HALLUCINATIONS

Personally this is something that I have never experienced but I know someone who had this problem. The young man was a Rhodes Scholar who got up to the last semester and then decided that he just couldn’t finish college. Naturally his parents were upset but there didn’t seem any way to convince their son to change his mind. When he went into counseling he was having hallucinations; a sign of the more advanced form of Bipolar. It took several weeks before the medication took effect and the hallucinations disappeared.

Reaching a point where he felt better, the young man went off his medication. Wrong choice. He went into a downward spiral and the hallucinations came back, only more pronounced this time. He had to get back on his meds and spend 6 weeks in the hospital to get everything corrected. However, he hadn’t learned yet the importance of staying on medication. He went off his meds again and had to repeat the time spent in the hospital. Each time the hallucinations were stronger.

Moral of the experience: Each time you go off your medication the harder it is to get back on track. When the symptoms return they are stronger than when you were on a balanced regular dose of medication. No matter how you feel, especially when you feel at the top of the world, don’t quit or change anything.