He’s on a visit here staying at my home. Recently he moved away to another city where he stays with my mom. He didn’t feel safe here.
Right now he has a hard time sleeping and is actively hearing voices insult him. He showed me his recordings of evidence and it was just silence and him occasionally shifting in the background. He was in disbelief that I couldn’t hear the voices and started off on the track that his ears are special and that he needed to use programs to edit the audio so that I could hear it. He was telling me how the world believes that he is psychic and that’s why he’s being hunted down. He needs to use crystals and this stuff called orgonite to protect him from EMF waves. He has even created this tool he found online called the anti nano triangle that will help him remove government technology from his body and push positive energy into him. He believes he’s been black listed from getting a job and sometimes talks about leaving to strike out on his own. He’ll tell me about memories that never happened and things that are completely bizarre and impossible.
On the outside it’s hard to tell, he’s very articulate and knows what to stay to throw off doctors. It’s frustrating.
I’m not sure what to do. He will be leaving next week.
How is your mom handling things when he is home with her?
I’m always amazed at my work when I approach someone in a psychotic state and they just snap out of it long enough to respond and even sometimes carry on a lengthy conversation. My son is also very articulate until his delusions start to surface and then he loses his audience.
I try to get my son tired during the day so he’ll sleep at night, but when he’s with me, I can hear him up during the night sometimes, wandering around. At least he doesn’t walk the streets like he used to. He has completely given up caffeine for fear of getting cancer, so that has helped.
@BU93
My own brother has struggled with a lot of similar issues. I’m sure we could share a novel’s worth of these sort of things. I’m sure there is a lot more to it than even what you took the time to write.
But don’t lose hope!
His delusions and his hallucinations are very confusing and very convincing. He is actually experincing these things, despite how clear it is that they only exist in his own imagination.
But it is entirely possible for him to overcome the turmoil.
Try not to lose patience with him. Try to keep your reactions low key and thoughtful, especially when he tells you something shocking.
He is bringing these theories and these strange occurances to you because he trusts you. Assure him that those things are provoked and worsened by illegitimate “articles” on the internet, written by joe schmoe who has no credibility. Assure him that you don’t experience these things because, no matter how convincing, they only exist as part of his own imagination. That you cannot experience those things because they absolutely do not effect you. Most importantly, assure him that he is not being watched at all. That the time and effort it would take would be wasted on someone so average and mundane as you or I. Those feelings and emotions are real, but they are caused by his disorder and not by any true physical occurances.
Keep being there for him when he needs you.
Keep being even tempered and rational.
Keep trying to steer conversation toward what is actually happening with you, how he feels, what he needs to improve his quality of life and how you can help him get those things.
Sz/SzA is extremely difficult, especially at first. Some of the things he might be experincing could even be traumatic. Remember he is the one with the disorder, you are the standard of rationality. But you aren’t infallible.
Focus on offering him peace through comfortable conversation as much as you can. When he’s ready, he will ask for help. Until then, try not to push expectations on him, just try to provide a sense of trust and security.