A few years ago, my sister was going through a manic episode where she believed her family was coming after her daughter and was eventually hospitalized and diagnosed as bipolar with traits of schizophrenia. During this episode she became engrossed in the idea of Ra and the Law of One.
She’s been doing better for the past few months, but a recent conversation has worried me a bit. She brought the topic up and I asked her if she would consider her belief in Ra and witch-related stuff to be akin to a religion, and she stated that she simply sees it as the truth. She also mentioned that before her medication, when she was “enlightening” herself with these books, she would reach euphoric highs that she is not longer able to reach. Which is a good thing, of course, but it sounds like she is seeing it as a negative thing. Which makes me worry that she may decide that she no longer wishes to take the medication.
I really need some advice on how to properly approach this situation. Though she has spoken to me about this topic, she doesn’t seem to bring it up with her husband or therapist at all. I’m entirely supportive of her and want to encourage her to pursue healthy hobbies, but to me this feels a bit more dangerous and unhealthy than anything. As she previously admitted that this type of stuff likely triggered her delusions, I worry that her continuing to dig too deep and getting too obsessed with this could be detrimental to her overall mental well being. However, I also fear that she may start to see me as an enemy if I try to discourage her from looking into what she considers to be the truth.
What should I do here that would be most appropriate to help her? Should I just sit her down and talk about my concerns directly? Should I talk to my parents and her husband first? Or should I just mind my own business…?
Or maybe I am looking at this entirely wrong and am being ignorant. If so, please let me know that, too!