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Got a question here. I have a sister who's a little worse for wear, shall we say. She has a lot of problems, both medical and mental. Right now, I'm concerned about the mental ones. She's exhibiting paranoia and has hallucinations. She says she's cursed because of all the bad luck she has. She mentioned the other day that she wants to have a priest bless her. Apparently, she also said she wanted an exorcism!
I'm thinking about getting a rosary for her and having it blessed by a Catholic priest, and picking up a couple saint candles for her (St. Jude and St. Michael). Would this be considered feeding into her delusions, or can it be just a way to give her some sort of comfort? I know religion can be a touchy subject, so I'd rather not get into the obvious religious connotations here. I mean, how do you deal with a kid who believes the bogeyman is living in the closet? Is spraying anti-monster spray before bedtime feeding into the delusion, or is it providing comfort?
I'd like to do what I can for my sister, but don't want to make things worse.
Got a question here. I have a sister who's a little worse for wear, shall we say. She has a lot of problems, both medical and mental. Right now, I'm concerned about the mental ones. She's exhibiting paranoia and has hallucinations. She says she's cursed because of all the bad luck she has. She mentioned the other day that she wants to have a priest bless her. Apparently, she also said she wanted an exorcism!
I'm thinking about getting a rosary for her and having it blessed by a Catholic priest, and picking up a couple saint candles for her (St. Jude and St. Michael). Would this be considered feeding into her delusions, or can it be just a way to give her some sort of comfort? I know religion can be a touchy subject, so I'd rather not get into the obvious religious connotations here. I mean, how do you deal with a kid who believes the bogeyman is living in the closet? Is spraying anti-monster spray before bedtime feeding into the delusion, or is it providing comfort?
I'd like to do what I can for my sister, but don't want to make things worse.
Got a question here. I have a sister who's a little worse for wear, shall we say. She has a lot of problems, both medical and mental. Right now, I'm concerned about the mental ones. She's exhibiting paranoia and has hallucinations. She says she's cursed because of all the bad luck she has. She mentioned the other day that she wants to have a priest bless her. Apparently, she also said she wanted an exorcism!
I'm thinking about getting a rosary for her and having it blessed by a Catholic priest, and picking up a couple saint candles for her (St. Jude and St. Michael). Would this be considered feeding into her delusions, or can it be just a way to give her some sort of comfort? I know religion can be a touchy subject, so I'd rather not get into the obvious religious connotations here. I mean, how do you deal with a kid who believes the bogeyman is living in the closet? Is spraying anti-monster spray before bedtime feeding into the delusion, or is it providing comfort?
I'd like to do what I can for my sister, but don't want to make things worse.
Thoughts? Thanks!
-T.
You should be thinking about encouraging her to seek professional help, and then give her all support she needs, for comfort. Go with her to see the doctor, be with her when she goes to therapy, ask the doctor how you can help, assist with taking meds etc.
Buying her a rosary, anti-monster spray is going to make things worse. It's making her to believe that indeed, there are monsters in the closed. That, indeed she is possessed, and voices she hear are real. Now, how helpful is that?
"a little worse for wear"? Sounds like she is in need of psychiatric care.
Is she under the care of a psychiatrist? A Physician of any sort?
Consulting her medical professionals should be your first order of business.
Her psychiatric stability should established before you determine what provides her comfort.
She's 51 years old, and yeah...she's under care. That's a story in itself.
Currently our mother goes with her to some of her appointments. About all I'm (sorta) qualified to help with is the diet stuff, and I'm currently waiting for an appointment to be set up for her to see a renal dietitian. I definitely want to be there for that one.
Yeeeah, that's what I was worried about - feeding into the delusions.
Oh yeah. For sure.
Like I said, that's a story in itself. Her most recent psychiatrist almost killed her. No, that's not paranoia or exaggeration. He knowingly gave her high doses of various meds which have damaged her kidneys significantly. She was in a coma. She's had to have dialysis a few times. Because she's on public assistance, she's severely limited who / when / what she can see for medical or mental care. She's getting transitioned right now to a new psychiatrist. It's a process, and one that I can't quite understand. I mean, doc almost kills you, you'd think there would be immediate repercussions.
That's just the tip of this particular iceberg.
Appreciate the feedback.
Oh, and I did recently move up here to be closer to her and my mom. I've been living out of state for many many years so I'm a bit out of touch as far as how / what all happened to lead up to all this.
i don't see harm in the candles or rosary, but I'd tell her she's not possessed by demons. You can be kind without feeding delusions. The monster spray is a good example, though we'd usually be talking about a 6 yr old. Still, if you don't go along with the crazy stuff it's probably OK.
The kidney thing is something I heard before, but it was liver and the guy was on the transplant list. The only good news was that the damage could reverse once off the meds.
Giving someone a rosary who finds comfort in such things is not feeding into delusions or making anything worse.
I agree
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