VIRAL VIDEOS CAPTURE PATIENTS AT MOST VULNERABLE MOMENTS
We need to recognise that for many sufferers with psychiatric illnesses, that snapshot or video clip catches them at their particular most vulnerable moments.
See a woman at a hawker centre talking to herself, gesturing to no one especially? This person could be experiencing auditory hallucinations or hearing “voices”, as it is more commonly recognized. See an unkempt man demanding that you simply switch off your camera phone? This person could have paranoid delusions and firmly believes you are trying to hurt him. Notice an individual standing at the edge of the busy road? He may actually be having suicidal thoughts.
Instead of whipping out your camera mobile phone, or doubling straight down and making additional recordings, show sympathy and offer a reassuring word. Ask how you can help, or contact the police for support. Most of all, try your best not to aggravate the individual even more – not everything is an disagreement that needs to be won.
A person’s mental health does not exist in a binary state. There is internal mechanism that switches between “well”‘ and “unwell”. It could be terrifying when a patient develops symptoms of psychiatric illnesses, whether from a “first break” or even a relapse.
Imagine hearing voices or even seeing images that no one else encounters. Imagine feeling as if insects were moving under your skin. Picture thinking that there are no longer any reasons to reside.
Worst still, these patients might not have insight into their conditions, believing that will what they are experiencing can be real.