To think this may be psychosis?

[doritstew]

My daughters dad started acting strangely the past few days. We are not together but the past few nights we have spent time together. He has turned up at my house the past few nights and has been...odd to say the least.

He seems kind of manic…not making much sense to me…speaking in very strange ways. He keeps speaking about ‘his shadow’ and power and trauma and things like that.

Speaking really fast, jumping from topic to topic, struggling to really grasp what he means and keep up. He says he feels great and isn’t taking drugs etc. He keeps speaking about protecting me and our daughter and that we are a family and how he is willing to give up his power and give it to me and daughter. He says that he's glad I I've realised to, but doesn't tell me or can't explain what I've realised. He says we need to teach our daughter before she starts academy, but doesn't tell me what we've to teach her. Very vague but yet very deep - doesn't really make sense.

He said his friend sent him a song that he believes is a personal attack on him. Listened to the song and there was nothing attacking about it at all.

He said someone at jizitsu called him a ‘cock’ under his breath whilst they were having a conversation. I said I’m sure he didn’t call you that but he was positive the guy did. He said that if you really listen you can hear what people are thinking.

I'm really quite worried but he swears he is the happiest he's ever been and he is all huggy and smily. But it's really been strange listening to him.

No hallucinations he says. AIBU?

He is imho at risk from what the Op has said.

It's actually not that easy or straightforward for someone to get help (or to get someone else help) It's probably best that you have flagged this with his friend and brother too so that you are not dealing with this alone. Hopefully they will take your concerns seriously.

Assessments don't just happen overnight unfortunately (despite the severity of a case - thats from personal experience) and even if police were concerned they would only be able to take him to a mental health unit for sectioning (and only if they felt there were concerns for his own and/or public safety) and that is only likely to be a temporary solution anyway. It would be highly unlikely that he would get any formal diagnosis anytime soon.
And honestly, the only persons who can diagnose him properly anyway, are qualified doctors (anyone here can only offer an opinion and thats easier said than done)

It also sounds as though he is not even admitting he may have an illness from the response you received from him via messenger and this will only add to the difficulties.

My honest advice is that if you really want to be in this for the long haul, is:-

1. Don't give him his own access to your home under any circumstances (i.e. his own key) as you have mentioned he has already admitted "he is capable of terrible things and is trying to be kind" Remember: If he does have an episode where he is not in full control of his mental state, he may be capable of anything.
2. Gently encourage him to seek help from his GP - not always easy but at least it will be documented and if they do have concerns they can do an immediate referral.
3. Document these incidents.
4. There is no point trying to reason with him when he is having an episode either verbally or by texting - you will honestly just wear yourself out.
5. While you have these concerns, be very wary of even having him around you, unless you are in a public place with people around.

Is it possible he is microdosing hallucinogenics?

My daughters father and my ex partner is like this. Cannabis induced psychosis that's got progressively worse.

He doesn't think it's an issue, he started off mild, the same descriptions that the OP was stating. Only after six years he had passed that point of reason. He knows he needs it, but his family are just hesitant to get him the proper help he needed and urgently needs. But now they know what's needed, they can't get through to him, he thinks they're all demons. I've tried, but I can't anymore and have had to recently move away from him, as he is verging on dangerous to our lives.

It's very sad to see anyone end up like this, but it's exhausting and dangerous to live with someone who is like this.

To echo a PP who said you need to keep yourself safe; is absolutely correct. When anyone is in the middle of an episode- especially when they think others are demons. It's important to think logically and not emotionally. You are putting your lives at risk, by trying to reason at that moment in time.

I don't mean to offend anyone, as I know mental heath can vary in degrees, but from my experience. It's better to be safe, than sorry. That's not to say he can't get help. He can always get help, but it needs to be the right kind of help; effective, long-term and consistent.

OP can I reiterate what some PPs have said. Make sure he doesn't have the means to access your home independently and don't let him in, however concerned you are for him.

What I'm about to say won't exactly be reassuring.

Some people in the midst of a psychotic episode have been known to kill their families to stop the baddies from harming# them. I know and you know that that doesn't make sense, but to their minds at that point it does. They are killing you to keep you safe.

#Whoever their current baddies are, Russian spies, Martians, could be anyone.

I am concerned by him saying that he's capable of bad things, but equally concerned that he's talking about protecting you. That could mean anything, including what I've just described.

You clearly care about what he's going through, but your first priority has to be your own and your DD's safety.

Def sounds like cannibis psychosis. Is there someone who can get him to an emergency department? He needs some meds.

