so im in abit of a situation. a friend of mine, who for a good few years abused drugs quite badly. mainley, alcohol, weed, mdma and im truly sad to say mephedrone.
well, over the corse of around 1 1/2 years, his mental weel being as seemed to get worse and worse. he can act normal, but also can begin acting really and truly odd. for a long time, i thought it was a joke. just a big act (he was abit of an extrovert befor this and it just seemed like an extreme continuation) though more and more i feel i have to face the truth that its not.
any people in the pychiatric or medical fields?
i do pyschology myself, but i know i no where near eqquiped to understand whats going on. at the moment, im simply trying to talk about it. though i fear hugley getting doctors involved, knowing full well they'l just pump him full of perscriptions. so far iv recomended he speak about it, go to therapists. but i dont know, any ideas? i know professional help is the way, but what type?
im trying to discern if hes aware of the situation, praying its no schizophrenia, and as far as im aware, a schizophrenic is lacks insight?
i dont know, im just lost on what to do. but i cant just leave him as it is.
any ideas?

Admittedly, I'm not a psychologist or anything. But you really have to give us more to go on.

Your description of his behavior amounts to: "he can act normal, but also can begin acting really and truly odd".

Describe these behaviors. What makes you think that his mental well-being is deteriorating? What symptoms does he exhibit exactly? Give examples at the very least.

Hope you find some help.

Do you know any of his family or close friends or girlfriend or anything like that? Maybe you could talk with them and get a better sense of what is going on and how to deal with it. Its tough to be a friend in that kind of situation and be essentially powerless to do anything to help aside from making suggestions.

paranoia, thinking things are being said that havnt been. noticing or hearing messages that arnt there. generaly odd social behaviors like kissing someones feet randomly. sometimes unable to perform simple tasks. speaking incoherently. presuming others can at times read thoughts?
often, the question lies between whether the person is acting unusual for the sake of it, or because no better is known.
iv known him for years, there has deffinatly been deterioration.
i dont know his family, no girl friend at the moment and alot of his friends feel the same way. just seems noones truly helped.

Have you talked with him about his excentric behaviour? Things will be much easier if he becomes convinced about the need of help. Otherwise you and your friend will go through a very hard time. A situation in which only family members are able to support.

Does his 'odd' behavior bring negative consequences to him or those around him? Does he express any suffering of being in this different way of being?

If it does have negative consequences, and from your description it does seem like signs of possible mental illness. You are right that psychiatrists might pump him with meds without really treating, but there are good psychiatrists out there. If he can go to a psychologist which has good reputation, maybe it can be a good thing. Psychologists dont prescribe medication, but they might reffer you to a psychiatrist if they feel its needed. So it might be beneficial to first try a non-invasive intervention with a good psychologist.

In the meanwhile, I think what you should focus is not really on 'arguing against' his seemingly irrational thought as if to 'speak some sense' into him, but rather try to focus on the consequences of those thoughts he has, trying to make him deal/integrate his experiences in the most balanced way possible so as to not generate suffering for him and others.

There is an amazing diversity of world-views with us humans, we all have unique ways of looking at the world. As long as this world view isnt harmful, right?

The fact is, we have a body to take care of, and we are a part of a social network and exist inside live eco-systems. So regardless of what world-view we adopt, it has to reinforce a search for being healthier, socially balanced (interacting, learning from and being able to exert positive influence on others, being aware of the consequence of our actions to others) and more sustainable in general.

I think if you give him the emotional support, try to pass an implicit (or at times more explicit) message regarding how to deal with the experiences so that it doesnt have negative consequences to him or to others, and get him to go to a good psychologist, you can hopefully help your friend.

By the way, I hope he is not taking drugs anymore, right?

Also its a good idea to contact his family and other close friends. The support from a network of people is a much more efficient cure (or at least aid) for mental illness than simple cold 'symptom-hiding' medication treatment.

Good luck!

Much of what you say about your friends symptoms are suggestive of a significant mental illness but a full evaluation/assessment cannot be made if your friend continues to use drugs.Ideally he should cease these activities totally in order to aid working out whats what and to prevent any further decline in his faculties, should he be unwell.

