I have a mother-in-law (73) who has spent her entire life with an alcoholic, and at the moment she is with another man. The problem is that she keeps making up things: that someone is poisoning her - pouring poison into the water tap, that someone is recording it, eavesdropping on it, walking around the estate and saying the worst things about her. The worst part is that she has 2 children and constantly accuses and violates them. It's impossible to live normally with her. Now, when her son calls her, hangs up the phone, is angry, has outbursts of vulgarity, disconnects the phone, calls out the worst. My hands are dropping already, I would like to help her, but she doesn't want to. What to do? There is no need to dream about hospital treatment, she escapes from the hospital the next day - not even diagnosed. Is it paranoid schizophrenia? How to proceed?

A detailed diagnosis is not needed here, a general statement that it is a psychosis is enough. The word "schizophrenia" is sometimes overused and has a negative connotation.

The mother-in-law is delusional, firmly convinced that the environment threatens her and harms her in various ways, probably hallucinating - she hears some content that reassures her in what she thinks. She is uncritical - and this is the biggest obstacle to helping her. Have you already seen how difficult it is …

If a hospital, with a court authorization for compulsory treatment, it can be obtained through established procedures, you must inform yourself at the Mental He alth Clinic.

If it's home - it's hard to find good advice, because situations can change like a kaleidoscope. You definitely need to stay calm, have a kind but authentic attitude.

In the event of a real threat to he alth or life of the environment, you must call an ambulance. An ambulance doctor is usually not a psychiatrist, but in such a situation he is obliged to take the patient for a consultation to the emergency room of a psychiatric hospital to determine the indications for immediate compulsory treatment.

Regards!

Read also:

  • Hallucinations (hallucinations)

Remember that our expert's answer is informative and will not replace a visit to the doctor.

Tomasz Jaroszewski

Second degree psychiatrist

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