Skitzocow Taxman / Kyle Hawkins

Pretty much this. Sometimes a person with a mental illness or disorder can manufacture something I like to call 'a human suit'. I've seen it a number of times and indeed, I've had to make my own. In surface interactions or formal settings it's easier (but not easy) to maintain a structure within a structured situation. When you're with friends or family, because there's little to no structure it's much harder to keep the suit on. Interactions are spontaneous, not scripted, with the additional complication that friends and family have both a good amount of knowledge of how you 'should' be acting and a vested interest in your welfare. But the sicker you get the harder it is to maintain the suit and when you throw intoxicants into the situation all bets are off.

My guess is that they either don't give a fuck so long as Taxman stays safely hidden away in the basement where the neighbours can't see him, or else they're confused and genuinely can't figure out a way to get him treatment, with a side order of being terrified of what the crazy man might do to them if they try and interfere.

I'm actually inclined to take the second option. Mental illness is one hell of an animal and, unless there's a genetic history of it already in the family, it's hard for a person to come to grips with the idea that their loved one is truly batshit insane as opposed to just being a weird alcoholic.

Yes. Shit is going down, and will continue to go down.

Those are horrible thoughts, that second paragraph contains. I'm not calling them wrong, but just commenting that it's terrible.

It seems the further people bury themselves in darkness, the more they are blinded by the light of truth which they're eventually exposed to. If they indeed are in denial, and have refused to help him... get help, on the grounds that their son isn't really insane, it couldn't happen to their son, then they've done their son a criminal dishonor, themselves having committed a terrible sin, and when the consequences claim him for death or even more severe insanity, they will only have themselves to blame.
 
Yes. Shit is going down, and will continue to go down.

Those are horrible thoughts, that second paragraph contains. I'm not calling them wrong, but just commenting that it's terrible.

It seems the further people bury themselves in darkness, the more they are blinded by the light of truth which they're eventually exposed to. If they indeed are in denial, and have refused to help him... get help, on the grounds that their son isn't really insane, it couldn't happen to their son, then they've done their son a criminal dishonor, themselves having committed a terrible sin, and when the consequences claim him for death or even more severe insanity, they will only have themselves to blame.


why in the hell would you want to help him!?
 
I love all these posts condemning the dude's parents. Like, they probably contributed to screwing him up, but its not like they can unilaterally decide to put him in treatment. It's incredibly hard to have someone committed involuntarily, and short of kicking him out (which might well just make everything worse) they really can't force him to get help of any kind or change his lifestyle. As for trying to reason with him... dude's kinda insane, so that seems doomed to failure.
 
I love all these posts condemning the dude's parents. Like, they probably contributed to screwing him up, but its not like they can unilaterally decide to put him in treatment. It's incredibly hard to have someone committed involuntarily, and short of kicking him out (which might well just make everything worse) they really can't force him to get help of any kind or change his lifestyle. As for trying to reason with him... dude's kinda insane, so that seems doomed to failure.
The only main requirement for involuntary commitment is 1.) Are they a danger to themselves or others? If you can prove that someone is immediately dangerous to themselves or someone else, doctors (at least in US hospitals) are legally and ethically responsible for committing them, and they usually try to err on the side of caution. I think it's safe to say Taxman is dangerous, at least to himself.

That being said, and this is sort of awful, I wouldn't be surprised if his parents don't WANT him to get help. It would attract a lot of attention from family friends , and waiting for Taxman to drink himself to death might be easier in the "I had no idea there was even a problem!" department. Either way, Taxman's not getting help until it's too late, but I refuse to believe someone gets this fucked up without parental help.
 
Isn't cough syrup also a sedative?

Depends on which kind. I had a roommate in college freshman year who would slam an entire bottle of Robitussin, throw up, and would get what he described as a pleasant high for the evening. Didn't make him fall asleep. Sure did make him throw up, tho.
 
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Are they a danger to themselves or others? If you can prove that someone is immediately dangerous to themselves or someone else, doctors (at least in US hospitals) are legally and ethically responsible for committing them, and they usually try to err on the side of caution. I think it's safe to say Taxman is dangerous, at least to himself.

Nah, Tax passes well enough to hold down a steady job, he could pass well enough to a doctor. And, really, what has he done that is dangerous? Post weird/provocative/scary shit online? That is emphatically not enough evidence to prove that an adult's freedom should be taken away. I think that is the key: how the heck do you prove someone is dangerous enough that it is okay to take away their freedom? On top of that, I don't think we should overestimate the quality of our mental health system; there are of course wonderful people working in the system, but the system is far from stellar.

I really don't think Tax's parents can do much more than try and be good influences and manage him at this point. He is a grown man, they can't just send him to the funny farm because they think he is dangerous.
 
... What.

No seriously, that sounds like almost as interesting a story as JesuPony over here.

A lot of hallucinogens and dissociatives have nausea as a side effect, though in this case, it's likely the ingredients other than DXM that caused nausea with drinking a bottle of Robitussin (depends which subtype of the syrup). For instance, peyote, as an example of one that isn't otherwise terrible for you.

People who are serious about DXM just order the powder directly and just have a horrible trip without horrible side effects from other horrible shit.
 
... What.

No seriously, that sounds like almost as interesting a story as JesuPony over here.

Not really terribly interesting about it, tbh. I always thought it was kind of a pathetic thing high-schoolers did. Fortunately, he moved on to alcohol and regular drugs like a normal student once they became more readily accessible.

People who are serious about DXM just order the powder directly and just have a horrible trip without horrible side effects from other horrible shit.

I'm pretty sure the company adds some chemical that make you puke so that kids don't metabolize the full contents, and to discourage people from doing it. Like, that's why cough syrup tastes awful IIRC, they don't want kids to slam the bottle and get a buzz from the alcohol.
 
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