I would say that is the typical ‘zeal of the newly converted’ rather than a sign of a serious lapse in judgement. It happens all the time to people who find religion.
I’d say he is looking more for acceptance for who he is and confirmation of his belief to help him over the insecurities of this new path he is on. As part of that there may be a expectation of ‘can’t you see this too, it’s so obvious.’ But that’s something he is going to have to learn to get over. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, but it is rare.
Wanting acceptance is normal and wanting approval is also normal. Expecting you to ‘see the light’ I would say is also normal in the ‘expectation’ and also the disappointment when you don’t ‘see the light’.
As you need to be true to yourself and the belief system you have build, so does he. He needs to accept you for who you are if he is ever to be accepted for who he is and that is a learning process.
Yes, sometimes manic people will be very impulsive and it is very common for them to be sexually inappropriate.
Some people with mental illness never become dangerous, sure. However, there are enough cases of people with mental illness behaving dangerously (such as John Hinckley, Jared Loughner, and Seung Hui Cho that I would consider it very irresponsible for anyone who hasn’t even met this guy to try to talk you out of trying to get him to see a mental health professional.
Bozuit You said in your OP “he needs to know I at least 49% believe him before I can see it anyway.” So he does recognize that these new beliefs may seem strange and is cautious about revealing too much. Sounds like his judgement isn’t that bad.
LavenderViolet I disagree rather profoundly. The general feeling in our society seems to be ‘any one who believes something we find strange should be locked up in a psych ward’. Again, he seems to be no threat to himself or others. After being turned over to a mental health professional ( who will likely have him locked up for 72 hours for evaluation rather than risk liability in just letting him leave), he will feel angry and betrayed.
What kanicbird has said in this thread has made sense to me.
I don’t want or expect him to be locked up. This is pretty mild so I’m hoping dealing with it will either involve him getting some kind of prescription to help tone down this behaviour a little bit, or even simply getting him to realize how he is coming across and learn to moderate it himself. If he is bipolar then I expect it would be helpful for him to understand the condition and be able to react appropriately to however it makes him feel.
Honestly I don’t think that there are drugs that can deal with delusions.
I’m very happy to hear that you don’t want him locked up.
Speaking as somebody who signed what I thought was a routine medical form and found myself committed and unable to leave the facility, and as somebody who’s had friends locked up for 72 hours based on neighbor’s complaints and such, I DO expect him to be locked up if you take him to a professional.
He thinks he’s fine. Why would he take medication that will alter his brain chemistry and probably has serious side effects?
This approach may have some success. If you say you’re concerned about his actions, he may well change the way he acts.
Look up the DSM IV online. If he doesn’t think the diagnosis fits when you (a friend who knows him well) says it, odds are he won’t accept it when a stranger says it.
Much as I despise religion, the difference is that people reporting religious visions are modest. They are simply observers. People suffering delusions are grandiose, important, placing themselves at the centre of attention.
See the difference? “I had a vision; be amazed! I am a prophet! The vision? Uh, well… I’ll give you the details later. But listen! Did you know I can fly?”
Not even the televangelists are that bad.
I like to think that if I were ever seeing or hearing or believing things that are illogical, as real as they would seem I’d be able to seriously consider the possibility that it’s all in my head. Of course I don’t know if that would really be the case. But he even said himself that the only thing we can be sure of is that we are real. I think he can understand that anything he sees or feels could be invented by his brain. However, since he considers this a positive thing (rather than hearing a voice telling him to burn stuff… or something) he may decide to continue as if it were real anyway. If he’s got a religion that makes him happier then, why not? But if it seriously affects the decisions he makes in life (like dropping his career plans to “save the world”) then I don’t know.
Well I should hope a psychiatrist’s diagnosis will carry more weight than my opinion.
Has anyone know if it might be possible for me to see a doctor on his behalf, describe how he’s acting as best as I can and get some kind of tentative diagnosis which might be more convincing to him than “Well I looked it up on Wikipedia and…”?
Bozuit Here’s the Wikipedia article on Bipolar Bipolar disorder - Wikipedia it’s a place to start ETA Bozuit’s post and his mention of Wikipedia were not there when I hit the submit button. D’oh!
So how exactly would you classify Jerusalem Syndrome?
Where do you live? Here in Philly there’s at least one mental health crisis line. I recommend googling for such a thing in your area.
I would suggest to your friend he might want to see a doctor to make sure the problem isn’t something physical – sometimes things like brain tumors can cause symptoms like these, can they not? It’s not likely, but I think it would be a good idea, just in case.
No, just that your religious beliefs tend to be somewhat well, like I said, “unique”. It’s more like, you think everything has to be connected to religion, when it should be first checked out to see if it’s not medical.
I doubt it’s a brain tumor. But, the early twenties is the right age for schizophrenia to manifest. I’m sure there are a few other likely candidates.
Sounds like he’d fit in just fine with other Scientologists.
Thanks for all your replies so far everyone. It’s incredibly helpful to have smart people to ask in a semi-anonymous way.
Further advice-
In college, I met a man who thought he was a werewolf. Again, I exaggerate not one whit. At first, I thought if I could make him see the logical contradictions in his delusions he would somehow snap out of it. This approach simply does not work. As time passed, I realized that if I really wanted to help him I should focus on his actions- things like getting him to say hello instead of woof as a greeting, being more aware of social conventions, that sort of thing. I had some success with this approach.
If your friend thinks he’s had a great revelation, odds are you’re not going to be able to touch that belief. So focus on his actions- not telling you about his genitalia, being sure to take care of himself (eating regularly, sleeping the right amount, bathing etc). Moreover, make it your problem. Stress that even if he feels fine, you are worried and could he do these things as a favor to you.
ETA- The wolfman is one of the few college friends I still keep in touch with. I actually have to call him tomorrow and get a current e-mail address.
Almost forgot
[Arnold] It’s not a tumah! It’s not a tumah at all![/Arnold]
Big red flag for me. He’s possibly, trying, in his own demented way, to reach out to you specifically. If he’s in the throes of an onset mental illness, and can sense it himself, perhaps not control it, then telling you his feelings kind of makes some sense. You’re maybe the one person he’s counting on to say, “What’s wrong with you?”, rather than shine him on as just being weird today.
But back to the point. The point is that Kancidbird can’t diagnose him as just a ‘seeker’ any better than those who thought, bipolar, psychotic, etc. But a Dr. can. Get him to a Dr.
In my experience life tends to shower you with pebbles before smiting you with a boulder. Ignore the pebbles at your peril. If you hear tomorrow, your friend has, well and truly, gone off the rails, has hurt himself or another, posed a threat in some way, will you feel like you knew something wasn’t right, but didn’t want to think it was serious mental illness?
If you’re truly his friend, his best interest should trump any reticence you may have, in my opinion.
I had a further thought-
A standard psych evaluation would not detect a brain tumor anyway. You chat with a shrink. You may look at inkblots. You’ll be asked to fill out a bunch of surveys rating statements from ‘strongly agree’ to ‘strongly disagree’. But, you won’t get a CAT scan, MRI, or anything similar.