Beathe bought a 'dumb phone' to stop son from viral psychosis - NRK Oslo and Viken

– He was very touched by what people with mental illnesses wrote on social media. Many of them were people he met when he was taken to the hospital.

Biatt stands in Østfold’s living room looking out over the crowded residence where her 21-year-old son lives. He suffers from a severe mental illness that is difficult to treat and has been hospitalized several times.

However, Bayati felt his son read and shared the content on social media when he was at his most vulnerable.

– When he came to himself after his psychosis and saw everything he posted, he got worried. There were especially a lot of conspiracy theories about the state, which he also got a lot of likes for, she said.

Beathe informs her son that she is telling the story to NRK. He supports her in that.

Share your breath on TikTok

Recently, NRK in cooperation with Faktisk.no showed how to young people They openly share their lives From various organizations on TikTok. Specialists fear that could make treatment more difficult.

Bayati agrees, and says that her son communicated with others in the same situation through social media, which affected him negatively. That’s why she bought her son an old phone without a camera. One who can only call and send messages with him.

Pete found that his son did not mind so much that he received such a phone call. The most important thing is that he can contact her.

– This made it easier to get a position to help him. It would have been better if all rooms were equipped with a “dumb phone” that could only call a few numbers, she says.

Regulations from the fixed-line era

When regulations were put in place for access to telephones in psychiatry, it was common to have a land line in the lobby. This means that it was not taken into account that everyone should have one A tool in your pocket that can easily broadcast your photos and movies to the entire world.

So how do healthcare professionals think the current regulations are working?

Many managers report that they have seen an increase in patients posting something they later regret. So they want an easier way to restrict access to social media.

At the same time, others point out that the possibility is within existing regulations.

—but there is a high threshold for doing so, and I think it should be. Perhaps we use coercion as it is, says department chief Morten Selye in the emergency psychiatry department at Ollivol Hospital in Oslo.

However, he is worried about it Open involvement from within psychiatry can have long-term consequences for patients – both socially and professionally. Seely believes the solution is for doctors and therapists to talk more with the patient about using social media at a sensitive stage in life.

– Development has gone so fast that some of us are lagging behind. So I think we therapists need to be more aware of this, he says.

The right to self-expression

The Norwegian Directorate of Health is responsible for the legislation. The department’s director, Johan Georg Torgersen, points out that more restrictive legislation could violate basic human rights.

It is about the right to self-expression, to communicate with others, and not to be socially isolated. So it is not certain that a change in the law is what is needed, he says.

Torgersen believes that it will be more effective if the therapist and patient find good solutions for mobile use together. But he is open to listening to the concerns of the psychiatric staff.

– When professional communities now call this issue a problem, they are most welcome to contact us. Then we can see what range we have, he says.

The difference between patients and inmates

Back in Østfold’s living room, unopened Christmas presents are in the corner. In recent months, Beth’s son has been so unwell that he has not had physical contact.

Beathe thinks it’s strange that people who end up in prison are denied their cell phones while psychopaths are allowed to keep them.

– I don’t think that’s right. I don’t understand the regulations, she says, and stresses that she doesn’t think there should be a complete ban on cell phones in psychiatric wards.

– The most important thing is that they didn’t have it initially. So they can drop in a bit, get to know the staff and start treatment. Eventually they may be able to get the phone back.