My DH has been brainwashed by tick tock conspiracies

[Stressymessymum]

It’s a bit long but I’m unsure how to deal with this behaviour.

during lockdown my DH ( previously was never into anything like this. was very normal, works in a hospital) fell into a habit of listening to conspiracy podcasts - he thought it was interesting and I didn’t think much of it. This hobby has carried on but increased and the last 3 months his behaviour is really off.

examples

No longer wants to vaccinate our children (oldest 2 are fully vaccinated, baby has had newborn jabs but not one year yet)

wants to home educate because he believes the schools are full of paedophiles and other kids ‘shed’ vaccinations. He doesn’t actually want to do any home ed. I think it’s something called unschooling but we both work full time. I’ve asked him for a plan on how he thinks it will work and he can’t tell me.

won’t let children socialise outside of school. Has removed them from clubs (for the same reasons as above.

wont socialise with vaccinated people (included our families)

wont drink Tap water. Baths in bottled water

refusing to pay council tax as it’s a made up scam (I do pay this 😂)

believes NASA/ moon landing/ 911/ holocaust ( and a long list of other things) is made up

That’s just the tip of the iceberg really…

I’ve tried to talk to him about it but he gets really angry and starts ranting.

who on earth do i talk to about this? I know he’s allowed his own beliefs but he’s dragging our children into it and the way it’s escalated I’m a bit scared xx

@QueenElle I know you said that SS don’t seem bothered about your friend, has anyone made sure the kids have been reported to the Local Authority as being Home Educated, (there’s a chance she’s fallen through the gaps) if she’s that batshit there’s a good chance she’s failing to meet the criteria for providing an appropriate education for them. The LA will likely jump all over her.

Im pleased to hear some people come out the other side. Unfortunately I have a close family
member who has turned to conspiracies and not through a trauma type of situation you’ve outlined. They were difficult enough to deal with but since turning to conspiracy, they’ve become even more isolated and as a family it’s hard to see. But thye can barely hold a conversation without mentioning a conspiracy. I’m afraid that in this case, it’s someone who has always had a very low opinion / tolerance for others and now even more so. It’s exhausting.

To be honest he sounds mentally unwell and I’d be exploring that but ultimately if he won’t accept there’s anything wrong then he won’t change. In which case I’d be leaving him and I’d be concerned about how much contact he’d have with the children. He will end up potentially brain washing them as well.

A friend of mine e her ex was like this (weed induced), she left him and the kids had to go to his alternate weekends and would come home upset as they’d spend the weekend sat on the sofa listening to him raving on. Weren’t allowed outside. When the eldest was 11yo she refused to visit her dad anymore, the younger one went for a bit longer.

Dear god you cannot section someone for having whacky opinions.

My brother had cannabis induced psychosis and was sectiond and diagnosed with schizophrenia. At the time he was sectioned he was delusional (positive symptoms) and had a complete state of catatonia (negative symptoms) so was a risk to self. There needs to be evidence of risk of harm to self or others.

Early intervention is key in positive outcomes in psychosis, along with family support.

Engaging in treatment while still using cannabis won't help though. You have to be incredibly firm about drugs and hope for the best. A group of friends staging an intervention could possibly help break the cycle of weed? There also needs to be some therapy - CBT is a treatment in psychosis/schizophrenia. Recovery Colleges are also excellent.

Creative art therapy is also extremely beneficial.

GB News is trash. Epstein stuff is dark and the amount of the powerful people in positions of power is truly terrifying to be honest. The OP hasn’t mentioned any of this just bathing in bottle water, vaccine shedding , holocaust denial, and mostly nonsense. The Epstein is dark. Women spoke out and they cried for help were told they were crazy, lying , gold diggers and conspiracy theorists. there is plenty of evidence that powerful elite men somehow covered up dreadful acts of violence against women and children.

He has an addiction by the sound of it.

Is he neurodiverse by any chance?
They seem to be particularly vulnerable to conspiracy theories and lots of other rat-holes on the internet. He needs to stop going on the internet but that's going to be a challenge. Bathing in bottled water is daft. Most of it is straight from the tap too unless it's mineral water. He's lost the plot and needs help.

You need to talk to a psychiatrist to see what can be done or else you need to leave him.

Why does he have to be neurodivergent? many neurodivergent have an amazing ability for pattern recognition and intuition. Plenty of neurotypicals talk nonsense and are mislead by lying politicians and blind belief that they have the masses interest at heart. For the record I think OP husband needs help. His conspiracy stuff is nonsense but doesn’t means he’s neurodiverse.

silly post

That’s what I came on to say too. Please refer him for your sales and ours.
I would want contact visits supervised but I think that’s quite a high bar with cafcas.
Best of luck to you OP and so glad you have extended family support on both sides. Lean on them!

