Schizophrenia and BPD - impact
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Hello everyone,
I've been reading through the forum a lot in the last months and it seems many offenders had mental health issues prior to the offending so it looks like this is a risk factor. I saw reports of depression, trauma, autism, ADHD and how this might play a role.
My person aswell has severe mental haelth issues but I didn t really find related posts here this is why I wanted to share our story and also ask if anyone has experience.
My person had several episodes of psychosis and depression with a first onset at the age of 17 (is now 35). He was free of psychotic symptoms for a few years after medication for schizophrenia and lifestyle changes while he has never really seen full recovery from the depression/ mood disorder. He relapsed with psychotic symptoms a few months before the offence. He was living in different countries throughout his adult life and has seen various doctors there. The diagnoses given varied from paranoid Schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder to an assessment for BPD with his current psych.
My person has been arrested last year for communication (vigilantes) and sentenced in the meantime. I have full disclosure and was present at all hearings so I'm rather certain I know the full picture. The offending pattern seems somehow different to what I read here from other users experience.
The week before the offending, he had a change in medication as he claimed that the antipsichotics weren't working still and he was hearing voices. His mood however seemed ok so the antidepressants he also takes weren't changed. He went for a trip and left our home on a Sunday, he seemed pretty ok to me then.
When away he apparently bought marijuana and smoked (which he had not done for several years) - stupid of him...
On the Thursday after he left from home he was contacted by a girl on facebook that didn t have her age stated in her profile but let him know at some point that she was underage (15) . Shortly after, he was contacted by 2 more "girls" and one was suggested to him as a friend through facebook (! imagine!). All these were members of vigilante groups. He was having sexual communications with these 4 vigilantes and escalated this to suggest a meeting on the next day, when they arranged a sting.
His devices were taken and searched, there was no searches for child abuse material, no material found on the devices and no other communication than the one he was charged for. So it looks like he started and escalated sexual offending within around 48 hours.
Now I haven t been with him the days ahead of the offending so I have no good idea about his mental state but he seemed in a pretty good mood - so good I even asked him what is happening. After arrest he was remanded so I only talked to him once on the phone when he was in custody 2 days after the arrest and saw him for maybe 15 minutes in court 3 days after the arrest. On the phone he seemed very positive (irritatingly), in court aswell he seemed out of place and was twitching his head. First time I talked to him after was 15 days on when he called from prison and then he was pretty depressed and suicidal.
Does anybody else have an offending family member with similar mental health issues? What was your experience and how did you proceed with life after?
I've been reading through the forum a lot in the last months and it seems many offenders had mental health issues prior to the offending so it looks like this is a risk factor. I saw reports of depression, trauma, autism, ADHD and how this might play a role.
My person aswell has severe mental haelth issues but I didn t really find related posts here this is why I wanted to share our story and also ask if anyone has experience.
My person had several episodes of psychosis and depression with a first onset at the age of 17 (is now 35). He was free of psychotic symptoms for a few years after medication for schizophrenia and lifestyle changes while he has never really seen full recovery from the depression/ mood disorder. He relapsed with psychotic symptoms a few months before the offence. He was living in different countries throughout his adult life and has seen various doctors there. The diagnoses given varied from paranoid Schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder to an assessment for BPD with his current psych.
My person has been arrested last year for communication (vigilantes) and sentenced in the meantime. I have full disclosure and was present at all hearings so I'm rather certain I know the full picture. The offending pattern seems somehow different to what I read here from other users experience.
The week before the offending, he had a change in medication as he claimed that the antipsichotics weren't working still and he was hearing voices. His mood however seemed ok so the antidepressants he also takes weren't changed. He went for a trip and left our home on a Sunday, he seemed pretty ok to me then.
When away he apparently bought marijuana and smoked (which he had not done for several years) - stupid of him...
On the Thursday after he left from home he was contacted by a girl on facebook that didn t have her age stated in her profile but let him know at some point that she was underage (15) . Shortly after, he was contacted by 2 more "girls" and one was suggested to him as a friend through facebook (! imagine!). All these were members of vigilante groups. He was having sexual communications with these 4 vigilantes and escalated this to suggest a meeting on the next day, when they arranged a sting.
