<p>So I found out last night that this girl who lives across the hall from me has some stress induced psychiatric disorder. Her and her mother knocked on my door soliciting my help to convince her to take her meds. It kind of worked but we ended up taking her to the emergency room last night because her paranoia was getting really bad. She thought that her meds and any food or drink was poisoned (thought she had committed suicide after taking one) and there was no where safe she could go. Apparently the stupid emergency room released her because she refused get blood work done and without admitting her to the psychiatric hospital where she told them she needs to go (and has gone in the past for treatment). The psychiatric hospitals won't admit a patient without a referral from the emergency room. </p>
<p>What the hell does one do in this situation? She is just pacing the hall and making all the other residents nervous.</p>
<p>We are in an independent studio-apartment student housing in which we don't really have RA's nor any residence support. It's pretty much just a typical apartment reserved for students.</p>
<p>Her mother crossed the line by making you partly responsible for how things went last night.</p>
<p>Your neighbor has every right to have her disability (it sure sounds to me like it meets the legal definition of disability) accommodated so that she can live in the dorm, attend classes, etc., but she also has a responsibility to have any personal care needs met, and not just by knocking on other people's doors asking for help. She may not have anticipated how stressful this situation was going to be, or she may have assumed that the people around her would be prepared to cope with her needs, but it really sounds as if she needs more support -- at least fot the moment -- than her neighbors should be expected to provide. It's not your job to have a role in whether or not she takes her meds.</p>
<p>So you should go to your RA. Your RA should go to whoever in Residence Life deals with this sort of problem (and it's new to you, but it's not new to them) and figure out what needs to happen so that she can have a successful year. And I think maybe the RA should be arranging to have someone from Disability Services meet with the people living on your floor to answer the questions that a lot of you probably have.</p>
<p>A lot of people aren't reading the thread. Anyway it's not really your problem so I wouldn't worry about it. If she's not capable of living independently she shouldn't try to.</p>
<p>I honestly don't think anything can be done. Just contact the girl's mother and coax her to let her daughter be taken to the ER again in order to get in the psychiatric hospital. Anyone who is not a professional will not be able to solve anything in this situation, even the mother.</p>
<p>Like someone else said, don't get too involved. She isn't your daughter. I know that sounds rough, but you can't parent someone like that. The mother will come to rely on you and then everything will be a huge mess. You may feel guilty, but remember it was never in your hands...</p>
<p>Convince her to go to the disabilities office or make an appointment with health services as soon as possible. This is out of your hands, and she needs to be helped by professionals (who can give her a referral) ASAP. Avoid getting too involved, like giving her or her mother your phone number.</p>
<p>You need to be careful. You'd hate for something bad to happen to you just because you are trying to be nice. Maybe you could talk to the school nurse and she'd have more advice for you. If the police get involved she might end up having to go to the psych hospital.</p>
<p>So apparently, the ER seriously F'd up by releasing her when she wasn't supposed to be (hence why she came back to the apartment and was pacing around too afraid to enter her own room). Her mom was in the apartment complex this afternoon and took care of her and finally got her admitted to one of the psychiatric hospitals in the state for her case of I think schizophrenia.</p>
<p>Stupid small town hospitals and ignorant police officers not knowing what to do with her.</p>
<p>Very bizarre. Her behavior was almost like something you would see in a movie but much less dramatic. I never would have expected to encounter that.</p>
<p>There is no need to get involved. Let her be. This is not your problem and it doesn't sound like you can help either. Let her mother handle this problem. It was wrong of the mother to try to get you involved, anyhow.</p>