nv - 22 December 2011 08:09 PM
MARTIN UK - 21 December 2011 11:21 PM
. . . is it possible for someone with this level of psychosis to go without treatment or unnoticed? I think not, so there is more to this guy than we can really gather from an online forum, . . .
It depends on where the person lives. Some nations, counties, states, and municipalities worry more than others. If this person lives in New York City, he’s probably considered a model of good behavior to his/her mental health case manager, and he may not even have one. If he lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin, my guess is that he’s often incarcerated and/or institutionalized. But Dennis knows much more about this than I do. If this person can reliably comport himself in a library, he could be quite bonkers and not be bothered by authorities until someone complains about aggression. But most schizophrenics are not unusually aggressive.
http://www.phoenix-mhs.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=73&Itemid=45
Not a problem as long as said person does not present a clear and present danger to self or others. It takes a petition, usually, and if probable cause is found by a judge, the person is evaluated for up to 14 days by two psychiatrists or psychologists appointed by the court to determine both “mental illness” and degree of danger to self or others. If found to be so, that person is assigned to the DHS for management. In most cases, almost everyone is back on the streets within a month, with maybe 50% within a few days. In the 60s, there was a big push to “de-institutionaslize” psychiatric patients and that was largely done, one consequence being that non-aggressive psychotic people are free to remain at large.
This man’s posts seem consistent with a paranoid schizophrenic rambling, but any diagnosis is of little practical use here; it might have an influence in a judicial proceeding for placement or incarceration, or medication compliance, and such a diagnosis might if confirmed have a bearing on sentencing in a criminal case, but none of those seem to apply here. Clearly, if his ramblings are to be believed, he’s been the subject of official attentions in the past, and may be again in the future.
That said, there’s no basis for any expectation of privacy or consideration of feelings here, this is a privately owned publically accessible forum, so if someone posts here then they’re not protected from any resulting comments. The rambling, semi-coherent posts above are a good example of what seems psychotic thinking, so perhaps that serves some useful purpose for some members.
