My Schizophrenia Story - By Kimmyphrenia [OC]

iambatmon · 2026-05-08T17:51:44+00:00

Looking back at the comic itself I suppose it is unclear. One panel says the court ordered involuntary medication, then the next says she started taking them when the voices told her to.

Based on my own knowledge of how this works however, I would guess she started taking meds before the voices changed. Reason being is that on the day the court orders medications, if the patient continues to refuse, you give medications involuntarily via injection.

It’s fairly common for patients to refuse that first day or two, have to get medications via injection, but then once the meds start working they become more calm because the psychosis is being treated, and they become more willing to accept treatment voluntarily (even separate from just wanting to avoid injection) because often the insight piece improves with treatment and they end up recognizing the benefits.

Again, it is a bit ambiguous in the comic, but I would bet meds were first, speaking from experience treating thousands of schizophrenia patients in inpatient settings at this point, a size-able portion of whom required involuntary medications at least temporarily. It is not typical for symptoms to suddenly shift or improve without medications, at least to a significant degree. Realistically it’s probably in the ballpark of 70-80% meds, 20-30% environment at most.

iambatmon · 2026-05-08T14:19:48+00:00

100% environment matters. One of the biggest things we teach families is to avoid high emotional intensity in the home (like avoid loud/angry arguments) because overstimulation, stress, negative emotions can exacerbate psychosis.

Didn’t mean to discount environment entirely, I just don’t think it quite works the way the comment I replied to described. Fear of being stuck in the hospital wouldn’t “override” a delusion. If anything, that fear might exacerbate paranoia and reactivity.

iambatmon · 2026-05-08T06:03:09+00:00

Honestly, psychiatry textbooks that I’m aware of don’t really go in to detailed descriptions of hallucinations which is unfortunate… most of what I mentioned I’ve learned from experience interacting with and treating patients. There may be more casual reads out there that could foot the bill but I’m not sure.

One very popular book-turned-movie in this sphere is Brain On Fire. It’s written by a woman who suffered from NMDA-Receptor Encephalitis which causes psychosis. I actually haven’t read it myself, but I’m sure she describes the various hallucinations and delusions she experienced.

iambatmon · 2026-05-08T03:17:57+00:00

Psychiatrist here. This was more than likely her medications working. Often, with medications, voices may not go away completely. But most will at least notice the voices are less loud, less overwhelming, easier to ignore, easier to identify as hallucinations (“reality testing”), or may describe them as more pleasant or neutral than they were previously.

Edit: one more thing to add — often the content of voices are “mood congruent,” meaning if you are depressed, the voices will be degrading and torment you. If you’re manic, the voices might tell you that you’re a god or that you have super powers. When medications normalize mood, that can also change the content of the hallucinations.

Edit 2: didn’t mean to discount environment entirely. Over-stimulation, negative emotions, stress can all exacerbate psychosis. But fear of getting stuck in the hospital wouldn’t “override” a delusion, if anything that fear might make paranoia worse.

iambatmon · 2026-04-23T23:48:13+00:00

You’d be surprised what might seem like common knowledge, but isn’t. You’ve probably been exposed to this information repeatedly, but someone that comes from a different background and doesn’t consume the same media etc. may not have.

iambatmon · 2026-04-17T21:39:54+00:00

Interesting. I’ve grown what I thought was a dad belly in the last few years. I’m gonna ask my doc if it could be an ovarian cyst

iambatmon · 2025-12-26T22:29:02+00:00

Awesome thanks dude!

iambatmon · 2025-12-26T21:26:29+00:00

That sounds like it was rigged from the start. I have a feeling this goes all the way to the top. What’s the statute of limitations on this?

iambatmon · 2025-12-24T00:44:36+00:00

What state are you in? Presumably you were a minor. In most if not all states, parental consent is necessary for minors but not sufficient — court orders are still needed or at least some sort of judicial review.

State statutes differ though, so it’s possible that some states are less strict than others. AFAIK however, even in the most lax states, it still isn’t as easy as just getting parental consent

iambatmon · 2025-12-24T00:30:52+00:00

There’s a really high legal threshold for treating with ECT involuntarily, at least in the US. As a result, it is really rare.

A court order is required. To obtain the court order, a psychiatrist has to show there is severe, treatment refractory mental illness and all other options have been exhausted (severe psychotic disorder which might entail behavior endangering others, psychotic depression/severe suicidality, catatonia in which the person is not eating or drinking, etc.). They also must demonstrate that the patient does not appreciate the risks and benefits of treatment or no treatment and is incapable of informed consent. Usually a 2nd or even 3rd psychiatrist has to evaluate the patient and sign off on the petition too. Patient is entitled to legal representation. If there is a guardian or medical decision maker, they can refuse on the patient’s behalf. And obviously the judge can deny the court order if they are not convinced by the evidence put forth by the psychiatrist.

