system as it currently exists. People move around. People also hide mental illness because of the stigma. Sometimes their particular cluster of symptoms causes them to isolate. And I find it astounding that there seems to be a denial on DU that people who experience psychotic breaks can become violent. I've seen it happen many times throughout my life with different people from relatives to people I worked with to friends.
I had a friend who was one of the sweetest persons I've ever known. She had bipolar disorder and stopped taking her medication. She became extremely delusional and began doing stuff that put herself at extreme risk. A couple of her roommates and I swore an affidavit to have her involuntarily committed. When they found her she to take her to hospital she was in the midst of a full blown psychotic break. This tiny woman hurled a chair across the room and through a window. We talked later when she was more stable. I asked her if there was anything else I could have done as she was spiralling downward. She told me that we had done everything that was possible. She was cognizant at some level that her mind was out of control but could not control her thought processes. She was hugely embarrassed. Eventually she incorporated us into her delusional system and started cutting contact with all who were involved in getting her to help. I learned later that this was a pattern with her. Her one survival skill appeared to be that she was able to establish relationships with people who would end up caring for her. Some years later I learned that she had ended up alone and committed suicide. I loved my friend dearly and found myself in those intervening years searching rooms in public places to see if I could spot her. I'd give anything to have a chance to see her again.
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