Mother's Day Week of Easy Facials and an Oat Bath

[Jojo]

The handful of traits you mentioned above are all things I've witnessed, absolutely.

I'm curious about your work as a carer. Did you tend to any psychiatric wards in particular, and do you have any anecdotes to share?

Well, let's say your avatar is a costumed, damaged, plastic doll.  I guess my conscience might let me respond, then.

No psych wards, but I worked in an alcohol/drug rehab hospital (half of them are crazy), and we accepted mentally ill patients.  Boss was a sociopath, does that count?  I was hoping a patient would face criminal charges after she offered me $500 to take a check to her dealer.  But the hospital just treated it as a counseling issue.  One of the counselors trembled with fear of dim rooms, when the power went out for an afternoon.  The real psycho there was a visiting dog that tried to take the neck off of a patient.  The patient's injuries were grave, but after being transported to another hospital emergency room, he did survive as far as I know.

I don't think I'd be very good in a psych ward.  First of all, I believe in remote neural monitoring and synthetic telepathy.  So, it would be awkward at best, even if I kept my views to myself.

I took care of a schizophrenic who was stable on Abilify, in her home.  Whenever she wanted to talk about schizophrenia, the topic was about her journey to get help, not her disease.  She said she wanted to be seen as a person, not a disease.  She lamented that her schizophrenia messed up the childhoods of her three loving adult children.  She surprised me by describing her worst schizophrenia symptom as anxiety.

Hallucinations are a side effect of some medicines which older people take.  Not very many people realize that.

I've lived with numerous mentally ill people.  People used to insist (in whispers) that one of my parents was insane.  They made a good case.

Recently, I lived for a year as a renter in a private family home, where there was a brain-damaged and mentally ill woman my age, an autistic semi-retired man, a elderly woman with dementia, and an alcoholic who spent quite a bit of time in black-outs.  There is a thread in this website about the drama somewhere.

A couple times when the family went out to dinner, I took hot baths.  Both times, when the family got home, the mentally ill woman tried beat the bathroom door in.  Even though we had two bathrooms.  Not sure what triggered her.  She also stole 33 bars of my bathroom soap.  Never found them.  Grandma even checked the trashes and the girl's room.  At Christmastime, the soap stealer gave me assorted soaps for my present.  I asked her if she was going to steal them.  She said yes.  So I threw them away.  It really hurt her feelings.  Imagine that.

I cared for a very elderly woman with dementia.  Her grandson had been convicted of conning her out of HEAPS of money over 5 years.  He did prison time, because he said the money was for survival but actually it was for drugs and prostitutes.  He got out of prison, but was starting in again on her.  His process was a little dramatic, but he wasn't getting very far because I was there a lot.  Someone placed a rubber bullet shooter (looked just like a pistol to me, heavy, with battery-operated parts and a real trigger, but an orange tip) and a six-shooter in places I would find them.  I'm not sure if he sent someone to try to intimidate me by displaying weapons, or if someone else put them there in case I needed them.  I also found a star-shaped throwing knife.  I debated keeping these weapons, since the lady said they weren't hers.  But I turned them over to the lady's new guardian.  In the end, the grandson was busted again, for violating court terms by asking the grandma for money.  Well, she wrote him a check, even though I reminded her several times it would violate his court terms.  Of course, he signed and cashed it, and he got prosecuted all over again.

The biggest thing that stands out in my recent work history is that often, seniors with dementia don't have enough food on hand which they can use.  And no one seems to care.  Certainly not the employer or family.  Even APS took months to respond.  None of these clients were poor.  They were private-pay, with plenty of their own money as well as stable extended families.  As if agency care giving doesn't pay poorly enough, I volunteered myself to go to the food bank for a client.
-  One authority told me that my client could live for four days on only egg salad.
-  Three authorities twice failed to make food come when I said a client had no food.
-  One family, distraught after someone died, simply could not or did not hear me when I said their mother had no food.  It wasn't until a few weeks later that a daughter came over and realized it.   I had clearly told them, verbally, in writing, and via my employer.

One client had a developmentally disabled daughter who did not want me to care for her mom, because she was jealous of anyone who bonded.  She tried to hid food where I couldn't find it, to sabotage my cooking.  Even though I was making her favorite sandwiches every time I was there.  The family said this had been an issue with every care giver, so I just took the shelves and drawers out of the fridge so there was nowhere to hide food in there.  That worked, and to my surprise, the family didn't mind.

That daughter (or someone) retaliated, though, by imitating my hand-writing and making a very nasty note which the extended family would believe I wrote.  The forgery was excellent.  It was frightening how scheming a developmentally disabled girl could be.  The family asked me if I wrote the note, and I said no!