Regarding your youngest I would get vaccinated without him knowing.

I tend to agree with this post. Whilst bathing in bottled water is expensive and wasteful not all his ideas are to be thrown away without any thought.
Covid certainly changed the way I think.

This thread sounds awfully like a previous thread about a wife “concerned” for her husbands mental health and calling the crisis team 👀- almost like it’s written by the same person…

@Wolverine23It's rabbit holes, once they start down one, it leads to another and another. When reality overlaps you have their level of 'evidence'

Then report it.

This is really tricky but not uncommon. It doesn't sound like he's been radicalised, more that he's become delusional and in a massive echo chamber that only reinforces and strengthens the delusional belief system. In terms of accessing services your options are;

• Advise GP (make clear you are not asking for information, rather providing it). They could speak to him and establish his consent for referral to a mental health team.
• speak to a first response service / crisis team for advice. However, if felt no consent and he has capacity to make a decision around his care and treatment, no compulsory intervention could be undertaken.
• as a wife, you are likely to be the nearest relative under the Mental Health Act - you can contact the local AMHP team and request consideration of an assessment under the Act, however they only have to consider it and not necessarily undertake an assessment. But they must write to you to advise on outcome. If you're not clear - outcomes of the mental health act assessment would be whether hospital admission necessary and whether that's against his will - under 'section' or whether there are alternatives to admission to hospital. Please be aware a Mental Health Act assessment and mental health assessment are two very different things.

That said, he's clearly still functioning and working and lots of people live in the community with a delusional belief system and do not go into hospital or treated against their will. He may welcome a mental health team input.

Most importantly - safeguarding you and children is paramount which you sound like you are appropriately doing.

Funnily enough, I was going to ask if he smoked weed. His line of delusional thinking is one I've encountered in quite a few stoners.

I'd be concerned that it might have triggered some latent schizophrenia. Weed, especially the strong skunk that's around nowadays, can do that to some people who are predisposed to it. I saw it happen to an ex-BF. Just be warned, his paranoia escalated to the point where he became dangerous.

You might find this PDF download useful.
Good luck OP, take care.
https://mft.nhs.uk/app/uploads/2021/01/Cannabis-and-mental-health.pdf

I couldn't stay with someone like this. I'd be seeking legal advice on acquiring full custody and parental decision-making. Keep careful track of these insane beliefs...

Don't be ridiculous it absolutely does not sound like OCD at all.

I have had OCD for over 20 years and this is not it.

I'm a MH nurse and unfortunately some people just believe some batshit crazy things without it falling under the diagnosis of a delusional/psychotic disorder. My cousin had beliefs like this and was not mentally ill, though it's an interesting debate about where you draw the line between ridiculous conspiracies and actual paranoia.

Anyway, this would personally be a deal breaker for me. I don't have patience for people who have 'done their research' and then it turns out they've watched a YouTube video of some other idiot ranting about the same topic.

He needs therapy. To be honest I actually consider some of the conspiracies a form of radicalisation and they should be treated as such. Often people who get sucked in share similar traits to people who are vulnerable to radicalisation.

I think you need to be firmer with the crisis team. This isn’t really just conspiracy theory bollocks- it sounds like delusions and irrational thinking to me. The fact that he’s happy you’ve taken away the children due to vaccination shedding isn’t normal. Please don’t be minimisng this is tick tock nonsense. He sounds very unwell to me.

with reguards to any historical event in history academics have challenege different interpretations etc so why are some historical events more omg than others when people debate the details as surley if the event did happen as the books said it did then it is what it was etc etc ?

There is a difference between debating something like what caused Hitler's rise to power Vs saying the Holocaust never happened. The first is reasonable, the latter is absolute idiotic nonsense.

the issue is some conspaircys were proven true eg DDT chemicals etc and various others over time

that i do understand. but i just puzzled why certain laws are needed to begin with because then its almost like saying this is the word of god and thats it etc ? especially when other laws have never been created eg people say the pyramids were built by x etc

Oh dear, I am so sorry you are going through this. From my limited experience of working in Primary Care (non-clinical) it sounds to me like he is in the midst of psychosis; the fact that he is “relieved” as you’re “shedding vaccines” and isn’t bothered about his family leaving him is very telling.

The crisis team have fobbed you off, I would strongly suggest you call them back and say you are very concerned for his welfare as he is “delusional” and “paranoid” - use those words. You could even add “a danger to himself” to get them to get off their arses. Say you have “removed myself and our children from the house for our safety”. Because actually, he is a danger to himself and your children.

I hope you all get the support you need.

Okay, I'll bite. Which of the things OP's husband believes do you think could be true?