Talk:Self-neglect

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The problem is that it is not just a behavioral condition, it is a social and, in cases, an organic condition. Or combinations of these and much more. It is not a psychological condition alone. It could be a symptom of a psychological condition, but not always. Mattisse 17:21, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

OMFG! How big could this article get lol, you're right. For instance in mourning or something like that?Merkinsmum (talk) 00:12, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] problem among the elderly

Most of the sources actually talk about self neglect in the elderly, which I actually was not expecting, I was thinking of it more as a mental health issue. I wasn't sure how to mention the elderly in the article without appearing ageist. Is it enough to mention that it can be related to dementia? Or should the 'elderly' be mentioned specifically? As that is what a lot of the sources are talkiing about[1] [2] [3]Merkinsmum (talk) 00:12, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

This is my take. Self-neglect is pretty much a given with certain mental disorder like schizophrenia, so much so that it isn't even listed in the diagnostic criteria. Treating the illness will automatically treat the self-neglect, except in severe, chronic cases where the skills of daily living have to be drummed in over and over. And in those cases, many professionals assume there is an organic component. In other words, it comes along with the entire package.

But in the elderly, first of all, it is not something people assume is likely to be a problem and therefore are not alert to it. Also, many elderly are much more isolated that even a young schizo person who has parents, or is getting arrested for loitering, or not having a means of support like a job etc., in other words they come to the attention of authorities for their condition. Who would know if an elderly person who rarely sees anyone is not doing the basics of hygiene and food. If you look at one of the external links at the bottom, there are graphic photos of fingernails a couple inches long, bedsores etc. This is more than just not taking a shower very frequently.

From a treatment point of view it is not an issue with the mental disorders as in the acute stage they are hospitalized or in day care. In an elderly person it would be much harder to intervene because in many cases they do not have a clearly defined mental disorder and there are no means of "making" them do anything they don't want to, unless you start getting into the legal aspects of having them declared incompetent -- which where I live is extremely hard to do. Mattisse 00:35, 22 November 2007 (UTC)