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?

The ket usage explains it, that really messes with your thinking. He needs help op, not hoping it'll run its course. Hopefully his family will realise that when they see him in person

Bet his mum doesn't know he has been snorting ketamine most the weekend

drug induced. Same old. That’s why the wards are full of men taking up the beds. Shame, as many women with severe trauma histories are left to fester in the community. Gets tiring when you work in the profession. I know loads of MH nurses who went in to help people but then essentially just because substance misuse nurses.

No you didn't. But in response to PPs who've said don't let him in the house you said "when has locking someone out of their house been a way to help someone in a mental health crisis".

You don’t think people who use substances are worthy of help?

why do you think people misuse substances?

The family do not seem to be taking it seriously, but obviously really care and feel overwhelmed. I think you should make it known what the ramifications are of this, he cannot be around DD when he's suffering a psychosis / using hard drugs - he needs urgent help

@Linekar4eva

I don’t believe that wards should be packed mainly with young men who have abused drugs no, much to the detriment then of others who are also struggling mentally. Mainly women who have been traumatised by men who use substances (the irony). Not a popular opinion? Well there’s loads of us who think it in services.

I worked in PICU, and it certainly wasn’t an opinion shared amongst our staff. The cycle of addiction and use of substances is a lot more nuanced than a choice. Kind of shocking you don’t know that.

Relatedly, there are specialist services for dual diagnoses, so I don’t understand what your argument actually is. I agree women are not admitted to hospital as much as men, but they are also in greater receipt of mental health services generally, meaning men are more likely to present in crisis and then be admitted onto acute wards.

if your issue is with allocation of beds, direct your annoyance at the NHS funding, rather than what people get a bed.

My thoughts are that the DM and DB can hand-wring and fanny about all they like but the impact of a seriously unwell Dad or worse on your DD’s own future MH is worse and IMHO is the priority.

@Ooompaloopa 💯

@Linekar4eva

We do not have specialist statutory services, all we have is CGL and they often don’t accept referrals now due to not having the capacity. Of course drug use is naunced. It can also be very selfish and indulgent. There are people who can’t get beds in inpatient PICUs because they’re full of drug users. I don’t need to moan really about the NHS and how they fund MH services, everyone knows they’ve been the Cinderella service since, well, forever. You would have to expect a miracle for that to change.

It’s just years ago the wards seemed to be more diverse in terms of who they would accept. There’s always been men who presented in crisis due to their drug use of course, but now it just seems to be that’s all there is. Too many people left to rot in the community under the care in the community guise.

In light of your latest update it does sound like unusual ideas and thinking as a result of drug use (maybe long term cannabis and recent ketamine). The S12 approved psychiatrist in the thread did a helpful summary of the technical psychiatric terms services use to describe experiences like the ones he is presenting with. With drug induced psychosis or mania, it can resolve itself in a very short time if it's acute onset (E.g. days). Other times it won't but no one can know that unfortunately just now.

I think you've done exactly the right thing letting his immediate family know. It does sound like they are perceiving it as less serious, which could be for a range of reasons. You mentioned childhood trauma and I wonder if that involved others in the family and if it's affecting how they're responding? They may also just not want to think it's potentially more serious. But they are having regular contact with him - will that continue over the week?

I would echo previous posts that said be mindful about contact with him and your DD while he's feeling this way. The likelihood is much, much more a risk to himself but if he does feel strongly that he needs to protect you/DD in very rare circumstances people may act on that in a way that is risky. It's also concerning that he is ?suddenly taking ketamine (not to judge him for it per se but if he's mostly a cannabis user that sounds a bit left field and makes me wonder where his head was at to start with).

I would try to step back as gently as possible but if he continues to present like this in a few days I'd be more actively trying to encourage him/his family to access help. As someone mentioned there are specialist services for people experiencing a first episode of psychosis (and bipolar) called Early Intervention for Psychosis (EIP) teams in every area (depending what country you're in?). They offer all sorts of help and support. The way in to them would be via GP or acute mental health services (eg A&E/crisis teams/ward). Look after yourself too, it sounds scary and distressing for him but it's also a huge mental load for you too trying to help him and thinking about your DD in all of this.

