Content warning: This article describes child abuse. Please take care while reading.
What would you do if you lived with an abusive dad who finally agreed to seek medical help and was prescribed antipsychotic medication, only to then stop taking his medicine? In a recent Reddit post, someone who says they grew up in Alaska recalled a terrible time in their life when their father did just that. The Redditor said their father returned to his abusive ways when he was off his meds, but then one day, she says her mom left her dad’s pills out on the counter when their abusive dad stopped taking his medication. She says her sibling ground the pills up and put the powder in his orange juice.
Describing her father’s behavior before he sought medical help, the post says, “He used to beat us and yell at us about how worthless we were constantly. My mother finally had enough and said that either he gets psychological help, or she leaves him.” He went to the doctor, she says, who prescribed him antipsychotics. “When he started taking it, he magically became nice! No more beatings, no more yelling … it was paradise,” the post added.
The abusive behaviors returned
But then, over time, he returned to his ways, and his wife asked him why. According to the post, he said he stopped taking his meds. To this day, the Reddit post says, she’s unsure if her mom left the medication out for her and her sibling to figure out a way to get their father to take it.
But when they decided to grind up the pills, “What a nice day we had! We did this every single day, enjoying our temporary happy home, until the prescription ran out. It was the best month of our childhood, and I’m not sorry.”
Response to the Reddit post noted it’s dangerous to give someone medication when they don’t know they’re taking it. But one comment pointed out her father, ” … [W]as prescribed the medication by a doctor. It wasn’t a random drug they gave him.”
Others applauded the woman and her siblings, expressing their happiness that they had survived an abusive dad who stopped taking his medication. “That’s what I call being a survivor. Good for you & your sister,” one comment said. “Survival instincts kick in when you’re pushed to your limit. Kids are resourceful!“
The Reddit post concluded, “To those that asked, I’m doing fine now and live a blessed life. And no, I don’t recommend people do this at home, I was just a kid during desperate times.”
