Delusions of persecution and morbid paranoia?

Family
1

Hi. I was talking with this friend of mine who has paranoid schizophrenia… he told me his psychiatrist told him he suffers from delusions of persecution and morbid paranoia. What are they exactly? How can I help him? I really care about him and I’d like to be helpful…

2

Delusions of persecution are delusions that people/they/agencies etc are watching or out to get the person.

http://psychcentral.com/encyclopedia/2008/delusion/

I couldn’t mind a reference for morbid paranoia although I think it means constant and repetitive feelings of paranoia.

The right medications and treatment should lessen the paranoia so that the feelings of persecution are not so strong.

3

just support him and be nice with him. this all matters.

4

But what should I do when he tells me that somebody wants to kill him and he feels persecuted by the others? How can I make him comfortable?

5

only with medications these things can go away. urge him to take his medications and warn him not to stop taking them. the antipsychotics take about 2 to 4 weeks to be maximally effective. after that these delusions shall go away.

6

So if he takes his medications regularly he will be fine? What about breakdowns?

7

with medications there shouldnt be any breakdowns. these things happen only if he stop taking his meds.

8

My last breakdown was 5 years ago, since then I’ve taken my medication religiously and I haven’t had any other episodes that required a hospitalization. Paranoia is defined by feelings of persecution and is more based on what COULD happen than what really happens. I’ll tell you the truth, I’m tired of suffering, there is always something not going right in my life and other people are almost always the cause.

If you want to help your friend, stay nice and kind to him, that’s really all I could ask for in a friend.

9

I would ask your friend what you can do to help him feel better. it`s good he is seeing a doctor. i would also encourage him to stay on medication until he feels better. **

10

Ground him. Be somewhere familiar with him and point out that he’s alright NOW. Don’t argue with the delusion. Acknowledge his feelings but not the delusion itself. “I can see you are feeling bad/scared/anxiou etc”. Drink tea, cook something together, etc. Distract him, act normally and camly until he realizes his immediate fear is not happening. Your lack of fear and paranoia will help.