AIBU to worry as my husband thinks zombies are coming?

[ByKookyPombear]

DH can at times go a bit funny , though he normally snaps out of it.
This current episode has stuck around for longer than usual and as a family we are getting concerned.

It started off with him locking the doors as soon as the sun had set just incase, that then escalated into the garden gate have padlocks fitted and the doors locked at all times, DH had also set dug the ring camera and doorbell out of the cupboard to monitor activity.

Yesterday I had a hospital appointment, whilst i was having my procedure done he waited outside in the car park, there were two incidents that took place.
The first it was a warm day, he kept the kids in the car with the windows up “just in case”.

Then the youngest really needed the toilet so he put the 14 year old in the drivers seat , with the engine running and told her to “be prepared”

Is this normal, he appears to be his normal self but is scared of zombies coming

You need to get him a GP appointment asap.

If this were my family member, I would be extremely concerned about psychosis at this point. Try to find the number for your local Early Intervention for Psychosis team and have a talk with them. Please don’t leave your children alone with him while he is like this. Has he shown any signs of thinking you or the children are zombies?

Not on their own with the engine running!

They’re then legally in charge of the car

🤣🤣

😂😂😂

I would be seriously worried OP, is he having a breakdown?? Actual Zombies?? Not a housebreak in but zombies? He needs professional help.

To be fair I got stucked into the covid thing, I had 300 toilet rolls made a throne out of them.
Are you sure he’s not worried about ww3 rather than zombies?

I think different brands of zombie have different weaknesses. Last of us they're infected by fungus aren't they? 28 days later have a rage virus and through the head seems to work

@ByKookyPombear I think you can phone 111 for mental health issues, I’d do that, or your local crisis team

I’d also remove yourself and the children from the house, as he is now acting on paranoid delusions and placing them at risk

OP people are skeptical because it’s well known on here in school holidays we get lots of fake posts from bored kids - your post certainly sounds like something a bored kid might write!

If you are a genuine poster, please seek help for your husband. Locking door etc is fine, perfectly reasonable behaviour in fact. But his reason for it isn’t. Also, why is he only worried about zombies at sunset? They aren’t vampires…..

This behaviour WILL impact your children. Do you want them to grow up in terror that zombies might attack them at any time? Or that aliens will abduct them randomly? Or whatever the latest conspiracy is? The best thing you can do for you and them is to leave or kick him out. Make it clear that he cannot see the kids until he has gotten the help he needs, and he is rational again.

He needs more help than you can give him. Call the drs or 111 today and ask for help. Good luck.

Well, if you're Op's husband, those legal technicalities won't really matter if there is a zombie invasion.

Seriously though, if true your husband needs serious medical intervention. His behaviour will continue to escalate and he is delusional

He needs to see a doctor urgently.
It sounds like psychosis and he needs antipsychotic medication.
It can be cured but he must get help.
Good luck 💐

For those saying this isn’t real - my daughter actually had similar delusions, although not zombie related. This can be very real and very dangerous. I ended up having to take my daughter to A&E for help

The person I replied to said it’s illegal to allow a child to sit in the drivers seat in a car ESPECIALLY with the engine running. I was correcting them to say just sitting in the drivers seat is not illegal. You can see I clearly said they can’t have the engine running or it’s illegal. But the pp was saying they can’t even sit there if the engines off etc.

He appears perfectly sane, he just has these off moments of oddness where reality seems to leave him and he off with the fairies

Keeping them inside a car with the windows up will not be funny in hot weather though.

If mine did this i’d threaten him with social services and the police. I’d tell him he’s a complete nut job and it needs to stop right now. Protect your DC.

OP with kindness you need to wake up and snap out of this. You’re leaving your children open to all manner of damage through this.

He needs help urgently.

But he’s not perfectly sane, even if he appears it most of the time. What are you going to do about it?

This.
If you’re not trying to wind people up then you need to get some help for your DH, his behaviour is certainly not normal. And putting a 14 yr old in the diving set of a vehicle with the engine running and walking away is irresponsible and illegal.

I'm a worrier and like to have emergency plans in place. Or ideas of what I would do in shtf situation

So the locking doors and secure padlock on gate didn't seem unreasonable

The car situation - I sometimes lock doors when sat in a car or even traveling by car in some areas. I would even ask a teen to lock doors if they were waiting in car on their own for a short time.

But not because of zombies and I would not say be ready just in case.
So the last section with kids in car does raise concerns.
The other things I can understand why it was easy to rationalize his behavior.

A psychotic break isn't normal to crazy. It's little things building over time which is why it can be missed for so long before the behavior becomes more extreme.

I would get medical support ASAP. The problem is when he starts to think of actual people are the zombies and then this will quickly escalate.

Which is why he shouldn’t be in charge of children.

I read your opening post and then went back to check if you had posted this on April Fools Day.

Of course this isn’t normal, and if this is a serious post then you must know that your husband needs help with his mental health and your children will probably need therapy to overcome this.

OP, your husband needs help and may not accept it. Please:

1.) Call his GP to explain that your husband has had years of intermittent paranoid delusions but that you are now worried about the safety of your children because of the incident described above. This is an emergency. Ambulance crews also very familiar with this sort of scenario.
2.) If your husband is not accepting of treatment and he is a risk to himself or others then he will need to be detained and treated under the mental health act. Your GP and the community mental health team will help to put this in place and arrange hospital admission or community treatment.

There are people out there who have had untreated psychosis for years, but the sooner that this is dealt with, the sooner he can get better. I’m so sorry. How are you and your children doing?

Thats like saying someone is totally peaceful and gentle except when they punch you or someone is vegan except they sometimes have a bacon sandwich.

Not perfectly sane.

Get him some help.