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?

Very similar to DPs best friend. It was like a switch went off in his head one day and he totally changed. He also smoked a lot weed and has been battling with bipolar ever since.

I think you are doing all the right things, i would follow the advice here and call 111. Hopefully between you and his brother you can get him some help x

This does sound very like psychosis. My late husband became like this in the last few months of his life. In his case, it was a reaction to the steroids he was prescribed to manage his brain mets (late stage cancer).

Sounds like psychosis...my twin brother has psychosis. Just one reassurance though, my brother has never ever been aggressive in any way. So it isn't that all psychosis is violent. But my brother did become frightened or euphoric in turn. Look up the details about sectioning. You might need them, that was the start of getting support for my bro but it's only appropriate if a danger to themself or others. My bro was considered that just because of how much he hallucinated not that he ever did or said anything actually harmful.

We associate psychosis with danger because it does in fact become dangerous.

I wish I could go back six years when my ex was was at the beginning of his mental health vulnerability, when he could be reasoned with and get the early help intervention. But as I'm sure you know mental health support for adults is unnecessarily hard to access. They have to be at a certain point before they step in.

Now he has deteriorated to a point that anyone who he deems a threat; isn't safe with him, plain and simple.

My daughters cannot be around their dad as he had a crisis episodes with them, during a supervised contact and he doesn't seem to "care" who he is around.

I could list all the behaviours that he displays that will certainly make anyone feel frightened and worried for themselves, others and him.

As someone who also has a sister with cannabis induced psychosis, accessing help for her was unnecessarily hard. (It might just be our area of London) She manages ok now, with the help of medication. She wasn't sectioned, but she does have regular support.

We only managed that because she got to a point of walking down the street threatening to attack someone with a hammer. Yet even at that point, they still didn't think she was that bad, as she hadn't acted on her threats! However sadly in her case getting her the help she needed, meant she sees us as demons and has distanced herself from us, and it means that we have 'lost' a family member.

But knowing that she is alive and managing her mental health is a risk that was necessary, and triumphed over us knowing that she wouldn't want to be part of our family unit anymore.

I feel for the OP and others on here who have dealt with psychosis, it's not easy to deal with, it's frightening, frustrating and exhausting.

But as I've said in my previous post, the emotions have to come out of this and think logically. Trust your gut instincts, safeguard yourself and your child/ren first. The same how the mental health crisis team would advise.

Without evaluation it’s not possible to say whether it’s a manic episode with psychotic symptoms or drug induced psychosis or even incipient schizophrenia etc

Your hands are tied unless you think he is a danger to himself or others.

I hope is brother can help but there’s not a lot he can do if your ex thinks he’s ok.

My post was in response to a PP who said that "psychosis wasn't always associated with danger..."

I don't know why there's an ongoing argument here about whether psychosis the 'same thing' as various illnesses. Psychosis is a symptom, not a standalone condition. It's commonly a symptom in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and loads of other things as well.

I've known a handful of people with psychotic thoughts like OP's ex. One of them turned out to have a brain tumour, another had sepsis. I had a couple of small episodes when I was around 20, and later found out it's not that unusual in young women (at the time it was put down to 'hormones').

Hope your ex-BIL can summon the right kind of intervention, OP.

Oh dear, poor guy.

Im glad you contacted his family, do they live nearby?

Sepsis is a real possibility. He could have a UTI, kidney stone etc that is causing the problem. Try to get someone to talk to him about his physical health as well as his mental state. He might be willing to go to A&E for this reason.

Agree with this. I wouldn't have him anywhere near my children for the time being, including with me present.

No, they're not.

It’s all a much of a muchness. At the end of the day it is someone who is experiencing psychosis. The labels that are attached to certain individuals who experience psychosis are just opinions, even from professionals. Zero scientific basis for any of them.

I have family members who over the course of their lifetimes were diagnosed with schizophrenia, then bipolar, then borderline personality disorder, and then one psychiatrist said potentially multiple personality disorder or a dual diagnosis.

In the end no one took the “diagnosis” seriously, and the it was the symptoms of psychosis that were treated. Usually via meds and inpatient stays and then in the end
extensive psychotherapy. (Which helped a lot more than just stuffing anti-psychotics down them and attaching a diagnostic label).

Hopefully he gets some help soon but there will have been a trigger. Perhaps drug induced, or a major stressor of some sort in his life.

Adrelaxx

Manic episodes and psychosis are not the same thing. Psychosis can occur in a manic episode, not always, and also with drugs or schizophrenia for example.

