenic. He was in high school when he was first diagnosed. The doctor told us that about 25 percent of the patients get better. We crossed our fingers and hoped we would be one of the 25 percent lucky ones. But then I didn’t fully understand what he meant by “better.” Those who get better manage to live with it for the rest of their lives with the help of medicines and regular check-ups.
My son attempted suicide once. He was in and out of the hospitals for several years. Then a doctor (an American Hindu) talked to us about clozaril (clozapine). He said it seems to work more often than not; it has side effects and some cases of fatality have also occurred. He said, “You guys think about it.”
On our next scheduled visit, he again talked about it. We said, “We don’t want it.” We were scared of the fatalities that he had mentioned. He gave us a videotape to watch before we made a final decision. My wife watched it and we talked about the medicine from time to time. After almost one year, we told him that we would try it because nothing else was working.
My son started the treatment with regular check-ups and weekly meetings with his doctor (not the same one). The medicine worked to stabilize him. The anguish and weirdness that was apparent from his face vanished. The “voices” also stopped. But if he misses the medicine even for a couple of days; the symptoms return. He is much better now although he doesn’t want to work for employment. He goes to gym everyday, first thing in the morning, and drives his own car.
He is “better” but not fully cured.
Mohammad Gill

If characters` names in this story are original and the family still lives in Karachi, then I find a striking resemblance with a family known to me. The writer is requested to clearify. If this is Mrs.Parker`s family, then there are some factual mistakes. If names are fictitious, you are requested to disregard it.

Involvment of law enforcement autority and Jail system further aggravetes the condition to bring on manic episode and become violent.......the police and judiciary still do not understand the fragility of the cases they are brought to judge and deal with...Alienation further pushes the patient over the brink with tragic suicides

There are so many people in Pakistan with mental disorders who are not aware or have not been told that they have a disorder. Some superstitions are associated with various mental illnesses, and the treatments that ensue only make life worse for the affected person. When complications in societies increase, such illnesses are also bound to increase. There really should be some kind of association which would educate pakistani people about mental problems, to tell everyone how a large majority of people in Pakistan are affected by minor or major disorders, and how we can encourage others to accept the unfortunate, and to make them realize that they are not alone.

It’s always love that wins in the end. So let’s share some.