4 ms·

my lifelong friend who developed schizophrenia as an adult (tick bite while jogging -> lymes disease -> schizophrenia, yes that's a thing) is going through bank

my lifelong friend who developed schizophrenia as an adult (tick bite while jogging -> lymes disease -> schizophrenia, yes that's a thing) is going through bankruptcy due to these apps. IIUC what happened is after years of use she hit a jackpot (which they allow or cause to happen every now and then), cashed out a big win which generated an IRS Form W-2G, deposited somewhere else across the fiscal year boundary, immediately lost it but now owes a pile of tax. Her net worth is now less than 0; she is currently living in a state funded halfway house after her latest stint in rehab -- having otherwise now reached the point of homelessness for the first time. Historically she has had the apps block her (over a decade of this addiction) but there are always new apps and they obviously target her with advertising. If I have it wrong it's because it's impossible to extract coherent information from a schizophrenic. The only reason to believe this is even real is, how does a schizophrenic know what is a Form W-2G?

peter_l_downs 3y ago
The apps discussed in the article do not allow cashing out. Sorry to hear about your friend’s difficulties.
danielfoster 3y ago
This is very sad to hear— I am sorry. I also wonder why only older people are getting hooked on these games. Perhaps it is due to changes in the brain? These companies seem to target the weakest.
nyolfen 3y ago
> (tick bite while jogging -> lymes disease -> schizophrenia, yes that's a thing) women with schizophrenia actually tend to develop symptoms in their 20s, much later than men; lymes disease is real but also often a fixation for the mentally ill and hypochondriacs since the symptoms are so vague and varied, so it is likely that the bite is irrelevant and she fixated on it as her symptoms were developing for genetic (or whatever) reasons
- dustingetz 3y ago
  thanks – I didn't know that. She is 39 and was bit in her late 20s, showed early schizophrenia (wrongfully diagnosed as psychosis) in early 30s. So could be.

peter_l_downs 3y ago

The apps discussed in the article do not allow cashing out. Sorry to hear about your friend’s difficulties.

danielfoster 3y ago

This is very sad to hear— I am sorry. I also wonder why only older people are getting hooked on these games. Perhaps it is due to changes in the brain? These companies seem to target the weakest.

nyolfen 3y ago

> (tick bite while jogging -> lymes disease -> schizophrenia, yes that's a thing) women with schizophrenia actually tend to develop symptoms in their 20s, much later than men; lymes disease is real but also often a fixation for the mentally ill and hypochondriacs since the symptoms are so vague and varied, so it is likely that the bite is irrelevant and she fixated on it as her symptoms were developing for genetic (or whatever) reasons

dustingetz 3y ago
thanks – I didn't know that. She is 39 and was bit in her late 20s, showed early schizophrenia (wrongfully diagnosed as psychosis) in early 30s. So could be.