[Serious Topic] Friend's Mental Health (Update: Post #39)

[TidWell]

This isn't a troll or a joke. I have a friend who has recently gone off the deep end. Now, for the last 10 years or so, it wasn't that big of a deal. He'd make comments here and there that made me think he was out there:

(a) He is a bit of a conspiracy theorist
(b) He always jumped on any opportunity to bad-mouth women no matter the circumstance
(c) He always jumped on any opportunity to bad-mouth white people, sometimes seemingly out of nowhere
(d) He's a bit of a man-child. He's over 30 but he's extremely messy, doesn't shower regularly and will throw tantrums if he gets mad enough
(e) He's probably been smoking pot since college but I can confirm at least the last 3-4 years

Now that all sounds pretty bad but I'd say he has been around a 6-7 out of 10 on the "WTF is wrong with you" scale. Within the last month or so, he's shot straight to 10. Now,

(i) He's extremely paranoid. He thinks secret service is stalking him
(ii) He claims to have figured out the bible and immortality but can't tell anyone because it could mean death to him and his family
(iii) He was all giddy a few days ago because he claims a mosquito landed on his hand and sat there for an hour without biting him.
(iv) He is now babbling about karma, love and being "a child of God". Not in the way the average religious person talks about it. He does it in a really weird, off-putting way.

Has anyone here known anyone similar to this? If so, what mental problem did that person end up having? How did he/she get it treated?

You are friends with Eddie Bravo?

 

[purist]

This isn't a troll or a joke. I have a friend who has recently gone off the deep end. Now, for the last 10 years or so, it wasn't that big of a deal. He'd make comments here and there that made me think he was out there:

(a) He is a bit of a conspiracy theorist
(b) He always jumped on any opportunity to bad-mouth women no matter the circumstance
(c) He always jumped on any opportunity to bad-mouth white people, sometimes seemingly out of nowhere
(d) He's a bit of a man-child. He's over 30 but he's extremely messy, doesn't shower regularly and will throw tantrums if he gets mad enough
(e) He's probably been smoking pot since college but I can confirm at least the last 3-4 years

Now that all sounds pretty bad but I'd say he has been around a 6-7 out of 10 on the "WTF is wrong with you" scale. Within the last month or so, he's shot straight to 10. Now,

(i) He's extremely paranoid. He thinks secret service is stalking him
(ii) He claims to have figured out the bible and immortality but can't tell anyone because it could mean death to him and his family
(iii) He was all giddy a few days ago because he claims a mosquito landed on his hand and sat there for an hour without biting him.
(iv) He is now babbling about karma, love and being "a child of God". Not in the way the average religious person talks about it. He does it in a really weird, off-putting way.

Has anyone here known anyone similar to this? If so, what mental problem did that person end up having? How did he/she get it treated?

OP, your friend sounds almost identical to one of my oldest friends. Like your friend, mine has really gone off the rails over the last couple of years.

He's suffered from depression and anxiety for a while now but over the last 2/3 years he seems to be losing his grip on reality.

A little background:
1) He's also a bit of a manchild. He has very rich parents who do pretty much everything for him and have given him a house, so he hasn't worked in about 5 years and can essentially do whatever he wants.
2) He had a serious motorbike crash about 18 years ago which left him with a serious head injury and left him deaf in one ear (this was big as he's massively into music and is insanely talented on the guitar).
3) He's also smoked weed heavily for about 20+ years (he's about 36 now), as well as doing various other recreational chemicals over the years and for the last 2/3 years has also developed a valium addiction.
4) He kinda fell out with our main group of friends a couple of years ago, and since then has kinda isolated himself and (subconciously) pushed a lot of people away. He has very few friends or social interactions these days.

Now like your friend, mine has also become a conspiracy theorist of late. His favourite one seems to be the whole idea about audio frequencies - apparently 440hz is the 'standard' concert pitch, but a lot of people think 432hz is a more natural, harmonious pitch but the Nazis introduced the 440hz pitch to cause discomfort or distress to the listeners (I'm not making this up!). I've shown him numerous articles and websites debunking this, but he doesn't listen - he's absolutely convinced. He's also fully into chemtrails, NWO conspiracies and all the usual stuff.

A few years back, he diagnosed himself as an HSP (highly sensitive person) which seemed to have a positive effect for a while but now he just uses it as an excuse for pretty much everything he likes. As I mentioned earlier, he's pushed most of his friends away...but he's justified this by saying he's far more sensitive and in tune than 'normal' people, and us common folk just can't handle his personality and how enlightened he is now.

Also like your friend, he bad mouths pretty much everyone and is incredibly bitter about everything. I can't remember the last time he said something positive about somebody. It started off talking shit about women (he hasn't had a girlfriend in years) but now just seems to be basically everyone but him.

He's also become incredibly selfish and self-obsessed. He'll never come and visit anyone else, if people want to see him they have to go to his house. He constantly talks about himself and his situation, and never shows interest in what's going on in other people's lives.

I hate to admit it but I've kinda washed my hands of him now. I've literally dedicated years of my life to trying to help him but there's only so much I can do. He won't help himself and he definitely won't accept anyone else's help. I found myself only going to see him purely out of a sense of duty - I certainly didn't enjoy going over there and would often come home in a bad mood, and sometimes would take it out on my family which isn't on. So I just kinda stopped going.

I had hoped he might have improved since I last saw him, but another mutual friend saw him last week and apparently he hasn't changed - if anything he's got worse. Sucks.

 

[ralphc1]

(i) He's extremely paranoid. He thinks secret service is stalking him
(ii) He claims to have figured out the bible and immortality but can't tell anyone because it could mean death to him and his family
(iii) He was all giddy a few days ago because he claims a mosquito landed on his hand and sat there for an hour without biting him.
(iv) He is now babbling about karma, love and being "a child of God". Not in the way the average religious person talks about it. He does it in a really weird, off-putting way.

Has anyone here known anyone similar to this? If so, what mental problem did that person end up having? How did he/she get it treated?

Wasn't there a poster on here who figured out the Bible?

 

[Lubaolong]

Wasn't there a poster on here who figured out the Bible?

Mental illness is rampant on forums like Sherdog.