I'm still working, just not getting enough hours to survive.  I also do administrative assistant work.

Here's a gun like the one I found by the basement door at my client's.  Afterward, I noticed some basement rooms only locked from the outside of the room.  I worried the client or I could be locked in one, so I removed the locks without telling anyone.  But there were windows.

[Jojo]

Today's masque was egg.  Mostly egg white, but some yolk got in.  My skin doesn't look any tighter than before, but the masque was amazing, because it conditioned the skin for deep poor cleaning afterward.  I was surprised by that.  Now I know.

[ksm32]

Today's masque was egg.  Mostly egg white, but some yolk got in.  My skin doesn't look any tighter than before, but the masque was amazing, because it conditioned the skin for deep poor cleaning afterward.  I was surprised by that.  Now I know.

Pure protein on the face. There are things that have been said about some things that can be very beneficial to a woman's facial skin. Or a gay guys skin..  I'm not trying to be silly nor am I purposely sullying your thread. It's just that you may want to consider a boyfriend again. We men have the ultimate dispensers of said proteins. Any thoughts on that?

[Jojo]

Pure protein on the face. There are things that have been said about some things that can be very beneficial to a woman's facial skin. Or a gay guys skin..  I'm not trying to be silly nor am I purposely sullying your thread. It's just that you may want to consider a boyfriend again. We men have the ultimate dispensers of said proteins. Any thoughts on that?

You are missing albumin.  Maybe I still have the bum.

[Jojo]

Don't click on the image I put below of a gun.  I got a virus after googling gun images, so I don't know if it's infected.

[AZZERAE]

Well, let's say your avatar is a costumed, damaged, plastic doll.  I guess my conscience might let me respond, then.

It is. I'm sorry its so abhorrent to you. It'll change, in time.

No psych wards, but I worked in an alcohol/drug rehab hospital (half of them are crazy), and we accepted mentally ill patients.  Boss was a sociopath, does that count?  I was hoping a patient would face criminal charges after she offered me $500 to take a check to her dealer.  But the hospital just treated it as a counseling issue.  One of the counselors trembled with fear of dim rooms, when the power went out for an afternoon.  The real psycho there was a visiting dog that tried to take the neck off of a patient.  The patient's injuries were grave, but after being transported to another hospital emergency room, he did survive as far as I know.

I don't think I'd be very good in a psych ward.  First of all, I believe in remote neural monitoring and synthetic telepathy.  So, it would be awkward at best, even if I kept my views to myself.

You seem to have had so many experiences in your life. I'm fascinated by your beliefs in neural monitoring and synthetic telepathy, and would be keen to read more about them. If you have any further information on these 2 aspects of treatment, please share it.

I understand why you'd keep those views to yourself, however. But I have to say, I personally think you'd be good in a psych ward (from following your other writings).

I took care of a schizophrenic who was stable on Abilify, in her home.  Whenever she wanted to talk about schizophrenia, the topic was about her journey to get help, not her disease.  She said she wanted to be seen as a person, not a disease.  She lamented that her schizophrenia messed up the childhoods of her three loving adult children.  She surprised me by describing her worst schizophrenia symptom as anxiety.

Hallucinations are a side effect of some medicines which older people take.  Not very many people realize that.

Schizophrenia is one of the most stigmatized and widely misunderstood diseases - by the general public. Was she on a high dose of antipsychotics? I can appreciate the woman's focus being on her journey to mental stability, rather than its afflictions. Its an awfully debilitating illness.

Yes, in many schizophrenics, their anxiety is off the charts ... the curious part is that, the disease presents dissimilar symptoms in different patients, which is why diagnosing the illness can take many years after those symptoms have worsened tremendously.* Unfortunately, getting on medications at the early onset of the disease is usually far more effective than later on, even though its more often than not diagnosed far later. Schizophrenia is only partially treated and managed with medications, and often worsens anyway, even if to a lesser degree.

*I've found its helpful to think of the term "schizophrenic" as more of an umbrella of interrelated mental afflictions, as opposed to a hard-and-fast definition of one.

I've lived with numerous mentally ill people.  People used to insist (in whispers) that one of my parents was insane.  They made a good case.

Recently, I lived for a year as a renter in a private family home, where there was a brain-damaged and mentally ill woman my age, an autistic semi-retired man, a elderly woman with dementia, and an alcoholic who spent quite a bit of time in black-outs.  There is a thread in this website about the drama somewhere.

