Younger dd is reading Om-Kas-Toe and a collection of Geronimo Stilton books. Younger ds is reading Minecraft books (grrr). Older dd is reading several "candy" books from the teen section of our library. (I don't even want to know.) Oldest ds just read The Man in the High Castle by Philip Dick (because he was hooked on the TV series). He enjoys dystopian alternative history stuff. He tells me he's also reading the sci-fi thriller The Martian, I'm reading two "old" anthropology books by Robert T. and Barbara Gallatin Anderson. One is a study on changes over time in a Danish maritime vil

And I'm saying the "common definition" of a better life is one that is *not* lived on the streets, cold, dirty, sick, afraid, addicted to drugs/alcohol...and all of this ONLY because one's brain is sick. The person isn't making a choice. They are suffering from an illness.

No. Not for people who are not sick. Who made the earlier analogy? If a person has cardiovascular disease, we don't wait until their symptoms are gone until we choose to treat it. The thing is, with severe mental illness, the inability of the brain to choose treatment IS one of the symptoms of the illness. So, we have a loop here.

Yes they do. All the time. Because their brains are sick. It is beyond their control, many times, to be able to make the right/safe/healthy/better decision. They cannot see the consequences. They need help. It's NOT so easy to enforce involuntary treatment. You say " the law provides." But who will do it? And what if no one is paying close enough attention to get there in time? Why wait until someone is dangerous? Why not treat someone to help keep them healthy because it is the right thing to do, regardless of whether or not their sick brain can see the logic in it? We canno

I'm very glad that not all people with schizophrenia are dangerous themselves or others! I lived with a dangerous schizophrenic (who also loved me very much and was incredibly sweet and giving when not having an episode), so it is very real to me. There ARE people with schizophrenia (and it's not just a handful) who are dangerous (to themselves and others) when having episodes and they need to be treated (usually this means medication) whether they want to be or not. And what if they're not dangerous? So we just leave them alone? It does no one any good if we just let people's l

*I* am referring strictly to schizophrenia. Many people with schizophrenia can be violent *when having an episode.* It's not *them* it's the schizophrenia. They are not in control when they are having an episode. So what if we can prevent most of the episodes? So they and others can be safe. Should we *not* do it? From my perspective, as someone who is not mentally ill, I find it interesting that we have, in the American legal system (and presumably others) a "get away with it clause." If one is found severely mentally ill, one cannot be found guilty of a crime (including murder)

Lots of people with schizophrenia are quite happy to take the meds once they see more clearly? Or are you talking about other forms of mental illness?

I do *not* believe that forcibly medicating the severely mentally ill will make them decide to stay on the drugs and "stop being weird." This is not about weirdness. This is about safety for themselves and innocent others around them AND their ability to care for themselves and lead as close to a life as possible. Mentally ill people should not be on the street, unsheltered, unsafe from many dangers, and unhealthy (lack of appropriate food and medical care, etc.) just because their mental illness makes them unable to agree to treatment. They are not really making a choice like someone wit

I think you have to keep in mind that these are the thoughts of a child of someone diagnosed with Schizophrenia... can you imagine what it's like to live a childhood like that? (No offense meant SparklyUnicorn.) I'm not saying everyone with mental illness should not be born, etc., but I really want those of you who have *not* been raised by a *severely* mentally ill parent to stop for a minute before commenting and TRY to put yourselves in another person's shoes. I will make a blanket statement: being raised by a parent with Schizophrenia affects you for the *rest of your life.* Please be gent

The hardest part, though, is that you cannot make someone with Schizophrenia believe that.

She had care, but medicine and science are not advanced enough to prevent people with Schizophrenia from having future episodes. The doctors don't have the knowledge yet. The medicines are not good enough yet. Because there is no cure, no magic button. Because life isn't fair.

This is not a thought experiment. This is peoples' lives. Do not "play" devil's advocate. Ask genuine, real, questions -- that you really mean. Please. And if you don't mean it, please don't poke. I have no patience for play on this topic.

I've heard from someone with schizophrenia during times when symptoms were well-controlled. I'll tell you what she said. She said she was fine. She had no problems. And it was crazy that she was forced to take medicine she didn't need. She said we were all horrible to do this to her. (And when she didn't take it, she couldn't separate reality from the hallucinations and did wield weapons. When she was having an episode she had incredible strength. She was a tiny person, thank God... but still other people did get hurt.)

My own personal experience with a schizophrenic family member is NO. Emphatically no. For her entire life. Even when she was medicated well and didn't have episodes for months... she never wanted to take the medication. She was forced and tricked into doing so for her entire life. And yes, it was necessary. Starting in the 1980's she was able to get a time-release injection each month instead of taking oral pills and it was the most amazing blessing for our family. But no, even medicated, she never functioned normally. Medication meant she had very few violent and irrational outbursts and sh