scurius

First, do you offer online courses? I'm very interested.

Idk if OP does, but I'm pretty sure they exist. Even if the "take a course" link there isn't online based, it should be pretty doable to find one. Even just taking a course on abnormal psychology through coursera or itunes University or a college's open courseware programs could be helpful.

how horrible does your body make you feel right now? do you know how much weight you've lost? do you have trouble sleeping? do they give you any drugs to make it easier?

You should look into "mental health first aid," because you might be able to find a lot of resources for this. Here's just one page's resources that could be helpful.

I think one thing that can be important is combining sympathy for how that person feels like shit with the logic of how their state isn't good for them in the long term or is detrimenting their relationships or your ability to help out (or even just taxing you). I say this not as a professional, but as a token crazy person. Other people might be far more insightful.

You should also know that for some of us being hospitalized is terrifying, however appropriate it can be. Being hospitalized was pretty traumatic and painful, so asking me to go inpatient could be a lot like asking me to sign up for heartbreak. Other people have much more positive experiences and associations, but the fact of the matter is even in well-funded places with well-trained staff, inpatient can be excruciating.

As for delusions, you might be able to help by assisting in "reality testing." It's kind of difficult to explain, and sometimes pushing reality on someone with a delusion can induce paranoia and distrust, but by combining non-acceptance of the delusion(s), an outward show of openness to the idea that it could be real, and reasoning as to what makes it illogical or unlikely can help. Reality testing is something you should look up on your own, but is something the mentally ill can learn to do some of on their own. Social workers and therapists can be really helpful with it though.

Honestly, sometimes "psychiatric help" can be pretty miserable. Inpatient, though sometimes essential and invaluable, can be excruciating. Painful to the level of heartbreak, and sometimes worse. Drugs to treat psychosis are perhaps the most miserable drugs you could take. I think I'd rather go through a week of alcohol poisoning than a year on seroquel. Would you want to sign up to gain 80lbs and turn your brain to 1/5th capacity? I think it can be really hard for "sane" people to understand how crude psychiatry can be, which makes being sympathetic about it really appreciated.

I think being able to recognize that psychiatry will actually help, rather than just do unwanted things, can be pretty important. It becomes a balancing act of pros and cons. One thing that helps me feel okay about going to a psychiatrist is that I know I get pills that I actually want to be on. I've stuck with it long enough that I've ruled out a lot of drugs that don't work and have found an antipsychotic that doesn't make me fat (I lost the 80lbs I gained on seroquel while on this one!) and makes me stupid significantly less than any other one I've been on... but I also get an anxiety med I can use to shut out the world and a stimulant that actually has antidepressant efficacy and makes it significantly easier to get shit done. It's hard to get to that point, especially with some doctors that will only prescribe a very narrow range of drugs for each diagnosis.

One thing that might help is to have evidence a person has expressed suicidal intent and is lying to whoever is screening them. Not that that's easy.

I'm happy to try to answer more questions, not that I'm a trained mental health professional so much as someone who's been through the ropes of it all.

What can I do to make legalization a reality in New Jersey and on the Federal level?