You need to contact your local mental health crisis team, they are normally within your local hospital. I say this as someone who works in mental health and when we have patients who present to us during a psychotic episode we arrange for them to be seen by the crisis team ASAP. He may not be willing to go voluntarily, however, the team will be able to advise you on that. Please do not lock him out the house as a pp suggested, if at any point you feel you, your kids and/or him are at risk if harm, you dial 999. Please call your crisis team as soon as you can. If you cannot find a number, call nhs 24. And yes, this very much sounds like psychosis.

*riddles and things that I don't understand.

has cracked the secret of life.*

Your posts are full of keywords and phrases that will be instantly recognisable to people who have dealt with mentally unwell people, sadly, harming themselves or others.

Someone seeming friendly and happy whilst saying this stuff means nothing if reality is compromised for him, you may not really be you to him and his happiness may come from having found a solution to life's problems that is deeply disordered.

He needs a mental health assessment. You should be somewhere else, safe from harm and unknown to him, before that happens.

Could he be on the schrooms?

Probably no help but a relative of mine had similar and I took them to CHaring Cross. They were great. Crisis team is definitely needed after that. My relative took about 3 months to be discharged from the mental health team and has never looked back. If it is a once off then it is very sortable.
Don't suppose he's been to Europe recently? The cannabis there is a lot stronger than the in other parts of the world.

Kept saying that he is a monster and is capable of terrible things but he has accepted that and is trying to be kind.

I would find this highly alarming and would be looking to get him into proper care immediately.

I've had psychosis. This all sounds very familiar.

By the time I was saying weird stuff out loud, I was really far gone inside my head and had lost touch completely with reality.

There's no reasoning when someone is in this state and they are very unlikely to understand that they are unwell which makes it extremely difficult persuading them to get help.

It's also bloody terrifying, especially the paranoia.

I hope he gets the help he needs soon. But please keep your dd away from him.

I don't say that lightly. I experienced "messages" telling me that I had to kill one of my kids. Still gives me the shivers when I think about it 😥

He's a frequent marijuana user

Of course. Terrifying that some people want this legalised. Which will increase access and availability and lead to more of this happening.

No, they're not. A person experiencing an manic episode (of bipolar) could well be psychotic but psychosis is a symtom of lots of other conditions and 'poisonings' too including drugs, UTI, sleep deprevation and hormonal imbalances.

To be quite honest OP, I'd consider calling the police for a welfare check on him. A lot of what you say either indicates that he is potentially a danger to himself or others, or needs medical attention as a result of something he's taken. He needs to be assessed IMO and I would take as many precautions as possible to secure the home on the offchance, and keep your child away from him until there is more information. If nothing is wrong then he can prove that.

Having been through a situation where someone I know committed suicide, I would also worry that some of the things he's saying and doing might indicate that he is considering something along those lines.

I had a psychosis. It’s not true they can’t section you unless a risk to yourself or others. Sure that’s what the law says but they will find a way to bend it because psychosis can escalate quickly. There’s even whole nhs task forces set up called early intervention in psychosis specifically to deal with this kind of thing.

Police have greater ability to section quickly. If he’s outside his house and can be intercepted in public they have greater power. As a pp said I would ring as a concerned member of public, and refuse to give personal details.

Intervention team tried to section me but couldn’t without trying community care first, but family found way round and was picked up by police out in town.

Spent a month on section and eventually made a full recovery. So far half a decade in no relapses. Am out the danger zone so fingers crossed it stays that way.

Good luck

With all due respect, as someone who has dealt with mental health crisis teams, it's honestly not always that straight forward.
I have personally known mental health crisis teams turn up in an actual crisis with a couple of sleeping tablets in their pocket, saying "this should calm them down"
And quite often, a patient will become completely subdued when they know the professionals are turning up. It's when they are alone with a family member or someone that they are familiar with, that the psychotic tendencies really present themselves, with no holds barred. I have even seen in circumstances whereby the mental health crisis team have spoken to the carer/responsible person like they are the patient - and anyone who has ever had to deal with these situations will know exactly just how exhausting and sometimes frightening it can be having to deal with it all alone.
You stated not to lock him out if the house. He has his own house. No one said 'lock him out' and put him on the street. PP's suggested not giving him a key to the OPs home. He obviously must has a key to his own place. And he has at least one friend and a brother too. Can't they take some of the responsibility here? OP already has a child to safeguard.

He has stated himself "He is capable of terrible things" - If that's not a red flag??

If things were to escalate, telling someone to call 999 is easy. Actually being in a situation which may escalate at any given moment does not give you the benefit of hindsight. You have to think on your feet and make instant decisions, and advising someone to reach out for a phone when they have a child they may need to physically protect in a split second, is just not practical. Especially when there are preventative measures they can take to avoid such a scenario in the first place.

