[Mari]

Hi
Last night on Private Practice's season finale a mentally ill patient that we've seen before is off her meds. Even though no one on the show says that the patient has bipolar, the audience knows it is bipolar because the writers drop a few hints.

The problem for me is that it is not really bipolar.
It has one or two things that might be bipolar.

Then the patient does something horrible and very frightening that is not remotely bipolar.

I'm going to send a letter to the producers.

I'm mad.
If they are going to portray bipolar, they could get most of it right -- try for 75% maybe.
There are plenty of horrible things about bipolar.

They did not need to completely break from any plane of reality.


M.

[SandyC]

I didn't see or hear anything that hinted she was bi-polar, must have missed that. What I did hear and see is that she had Delusional Disorder.

The definition for DD would be right on if this is what they are portraying her to have:

Delusional disorder, previously called paranoid disorder, is a type of serious mental illness called a "psychosis" in which a person cannot tell what is real from what is imagined. The main feature of this disorder is the presence of delusions, which are unshakable beliefs in something untrue.

http://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/delusional-disorder

BTW, I agree about the ending. It made my jaw drop to the ground. But, in the same breath we had a case similar here in Illinois where a woman did what she was about to do. I wont say since some may not have seen the episode.

[BJ]

I watched it and couldn't get that vision out of my mind all night. It was a horrible ending and I feel for anyone who is pregnant right now.

They did say she had a "delusional disorder" but then hinted she was "euphoric" in appointments. I don't know of any mentally ill person in the throes of an episode who would be competent enough to carry out such an elaborate and clever plot.

No wonder people are afraid of us. What a violent and diabolical thing to do.

I was upset because they hinted that she was bipolar but did not come out and say that. They couldn't say she was bipolar because cutting someone open to get a baby is not a manic thing to do.The show was horrible and I have been thinking about what to say when I write my letter to the producers. People like us who really do have bipolar would love the truth to get out -- TV shows like The Practice (A MEDICAL SHOW!!) have done us a disservice by portraying things that are not true.

[Pamster]

Wow I am glad I didn't see that, can someone PM me more details about the show and tell me what network it's on? Or better yet link to a episode guide with details on this episode? I'll gladly add my voice to you guys but I need to know what went on or be able to watch it and see this for myself....

[SandyC]

The thing with delusional disorder is that some, not all, can have such hallucinations that they can find themselves in a situation where they cannot separate reality from the delusion. It's sad but can happen in rare instances from what I have read on the disorder. I will be interested in hearing what the producers say and will be watching this thread. I too wrote Lie To Me about how they portrayed MS and have yet to hear from them and I wrote twice.

[Brokenfriend]

What these TV producers in LA have got to stop doing,is depicting people with mental health issues as violent. I've heard people on the news,and on talk shows say bad things about people with these challenges. They put everyone with mental health issues in the same boat.

I've only come across one truly violent person in my life who pulled a knife on me,for something that was very small. His brother had to talk him down. Know that young man was phychotic,and dangerous.

I've come across many bullies who are really not serious,compared to phychotic.

Out of all of the thousands of people who I've met,I've only come across that one violent person.

Most people with mental health challenges are not violent,nor do they show sociopathic traits.

I'm getting annoyed at how the media uses their terminology.

We are not in the dark ages.

Mari I back you up in your message to that network. BF

[Mari]

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Wikipedia has an article about 13 "Fetal Abductions" in the US since 1987

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fetal_a..._United_States

These women are generally not classified as being insane, however. Geberth states “The women… were fully conscious of their actions and intentions. They chose to kill the victim mother for her unborn child to fulfill a narcissistic need. The offenders then disposed of the victim mother to effectively cover-up their crime and avoid detection…

This psychopathology is more consistent with psychopathy than psychosis.” [10]

Burgess et al. also point out that experts studying these women have often diagnosed personality disorders instead of insanity.

The women have much planning and organization in getting what they want. [11]

I started checking in real life about whether or not those women were able to successfully plead mental illness in a court of law but I gave up because I started getting creeped out.

M.

[Mari]

Dear Sandy,
Thanks for the link.

I missed the part of the show where they described her as having Delusional Disorder.

That still does not make sense as a diagnosis.


Here is what your We MD link says:

What Are the Symptoms of Delusional Disorder?
The presence of non-bizarre delusions is the most obvious symptom of this disorder. Other symptoms that mighty appear include:

An irritable, angry, or low mood
Hallucinations (seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not really there) that are related to the delusion (For example, a person who believes he or she has an odor problem may smell a bad odor.)

-In the show, Pete says that the patient is off her meds and acting euphoric.
-He tries to warn Violet.
-Then the patient commits a horrific crime that is extremely well planned out and that takes some skill.


The message boards at abc Private Practic are all lit up.

Some people are disturbed not only by the nature of the crime but the way that abc portrayed it.
They said that the plot device and the scene do not belong on a show like that -- which is basically a night time soap opera.



Pam,
I'm sorry that I can't find an episode recap for you.
The abc site will let you watch the show for free.


Dear Friend,
Thank you.
I promise myself that I am going to stop watching television and then I watch it anyway.
I need to find something else to do to relax. -- because this was not relaxing.

M.

[Mari]

Dear BJ,
I just watched the episode again -- ABC.com

Violet talks to the patient at one point and refers to
"your delusional disorder." -- like you said in your post.

The stupid writers made up an illness. This is why I am irked.
Or if they did not exactly make up one -- they were very vague -- so vague that it doesn't exist.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=


I did write a letter to the writers of the show via the show's web site and said that I was unhappy about how they portrayed mental illness. They should stick to a real illness and its real horrors.

I pointed out that they had done a disservice to mentally ill people.

I got back an automated email reply.

Maybe I will try to write a snail mail letter if I can find the address. But I also need to let this go soon.

Mari

[Brokenfriend]

I didn't see the show,but I was generalizing on what I usually see on TV. I've been watching MacGyver on CBS.com. I didn't see them back then,so I'm watching all the episodes that I can. It's very entertaining,and makes you feel good. I'm on Season 3.

Hi BJ. I'm glad that you are better.

SandyC It's always a pleasure to hear from you. BF