Coping with Psychosis and Delusions

[dollymixedup]

My best friend has been in MH crisis for almost 3 years. Its been incredibly difficult for all involved, with dozens of suicide attempts and serious self harm episodes, frequent aggressive and violent behaviour including death threats.

Over the last week she has become more and more convinced that the world is about to end, has emptied her bank account and given the money away and has now made definite plans on how to save us from suffering during the apocalypse by killing us.

Mental health services are beyond useless. My friends and I are struggling to cope and to keep her safe.

I am especially finding it difficult, despite or maybe because of being through similar mental health problems. My anxiety is through the roof and I am having what I can only describe as flashbacks to being ill.

Anyway any tips on how to deal with her delusions most appreciated, she gets incredibly upset/cross if anyone challenges her end of world theory.

I'm also hoping that I can use this thread to vent, helping me get things in to perspective.

Her diagnosis is complex PTSD and psychotic depression.

She was discharged by the crisis team on thursday, despite them knowing she believes the dead have risen. They say she is no longer in crisis, but dealing with long term condition this leaves with no out of hours contact.

Her DBT psychotherapist did not return any of our calls over the weekend, nor did her CPN (who we contacted on off chance) We will be contacting them today but I doubt they will section her and our experience is that waiting for a voluntary bed to be found takes weeks.

To put this in context, she has told professionals that she has heard voices telling her to kill people, they have watched her assault me and still they say she does not meet the criteria to be sectioned.

She is taking her drugs and prn anti-histamines to get more sleep. Her connection with reality seems to have gone completely.

Thanks fabulouse, I think you are right. We are understandably reluctant to cut her loose, as we are obviously terrified that services won't step up and we will either lose her or she will end up hurting someone else and end up in the criminal system rather than health services.

Hard though it is, you need to disengage for your own wellbeing. You can't fix this, she will carry on as is with you there or not and making yourself ill won't help.

Make it clear to the HCPs that you're stepping away. Make it clear that you are not qualified or equipped to deal with someone who is delusional, so its over to them. They have a duty of care to her. You have a duty of care to yourself.

It's easier said than done. If my friends had done the same with me when I was ill, I wouldn't be here. I don't think I can.

I know, its hard isn't it. The problem is that if you get ill again, and it sounds like this is triggering you, then you won't be able to help her anyway.

I completely understand wanting to support and be loyal to a friend, but she's a danger to you physically and mentally. You need to tell the services you can't keep supporting her.

I don't know how to tell her, I don't know how to tell HCP - they aren't keen on speaking to me as I'm not family/partner.

Her partner knows how I feel but I'm not sure how much she passes that on to the HCP. She(my friends partner) is talking to the CPN today and I've told her that she should tell them that she needs to be in hosp.