Yes, it sounds like psychosis. The bit about "protecting" you and DC is an urgent red flag that you may both be at risk from him (in the grip of paranoid delusions). In that state, his delusion of "protective action" may be totally irrational and a risk to safety.

Call the police , emphasise the "protection" and "under attack" delusions, and ask them to intervene. With luck he will be sectioned under the mental health act.

Meanwhile, don't attempt to engage with his weird remarks and ideas. Nothing you can say or do will change his mind, but if you argue, criticise, or deny his thoughts, he may interpret it as threat to himself.

I wouldn't let him in, just tell him through the door that you are too busy and baby is sleeping.

It could be some sort of psychosis or even a brain tumour. It definitely sounds like something that needs medical attention, you can ask for medical help on behalf of someone on these occasions, would you feel ok to do that OP?

I hope that you are able to work with his brother and he takes you seriously (if not maybe show him this thread)

I have been in this situation and the family member got very violent with wife and child twice. She didn’t report it (or tell any of us at the time) and he finally took his own life in a very violent way which has devastated everyone’s lives.

None of us took the situation seriously enough. In your case it doesn’t matter materially to you in this moment if is mushrooms, cannabis, schizophrenia, brain tumour, bi polar etc ….. what matters is that he is seriously unwell and needs urgent and professional intervention and that should be the sole focus - whether you do it or his brother. Also family members are often in denial or minimise or do not have the experience or information to make accurate assessments - so if brother doesn’t act immediately I would not stand back politely.

He is your ex but more importantly the father of your DC and they need their father to be well and on this planet.

But at the same time you don’t take any risks with your safety as it seems from his words and insight of MH professionals on here that the ‘protection’ part could leave you with a very dangerous false sense of security.

Mania and psychosis can also cause pupil dilation because of the adrenaline, as can a lack of sleep - if he is in psychosis then he may well not be sleeping well. I'm not saying it's not drugs, but dilated pupils doesn't really prove that.

i appreciate this happened some time ago, but similar happened to a relative. They had ‘made a suicide pact’ with their boyfriend, believed she was the mother of her sisters newborn baby, was seeing things that weren’t really there etc.

she lived in London away from her family at the time and her mum phoned an ambulance in the north west and it took 7 hours to get to her. Do you think you can willingly get him to A&E?

Typical Cocain use. talking shit and dilated pupils.

Sounds like marijuana induced psychosis. Certain types, or quantities can cause psychosis and even schizophrenia.
He may end up being a danger to you or himself and needs medical attention immediately. I would contact NHS 111 or even the police and explain the situation.

What do you mean by 'scaremongering'? It sounds worrying, especially re However would then start going on again about his shadow. Kept saying that he is a monster and is capable of terrible things but he has accepted that and is trying to be kind?
Absolutely agree with pp who have said op has to put dd and herself first, and if that's locking him out and seeing him as a significant risk that's fine.

My bil was a long term user of marajana until he developed a similar mental health. The Dr's said it was induced by the drug use. He js.on medicating appears normal now. He used to be similar to how you're describing your ex. Don't think there's anything anyone can do, unless he sees his doctor.

When has locking someone out of their house been a way to help someone in a mental health crisis?

Just because someone is suffering a mental health crises, doesn't mean they are a danger to others. They are much more likely a danger to themselves, in a way that untreated physical conditions cause a risk to the ill person.

The person I know with servere mental illness is also the loveliest person I know and wouldn't hurt a fly. When people assume mental illness makes someone dangerous, that's prejudice talking.

That sounds very much like psychosis or delusional disorder. My ex suffered from them and the things your daughter's dad is saying sound so much like the things my ex would say, even to the song thing - he also believed his friend, who was sending him songs, was attacking him with his choice of songs. He also used cannabis and at one point the diagnosis was cannabis induced psychosis but later on the diagnosis was paranoid delusional disorder.

He was sectioned several times because of it, and had violent episodes (on one occasion throwing a knife at the social workers who were trying to help find him temporary housing, another occasion refusing to leave someone's home so they had to call the police and an ambulance to take him away)

Please be very very careful OP, he isn't necessarily dangerous but there is a risk. If you can persuade him to go to a doctor that would be best, but at least do not let your daughter be alone with him.

And there's not much point saying to him that you think there is something wrong with him, he quite simply won't believe you. My ex fully believed that he was being hired by secret services that meant our DD would be a target of the enemy and so had to be in his custody with protective bodyguards. There was no persuading him that this was utterly delusional.