@Chilloutsnow thanks, very interesting and sadly unsurprising post. Addiction treatment isn’t five days in bed being patched up so the patient leaves fit enough to hurt someone else. That bed should help a sick patient who benefits from it.

OP, yr ex has taken too many drugs and they’ve come home to roost. DD doesn’t deserve that DF.

No..

Just have a chat with the 111 it is certainly odd and you don't want it to get worse. They will likely ask you to go to A&E or contact the local MH team for an assessment. If he isn't being aggressive or risky to himself they will be out within a few hours (if its like our area). A&E has MH professionals on site, they get hundreds of these issues every week and it is not in any way a waste of time (this is their job, they want to help you).

There could very well be a physical cause for this. I'd want to rule out an infection, lumps and bumps in the brain, hormonal problems etc. Infections in particular drive people wacky.

That said, if it is something like a manic episode he needs to get it sorted.

@Allthegoodnamesarechosen - absolutely ludicrous and hysterical. Mentally ill people aren't dangerous, some do things that are risky but we are talking a TINY percentage. Stop stigmatising people. Imagine if you were suffering a psychotic illness and people told your partner to lock you out of the house. How uncompassionate and rather neglectful.

Also for the plonkers that say section him, calm the hell down! These things happen all the time and most people don't go anywhere MH units.

To detain someone is actually rather difficult. It has to be justified, necessary and proportionate to detain someone against their will. Just because they have a MH problem isn't enough (rightly so, we shouldn't be a police state where we can just drag anyone into hospital because they are acting bizarrely).

There are MANY people out there with psychosis who live in society without any trouble. Of course he needs help though if he can do that in the community then that must always be the first option. Detention must be last resort when nothing else is helpful. Detention is terribly traumatic for people and there isn't a huge amount that happens in MH units other than medicating (I know this first hand).

Is his Mum aware of his drug use, especially the ketamine @doritstew ?

It sounds as though she is downplaying the behaviour as being related to his normal character traits, what you describe in your OP sounds more than a quirky character trait.

I disagree with many posts above, I do not think the OP should manage his mental health crisis. It is incredibly tricky acting on behalf of someone who is in psychosis as they will not have insight usually, and it’s not a clean effective process where you ask for help - he gets help - it’s managed and all is stable. It is usually quite a process and one that the OP should not be in the middle of.

The OP’s main responbility here is to look after herself and her daughter. It’s hard enough for the OP having to now be a complete single parent without any other parental input, and also to help her daughter’s feelings about her father, which are bound to be quite upsetting and confusing for her. She also needs to keep both of them safe, not because it is certain that physical harm will occur, but because a psychosis can be very unsettling and erratic, if he does something very unusual that is very tough for DD and she needs to be protected from this until he is more stable. He may well, if he feels they need protecting, say turn up in the middle of the night, frightened for them etc.

So OP has enough on her plate managing herself and DD. I would still in her shoes phone the police (just a local number) because its’ the only way she can set off a risk assessment for her Ex, and have it logged why she is keeping DD away from him, and to keep all safe and well.

I agree - I don’t think that the OP should be managing this throughout but someone needs to get the ball rolling

Two aspects to this. (1) Protecting your own home base. (2) Helping a person in need who has ental health issues so can not help himself.

One can appear cold and harsh by telling you to stay away from him but what if we all did that? No one would get helped.
You should seek professional help without telling him and take it from there.

He could harm you both , get him to A and E. sharpish

Correction: you do nothing ... ring police and get them to section him but he must be in a public place they can't section him in his home

You can't juts ring the police and tell them you o nip along and section somewhere while they are at the shop

I think what the pp means is that the Police can detain him under s136 of the mental health act. But he needs to be in a public place. They dont section people, they detain them and take them to a place of safety ie.a hospital to get assessed.

It was the 'call the police and get them to' I was talking about, as if they just going to say 'ok' and go looking. It really doesn't work that way.