Psychosis, Mental Breakdown?? What is this?

[WorriedandStressed2026]

Hello everyone,

I need some advice please. I’ve name changed so it’s not outing.

My brother 40 years old, no previous mental health history - high flying career, very intelligent and always advising us on matters, has since last week suddenly changed!

He started by saying to me in confidence that he has suddenly figured out that his best friends (since his 20s and who he regularly socialises with) are out to get him. He has since blocked all of them. He says They have hacked his devices and they are listening into his conversations. He is very paranoid.

He says he can’t sleep. He can’t eat. He doesn’t go out anywhere incase “they” are tracking him.

He’s left his work.

We don’t know how to approach this. I called 111 and sought advice but they said he needs to be in the room. He doesn’t think he has a problem and that everything is real.

I’ve advised him to go GP. But he thinks he doesn’t need to. He just wants justice for being hacked. Today he was saying the Russians are involved as he checked the IP address and it was a Russian location.

I am so desperate to help him, I am worried what this means for him. Does anyone have any idea how I can access help please?

Thank you.

Oh, heck, I'm sorry to hear this. You must be so worried. I am not going to cheer you up, I'm afraid. I gather that, with services being so stretched, he's unlikely to be helped until/unless he presents an actual danger to someone or himself.

The problem is that the world's full of people with intensely irrational beliefs, they aren't all certifiable (they're varying types of bonkers, but people are allowed to be batshit). The fact that this is new for your brother will become significant when he's being diagnosed but, until then, he's just another barmy person.

Does he live alone?

It would be wise to contact his work and his close friends. He'll have been saying or doing uncharacteristic things to them, as well. It's helpful to build up a picture of what's happening, plus it's somewhat less confusing when you have people to discuss with.

Stay in touch with him, but do protect your own emotional balance and your safety. Psychosis can get worse very fast.

Some Mumsnetters have managed to get psychotic loved ones to the doctor by manipulating them. If he's expressing any convictions that he has some special condition, or that his medication's toxic or some such, you may be able to persuade him to go to his GP. The surgery won't discuss his health with you, but will listen if you inform them of your concerns before he visits.

Please join us all at POPS UK on Facebook, it’s a very supportive group for family/friends of those living with psychosis. Also have a look at the LEAP approach.

Google early intervention in psychosis and your area. There will be a phone number. Ring them and say he needs urgent help. This is very sudden and escalating quickly.

Goodluck

He truly does need medical attention, today, as he is experiencing crisis . Get in with him at his GP as an urgent appointment or at a walk in centre if necessary. The sleep deprivation will be exacerbating the paranoia and your dear brother is struggling to cope and disassociated from reality.
He will get better with meds/ treatment / therapy- stay strong and calm and advocate for him - well done for supporting him ❤️

He did live alone in a different city but has since left his work and has been living with my parents.

I’ve tried telling him to go GP for lack of sleep but he’s adamant he doesn’t want anything on his medical record.

I’ve been visiting him daily and have been with him over the weekend. He seems very tired all the time, probably because he’s not sleeping at night.

I feel so helpless. I wish there was a place I could go to get him help.

You will probably have a local early intervention psychosis team. Try accessing it through calling his gp or calling tge mental health single point of access number for your area

Thank you. I’ve tried the GP route.

Not sure how to get him help. Wish there was a way I could get him to come with me and the GP could prescribe him something.

Thanks for this. I will try doing this today.

We are trying the LEAP approach. He seems to be okay when we do this. It’s only when he thinks we might be disagreeing with him that he gets frustrated.

Check if there’s a crisis team in your area. They’ve given helpful advice to me in the past on family members, and even did a few welfare calls a few years ago

There will be a mental health crisis line for your area, alternatively you could take him (if he would go) to an a&e with a mental health crisis centre, not everyone does but larger city ones are staffed 24/7 and in my experience was excellent with dd multiple times.

I think only a psychiatrist can prescribe meds for psychosis? Would his GP do a home visit so he could be referred?

Our is 111 option 2 and they expect him to be in the room. So if I tell them I think he is going through an early episode of psychosis, he won’t like hearing that and could possibly turn against me and think I’m conspiring with his friends.

That’s the problem - he will present “fine” to his GP as he doesn’t want anything on his medical record.

I told him he should tell his GP about the conspiracy and everything he told me because he could advise him better but he said “they” can access his records and he doesn’t want “them” to know.

☹️

This happened to my uncle. Before retirement, he was a scientist who worked on quite secret projects.

One day, late in life, he became convinced that people were trying to poison him and that aliens were shooting laser beams at him in the garden.

He started trying to phone the police all the time and my aunty had to keep trying to get the phone from him.

i think he was diagnosed with psychosis. He seems to be ok now. He was given meds.

Just thinking - is anyone aware of any private clinicians who I could contact? Would they be able to prescribe him something?

Thank you for this. I’m glad your uncle got the help he needed.

My brother wants to call the police to tell them about his friends hacking. But we’re stuck on the phase on how to access help.

We don’t want him to get hurt or get worse where he tries to harm someone else. Usually he is such a gentle soul and I feel like I’m grieving him.

No doctor is going to prescribe without assessing him. They would need to see him and talk to him. And it often takes a few tries at different drugs to find the right one too.

I thought that’s the case. The thing is - even if I call the GP and tell them what he’s going through - which I’ve tried - he won’t be telling them the things he’s told me.

I’ve checked online - even if I buy him over the counter sleeping pills - that could make his paranoia worse.

I’ve suggested lemon balm tea and he drinks that but that’s not really helping him sleep.

Go with him to a police station so they can see he is manic and hopefully you can sneakily.explain?

How incredibly worrying for you. I hope the early intervention psychosis team can help.

Try the crisis team. They visited my dh at home. He was consenting though.
Sorry you are all going through this

@WorriedandStressed2026 my sons dad was like this. Was convinced people were tracking him through his mobile phone. Ended up being sectioned twice before he accepted any help. Now he's sooo much better. On medication for life but he's totally turned himself around. Good luck with your brother.

I really feel for you. My brother was having delusions and paranoid thoughts and he was sectioned twice. Living a normal life now , heavily medicated. It's incredibly hard but somehow you need a professional to hear what he's saying.