Friday, September 28, 2012
Logorrhea, is this a mental illness? (Part I)
I have long suspected that a friend of mine has mental illness, or probably susceptible to one. She has a family history of mental illness, and I would like to think that this will pass on in the genes. Labels: Logorrhea, Mental illness
When someone you know, is spiralling her life downwards - what would you do?
Her colleagues shun her. When she began asking me for lunch repeatedly, I wasn't sure if she was the weird one or her colleagues trying to bully her. My first impression of her was, nice person, friendly, chatty and approachable.
But as time goes on, I knew something was not so right about her.
She could go on and on talking. It felt like long streams of words kept coming. The waves, it was hard to interrupt her. Even when I tried to say something - or anything, she wouldn't respond onwards, to me. She would continue her thoughts, which irritated me. First, it seemed like she was centring the whole conversation on herself. About herself. Everything was about her. She wouldn't notice about other people, but think that everyone will know about her. My ears wanted to stop. I was going to leave this person.
A few months ago, she got worse. She started talking incoherently.
All along I knew that she doesn't always engage in what people say. If you tell her X, she'd reply a Z. She just came across my mind as, someone weird. Until recently.
My colleagues organised monthly parties to celebrate each and our birthdays. She was invited too. But I was sick and didn't turn up, and this was what I heard from my colleagues. It was late and the party was nearing an end. They wanted to go home but she was having cramps in her foot (maybe feet, not sure). So this colleague B decided to go to the washroom first while waiting for problematic friend A. When B returned, A said to B, you should wash your feet with warm water so that the feet cramp will go away.
Har?? So who is the one having feet cramp now?
Appalling. She actually forgot what she said and the words became someone else's words?
Ok. She's sick and this is getting... serious.
Yesterday, it was even weirder. It seemed like the whole day she was mumbling something to herself. Don't know what she was talking and I do not want to know. Until colleague C came to talk to me about her. This is getting serious and we think she needs professional help. But how do we break the news to her?
I was googling "mental illness" and "mumbling" yesterday night. Logorrhea came up and caught my eye. It is long streams of excessive speech, sometimes incoherently. The person may also mumble monotonously. It may be classified as a mental illness or suggest underlying illness.
This must be it.
As I look for more information, she also seemed to fit some of other illnesses, or whatever you call it. Maniac. Characterised by
a period of irritably emotions - yes, a week
sudden weight loss - yes
creative - yes, she sings (and dreams of becoming a real singer)
having a grandeur lifestyle - yes
These characteristics are striking and blinking right in front of my eyes. Now, when you have someone around you like that, how do you deal with it? How should I deal with it?