Until the patient has some formal diagnosis in place, the OPs concerns are valid and they should take every step possible to first ensure their own and their child's safety.

As most PP's here have testified, things will likely get worse before they will get better.
And even if it was just a short term mental 'hiccup' surely it is better to err on the side of caution.

Police can take someone to the local psychiatric unit (but not just based on someones say so, they would have to witness themselves), but once that's done, it's out of their hands. Depending on the psychiatric unit (and their resources) A patient may be kept in for up to 28 days or they may be out sooner. And initially being sectioned doesn't automatically lead to a formal diagnosis process. I have known patients to be given medication during those first 28 days then realeased with no care plan in place and essentially leaving them to go 'cold turkey' off the medication. A recipe for disaster. If it did work for you, and it led to your recovery then honestly, that's great. But it's not always the norm. It can often take ongoing incidents before formal remedial intervention takes place (if at all) Several high profile cases in the media are testament to this.

Unfortunately I agree with others - this is a potentially volatile situation as he has said that he needs to protect you and sounds like he is in psychosis - I would not presume that a mental health crisis team would deal with it to protect you - they would deal with it to assess him.

And if I were your situation I think I would want to protect me and my daughter, as mental health crisis can be erratic and I just wouldn’t take the risk. I would actually if I were you phone the police and say that you are worried for your safety, and flag it up. That way, the police themselves will contact the mental health team but it will also be through their ‘alert’ that YOU feel that you may be at risk. Mental health services are so busy that they are not very proactive, so by doing this you are being proactive and hopefully getting him help earlier, before an incident.

@Findingmypurposeinlife the thing is, police will then have logged that a vulnerable person - ops daughter - may be at risk which is better than this not being logged. It at least means that if anything happens, like if he came banging on the door - if OP phoned the police they would already have an alert of ‘possible risk’ on their database and would (hopefully) respond quicker and more appropriately.

Absolutely agreed, but I just don't feel that the OP is at that stage (yet) of calling the police.
She obviously cares about him deeply, especially being the father of her child (and he is incredibly lucky to have that support in his vulnerable state)
Its just such unfamiliar territory and so so difficult to gage when you are new to it.

It's also one of those situations which for the care giver/concerned person, it will just probably feel totally surreal. Telling them to call the police at this early stage will probably feel overly dramatic. I guess in your heart you always just hope it's a minor setback and that things will sort themselves out. Especially when it concerns the deterioration of a loved one / family member.

But ultimately it's good for the OP to recognise how to put preventative measures in place to ensure her and her child's safety remains the priority. Someone (a police officer) once gently advised me - ensure you are taking care of you, otherwise you won't be able to offer support and assistance to your loved ones when they need it.

And hopefully OP can get some additional solid support from his family member / friend.

This sounds like more than just weed. Because benefits outweigh the risks that come with it. It does help a lot of people.

Im a Psychiatrist and section 12 approved (I.e qualified to be the doctor in a mental health act assessment). I agree this sounds like psychosis and that he should be seen. If he is willing to go to A&E or the GP then this is a good plan as the assessment can be arranged from there. Otherwise you could contact your local mental health team, he may already be under someone. As it is the weekend though it may be more appropriate to try the crisis team (some localities allow direct access to the public to contact crisis, some go via a referral from GP or other referring health professional, GP out of hours or NHS 111 could advise on this). If he is refusing then this makes it more complicated but not impossible, the police can pick him up from a public space and take him to a secure unit for assessment on a 136 if they deem his behaviour to be concerning or the mental health team can even apply for access to his home to assess him on a 135 if he is refusing assessment but there is cause for concern. If you explain that he is grandiose (believes he has special powers/knowledge), perplexed (seems vague and confused) and has delusions of reference (believes external things that are happening are pertaining to him directly against evidence to the contrary) and that his ideas are fixed then they are likely to take you seriously. It may be more appropriate for his brother to do this as he is potentially his next of kin. I wouldn’t just leave it though as this is likely to get worse without treatment and that alone is a risk to himself that the mental health act team can use to justify detention for assessment in hospital. Even if they don’t detain him he will at least be monitored and potentially treated in the community - it could then be escalated by professionals if it gets worse down the road.

I would start with NHS 111 and ask them how to access these services in your area

There’s a lot of misinformation on here, particularly about weed.
Bog standard cannabis can and does cause serious psychosis, of course there is more risk with stronger stuff but the situation that the OP describes could definitely be linked to regular cannabis use.

You can also recognise that you’re experiencing hallucinations without knowing you’re psychotic, you might not label them as such but you can realise that you’re hearing things or seeing visions.

The best post on here is from the section 12 approved doctor OP. They know what they’re on about.