I’m new on here and seeking advice on how to calm my brother down when he is having delusions. My parents are old & weak & i’m 21 so I am the one who basically looks after him. Marcus is 27 and was diagnosed when he was 18.
Back-up information on Marcus
He did a lot of heavy drugs, was involved in a lot of gang activity, and was always in and out of jail from age 16-22.
When he has his “episodes” he starts yelling like he is involved in a gang fight. It sounds like he’s calling a gang out, he’ll start jumping up and down with his arms up like he is in a boxing match. He’ll yell things like “i’ll kill your whole family,” “i’m not afraid of you,” “it’s crip gang,” he curses, yells, using the N word and making a lot of homophobic remarks. He has thrown around furniture, put two holes in the wall, and has also hit me when I tried to calm him down. His delusions are at LEAST six times a month. But within the last three days he’s had over 5, getting worse and worse. He always goes outside and has his episodes and my neighbors stare as I try to calm him down and bring him back in the house. He resists, will tell me to “shut the f**k up” & has attacked me about four times since being diagnosed.
I’ve taken him to the doctor, he just says that Marcus needs to go meet new friends, and go for a walk. But Marcus rarely talks and responds to people as well as us, his family. The meds don’t seem to have an affect on Marcus either. My Mom doesn’t want to put him in a treatment center, neither do I. I have fears of him being neglected and treated poorly without supervision. But it’s getting to the point where I fear for my saftety. I love my brother so much, I just don’t know what to do. Please help me.
Also-- he smokes cigarettes like crazy, will go through a pack a day, do you know if this enhances the voices?