A couple times when the family went out to dinner, I took hot baths.  Both times, when the family got home, the mentally ill woman tried beat the bathroom door in.  Even though we had two bathrooms.  Not sure what triggered her.  She also stole 33 bars of my bathroom soap.  Never found them.  Grandma even checked the trashes and the girl's room.  At Christmastime, the soap stealer gave me assorted soaps for my present.  I asked her if she was going to steal them.  She said yes.  So I threw them away.  It really hurt her feelings.  Imagine that.

I'm sorry to learn about your childhood, and of some of the people you've had to share a roof with. This life is cruel, and we who are poor have to endure a lot more psychological stressors than the average joe.

In the past, when my living situation was worse than it is now, I recall also sneaking in to the tub for a hot bath while housemates were out. It sure takes the edge off!

I cared for a very elderly woman with dementia.  Her grandson had been convicted of conning her out of HEAPS of money over 5 years.  He did prison time, because he said the money was for survival but actually it was for drugs and prostitutes.  He got out of prison, but was starting in again on her.  His process was a little dramatic, but he wasn't getting very far because I was there a lot.  Someone placed a rubber bullet shooter (looked just like a pistol to me, heavy, with battery-operated parts and a real trigger, but an orange tip) and a six-shooter in places I would find them.  I'm not sure if he sent someone to try to intimidate me by displaying weapons, or if someone else put them there in case I needed them.  I also found a star-shaped throwing knife.  I debated keeping these weapons, since the lady said they weren't hers.  But I turned them over to the lady's new guardian.  In the end, the grandson was busted again, for violating court terms by asking the grandma for money.  Well, she wrote him a check, even though I reminded her several times it would violate his court terms.  Of course, he signed and cashed it, and he got prosecuted all over again.

I've always found it incredibly sickening when young people take advantage of the elderly for financial gain - usually relatives taking their own blood for everything they've got. There's a special place in hell for those types!

[ItsOver]

...But I have to say, I personally think you'd be good in a psych ward (from following your other writings)...

[Jojo]

It is. I'm sorry its so abhorrent to you. It'll change, in time.   I see.

You seem to have had so many experiences in your life. I'm fascinated by your beliefs in neural monitoring and synthetic telepathy, and would be keen to read more about them. If you have any further information on these 2 aspects of treatment, please share it.   It's not treatment.  It's considered torture.  I guess.  More info is on web, try those search terms.

I understand why you'd keep those views to yourself, however. But I have to say, I personally think you'd be good in a psych ward (from following your other writings).   Don't commit me, Azz!!!

Schizophrenia is one of the most stigmatized and widely misunderstood diseases - by the general public. Was she on a high dose of antipsychotics? I can appreciate the woman's focus being on her journey to mental stability, rather than its afflictions. Its an awfully debilitating illness.   I only saw one little Abilify pill daily.

Yes, in many schizophrenics, their anxiety is off the charts ... the curious part is that, the disease presents dissimilar symptoms in different patients, which is why diagnosing the illness can take many years after those symptoms have worsened tremendously.* Unfortunately, getting on medications at the early onset of the disease is usually far more effective than later on, even though its more often than not diagnosed far later. Schizophrenia is only partially treated and managed with medications, and often worsens anyway, even if to a lesser degree.   That' what I've heard.

*I've found its helpful to think of the term "schizophrenic" as more of an umbrella of interrelated mental afflictions, as opposed to a hard-and-fast definition of one.   I agree!

I'm sorry to learn about your childhood, and of some of the people you've had to share a roof with. This life is cruel, and we who are poor have to endure a lot more psychological stressors than the average joe.   Thanks.  Yes, it's true.

In the past, when my living situation was worse than it is now, I recall also sneaking in to the tub for a hot bath while housemates were out. It sure takes the edge off!  Baths are like majic!

I've always found it incredibly sickening when young people take advantage of the elderly for financial gain - usually relatives taking their own blood for everything they've got. There's a special place in hell for those types.

True.  This elder was German.  The Nazis bombed the school where her dad worked.  She and her mom fled for their lives.  It warped her.  She was incapable of normal love.  Frankly, as sad as it was, her grandson was the closest thing to love that she had.  I think the lady benefitted from using her grandson's "need", to spite his mother.  After all,she had plenty, and could have established a stable trust fund for him to reduce drama. The, his criminality and addiction would have been an independent issue, not tied in with her money and her daughter's feelings. Just my opinion.

[Jojo]

:.  My image "idol" forsakes me!  You will miss me.  I was called back to work for a couple weeks plus my most functional device has a virus...

Maybe it's not a virus.  Maybe I just haven't used FF in a while.

[ItsOver]

...You will miss me...

Nope.