His devices were taken and searched, there was no searches for child abuse material, no material found on the devices and no other communication than the one he was charged for. So it looks like he started and escalated sexual offending within around 48 hours.
Now I haven t been with him the days ahead of the offending so I have no good idea about his mental state but he seemed in a pretty good mood - so good I even asked him what is happening. After arrest he was remanded so I only talked to him once on the phone when he was in custody 2 days after the arrest and saw him for maybe 15 minutes in court 3 days after the arrest. On the phone he seemed very positive (irritatingly), in court aswell he seemed out of place and was twitching his head. First time I talked to him after was 15 days on when he called from prison and then he was pretty depressed and suicidal.
Does anybody else have an offending family member with similar mental health issues? What was your experience and how did you proceed with life after?
Hello,
Thank you for posting on the Family and Friends Forum. We wanted to contribute to your thread as it seems you have not received a response just yet, but we hope that some of our Forum users will be able to respond to offer you some support soon. Our Forum is quite active, so occasionally posts may be missed, but we encourage you to check in frequently for a reply, as responses often come in with time.
In the meantime, if you have not already reached out, I would gently encourage you to contact our Stop It Now helpline. It is a free, confidential, and anonymous service available on 0808 1000 900. Our trained advisors are there to listen, explore your situation with you, and provide tailored support. You can find more information about the helpline and chat service, as well as our opening hours here.
We hope that someone will respond to your post soon, so that you can receive some support from our Forum users.
Take care,
The Forum Team
Thank you for posting on the Family and Friends Forum. We wanted to contribute to your thread as it seems you have not received a response just yet, but we hope that some of our Forum users will be able to respond to offer you some support soon. Our Forum is quite active, so occasionally posts may be missed, but we encourage you to check in frequently for a reply, as responses often come in with time.
In the meantime, if you have not already reached out, I would gently encourage you to contact our Stop It Now helpline. It is a free, confidential, and anonymous service available on 0808 1000 900. Our trained advisors are there to listen, explore your situation with you, and provide tailored support. You can find more information about the helpline and chat service, as well as our opening hours here.
We hope that someone will respond to your post soon, so that you can receive some support from our Forum users.
Take care,
The Forum Team
I don't have any words of wisdom or experience of similar, but wanted to reach out and say it sounds really complex and difficult and this situation is already so hard, so sending support and I hope others may have some advice x
Thank you both for your replies, all of this is awfull of course but I m blessed to have help from my family and getting counceling so fingers crossed things will get better eventually
I realize there might not be many others with similar conditions, i just posted this in case someone might exchange thoughts.
I realize there might not be many others with similar conditions, i just posted this in case someone might exchange thoughts.
I can't give any exactly similar stories but just wanted to add that the bit that jumped out at me was that just prior to the offending your person took marijuana. It reminded me that some years ago we got to know someone whose adult son had been sectioned and was in secure accomodation including a stint in prison for offences (in his case it was arson as he had set fire to his TV in a hostel believing voices were speaking to him from the set.) His father was adamant that he had changed from a sensitive but 'normal' boy into one permanently in a psychotic state since starting to use marijuana and for some people this drug would trigger psychosis, especially since nowadays it isn't like it was back in the past, it's much stronger. Until it's put to the test nobody would know whether or not they had this vulnerability. His story made me view marijuana with a new attitude towards its safety. I have no idea how this would lead to a sexual offence apart from someone making a really bad judgment as soon as the person revealed their true age, but quite a few people using this forum have people who did exactly the same thing. Your person seems to have had a serious lack of judgment shortly after taking marijuana and also having a change in medication. Have you asked his prescribing doctor how either of these things could affect someone's judgment and/or impulsivity or even sexual urges? This might give you some strong pointers to help you understand the whys and wherefores of your situation.
However, whatever the background might be I think it's safe to say that none of us will ever truly understand why our loved ones would think for one moment that this behaviour was OK although in your cae there certainly seems to be far more mitigation in the mix than for most of us.
All the best going forwards X
However, whatever the background might be I think it's safe to say that none of us will ever truly understand why our loved ones would think for one moment that this behaviour was OK although in your cae there certainly seems to be far more mitigation in the mix than for most of us.
All the best going forwards X
