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A self-published spiritual author sued a doctor and hospital, claiming she was involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric ward after becoming "confused and disoriented" on the 15th day of a "biblical fast," and that hospital staff misinterpreted her prayers as psychotic tendencies.
Jane Doe sued St. Vincent Charity Medical Center and Dr. Saraj Brar, in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. Doe, 56, describes herself in the complaint as "a Pentecostal Christian and a self-published author of books about God and spirituality." The lawsuit continues: "As part of her religious devotion, she periodically observes a biblical fast during which she abstains from all foods and consumes only water.
bloodreviara
Did she really not care that she could have passed out at the wheel
and driven through a cross walk full of kids...
On the last day of her fast, parked at a Cleveland, OH, BP gas station, the woman grew faint and called her mother for assistance.
To diagnose bipolar disorder, the health care provider may do some or all of the following:
Ask whether other family members have bipolar disorder.
Ask about your recent mood swings and for how long you have had them.
Perform a thorough exam and order lab tests to look for other illnesses that may be causing the symptoms that resemble bipolar disorder.
Talk to family members about your symptoms and overall health.
Ask about any health problems you have and any medications you take.
Watch your behavior and mood.
Manic depression; Bipolar affective disorder
hounddoghowlie
i guess you missed this.
she called for help herself. doesn't sound like she was a whack job to me.
just because a doctor thinks your a nut for praying doesn't give him the right to involuntarily hospitalize you and interfere with your religious practice.
here are just a few steps for diagnosing pi polar disorder.
I am wondering if she was going on that 40 day water fast that I've heard about.
FlyersFan
hounddoghowlie
i guess you missed this.
I saw that. It says it was the last day of her fast, but it doesn't say it was the last day she intended to fast. So I'm not sure. She may have intended to go longer ... or not. But it was the last day she was able to fast because of the intervention.
she called for help herself. doesn't sound like she was a whack job to me.
Most 'Whack-jobs' are capable of picking up a phone and making a phone call.
I am of the opinion that she's, at the very least, irresponsible and over-zealous. She has a right to be over-zealous and destroy her own health, but she hasn't got the right to drive around town and take out other people in her quest for self starvation. As for her being mentally ill ... I couldn't say.
just because a doctor thinks your a nut for praying doesn't give him the right to involuntarily hospitalize you and interfere with your religious practice.
There was more behavior than 'just praying' going on ... you know that. Starving yourself for two + weeks .. to the point that you are out driving in town and pass out ... that's not a healthy behavior. It's not healthy for the person doing it. It's not healthy for the others in town who she could have run over with her car. So it's not just 'praying' that got her in the mental ward.
here are just a few steps for diagnosing pi polar disorder.
I have a degree in psychology so I understand bi polar disorder. We weren't there and so we don't know what kind of behaviors they did, or did not, observe.
So it's not just 'praying' that got her in the mental ward.
We weren't there and so we don't know what kind of behaviors they did, or did not, observe.
Doe claims that while she was at the hospital, "Dr. Brar and other St. Vincent's staff characterized Doe's religious devotion as evidence of mental instability, making repeated references to her 'religious preoccupation' and noting Doe's Bible reading and audible praying as evidence [of] mental illness."
hounddoghowlie
ignorance or religious belief is not a mental disorder. she may not have known what was going to happen,
there are plenty of examples of people fasting longer than 15 days and not having any ill effects from doing it.
She did something that wasn't too bright and that put others at risk, therefore others got involved.
She, and the medical facility, should learn from this and move on - IMHO