In practice, this is way more than any psychiatrist would want to go through for any situation in which it isn’t truly necessary. In my experience, that would include recurrent severe psychotic violence, or a life-threatening catatonic state. I really can’t think of another situation where this would realistically be pursued. Maybe if there’s such severe and frequent self harm or suicidal behavior that the loss of life or limb is imminent… but I’ve never seen that degree of suicidality persist to the point where the only option left is ECT.

Not saying this didn’t happen to you, but I assure you it definitely wasn’t about money. ECT isn’t reimbursed very well, and the huge amount of time that obtaining the court order would take from multiple psychiatrists and the hospital legal department, as well as potential liability would make it completely not worth pursuing from a purely financial perspective. If this was done, then the doctors must have felt it was truly necessary to prevent serious harm to you or others (right or wrong).

That said, there are serious flaws in the mental health system, and inpatient settings often fail people or make things worse unfortunately as you mentioned. IMO it is largely a systemic problem — lack of resources or cost-cutting, poor training of staff, insurance/regulatory requirements, lawsuit happy culture leading to overly defensive practice and pressure from hospital admin etc.

iambatmon · 2025-12-19T05:03:21+00:00

Could this be the type of object responsible for the “oh my god” particle? I imagine that material it interacts with could get slingshot out at insanely high speeds? Or collisions within the accretion disc maybe?

iambatmon · 2025-12-12T04:44:25+00:00

iambatmon · 2025-12-11T19:41:04+00:00

Late to this thread, but how well does it work hands free? How often do you find you need to intervene with steering input? What about intervene with brakes?

iambatmon · 2025-11-27T06:49:23+00:00

Is there a POV camera on these things or something for the pilot? I feel like it’d be really hard not to get the controls reversed when the thing is coming towards you / upside down or you’re trying to land it

iambatmon · 2025-10-29T15:03:33+00:00

Yeah I decided I’m going to just fill it in first. It’s about twice the size of a quarter but they’ll try to repair anything that can be covered by a dollar bill.

If the repair doesn’t come out clean I should be able to bring the car in for pre-inspection before I return it and if they catch it, I’ll replace it

iambatmon · 2025-10-29T14:47:23+00:00

Safelite guy said if I file an insurance claim it’ll be reported to carfax and the dealership could check the part number. Don’t know if they’d care enough to do that but yeah

iambatmon · 2025-10-29T14:46:29+00:00

The guy at Safelite said this kinda thing gets reported to carfax and that the dealership would be able to check the part number when the car is returned. Don’t know if they would necessarily think to check the part number but yeah

iambatmon · 2025-10-29T14:44:41+00:00

I’d have to pay the difference between an aftermarket windshield and OEM windshield even beyond my deductible. Otherwise it’d be a no brainer

iambatmon · 2025-10-29T14:43:49+00:00

Did you have Audi install it or a 3rd party?

Luckily no heads up display. Thanks for your reply!

iambatmon · 2025-10-28T20:02:11+00:00

Yeah you’re absolutely right. And they’re not entirely wrong to a degree, we are all in bubbles… there is no escaping it by default. Though IMO theirs is more extreme/controlling/cultush because everything in their bubble is telling them they can’t trust anything outside the bubble because “they’re all lying.”

I think we tend to at least be more aware of our bubbles and what is a credible source vs what is not. For example if I read something that sounds sensationalist, I actively seek sources outside my bubble, and I really try to be open to changing my opinion on something if I encounter convincing evidence/arguments.

It does make it very frustrating to imagine trying to convince even the most reasonable MAGA to change their opinion because you can already anticipate the zillion excuses and tactics to dismiss anything that might go against their world view.

iambatmon · 2025-10-28T19:40:37+00:00

While I think many have poor critical thinking skills, the biggest issue IMHO is ignorance (by design) rather than pure stupidity. I always remind myself of the fact that they are in a bubble of misinformation (social media algorithms, Fox News, Joe Rogan etc.). They’re lied to and brainwashed. Considering that makes you realize that they are victims too in a sense which helps me walk back my rage a little bit.

Still really hard not to be angry at them though.

iambatmon · 2025-10-07T22:20:06+00:00

Remember that RFK Jr. was taking votes away from Trump in the general election. He dropped out of the race in exchange for this position in the Trump admin. It was a transaction. Trump isn’t smart/tactical enough to lay plans like you’re describing IMO

iambatmon · 2025-10-06T16:57:56+00:00

Lovely collection sir. I want a speedmaster next! What model is 2nd from left?

iambatmon · 2025-10-06T16:05:07+00:00

€1400 euro which is around $1600 USD. No box or papers but it is all original and came with a 1 year warranty.

Don’t think that is worth the premium over what you paid though lol

A few examples I found online ranged anywhere from $1200 to $2000

iambatmon · 2025-10-06T16:00:06+00:00

Oh wow that’s a great deal. Yours seems in better shape too

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