Is there any past medical or family history of such problems?

If he is unwell then simply highlighting this may cause him to become mistrustful of you so its a tricky predicament you are in.Its also the case that even those with major mental health issues can retain some insight into their own woes so intermittent normal behaviour doesnt exclude the diagnosis.

As Endlessness intimated, is it clearly impacting on his ability to function?Again this is suggestive of problems.

Depending on the degree of his symptoms, I would suggest stopping all drug use including weed and seeing how he goes.If his mental state remains disturbed then he should seek medical advice promptly as its been shown that mental problems such as this could possibly be are slower to resolve if left unmanaged for a prolonged period.

As a side issue, I reckon the new cathinone derivatives are really very toxic if over-used.

Hope this helps.

word

From what you posted it sounds to me like your friend is having some very interesting experiences. It may well be what is commonly called a 'mental illness' the two most likely being Schizophrenia or manic/depression (now known as bi-polar) In the olden days tribes often took these people and trained them into Shamans.

Does he talk very fast?
Does he only sleep a few hours a night?
Does he have delusions of grandeur? (thinking he is someone famous/important---)

These are signs of mania

Hearing voices is often associated with Schizophrenia.

I suggest you use Google or Wikipedia to find out all the common symptoms of being Schizophrenic or manic/depressive. (I prefer the original term) This will help you understand your friend more which in turn will help you make a more well informed decision.



P.S. I am a manic/depressive.....(insane in the brain!!)...and I have thoroughly enjoyed myself during manic episodes......until the cops carted me off in handcuffs to the local loony bin......again The depressive phases are not fun though particularly when suicidal thoughts appear That is one of the reasons I am on this site, as I have heard a few good doses of DMT can be very beneficial for depression. I also wish to utilise it to help me open my mind and increase my levels of wisdom, love and power. Perhaps it would also help your friend.

We are one but we are many...

just to add to the great advice you have already gotten i wouldn't worry too much about doctors prescribing meds to your friend.
his described behavior is text book mental illness. not to play doctor here but schizophrenia and paranoia tend to go hand in hand. all the mind reading behavior is classic symptoms of this. i have a friend with severe mental illness and his actions are very similar to what your describing. i watched him go down the rabbit hole of insanity and it was very sad.

your friend is lucky to have you.

the sad news is that if it is something like severe bi polar or schizophrenia there is not a whole lot that can be done other than medication balancing for a better life. its not perfect but the alternative is that there isn't one. untreated these mental diseases only get worse, especially when the person is an addict. psychedelics are the worst thing someone like your friend can be using right now. it really gets weirder and weirder when the mentally ill use these substances.

this topic spotlights the importance of research with hallucinogens which isnt being allowed in many country's or is made too difficult and career ending for scientists to want to do this needed work to better understand mental illness which affects millions world wide and tears families apart.

research is being suppressed because the bi product of using these substances is seeing the true nature of everything and that scares the shit out of the powerful. they would never want their "sheep" knowing theres no fence line and they are actually free to wander.

Yes 1 question that should be looked into is there a history of mental illness in his family? Sorry to say but his symptoms do sound like they may be something like schizophrenia. If it is there is nothing you can do but be a good supporting friend.

Also maybe advising him to see a doctor would be very helpful. It could avoid some unpleasant and dangerous events if he gets medicated in time. I know medication seems like a bad alternative but really it does help people even if it makes some parts of their lives more difficult. Some medication can make the difference between not functioning at all and functioning.

I lost a friend in college to schizophrenia it was VERY strange. He got progressively stranger and stranger. More paranoid. More talking to no one. More easily deluded. The look in his eyes just got more distant. Like he was always looking through you not at you. Then one day he literally ran away and his parents called wondering what the hell was wrong with him. Scary stuff I have no idea what became of him. Old Jimbo I miss the guy.

Either way sounds like a not so nice situation. Best of luck to you and friend.

firstly, i want to thank you all hugley for the advice. it was really needed and i guess i jusyt needed other perspectives on the situation. since, iv had a pretty in depth discussion with the friend in question, did some research and read carefully what people had to say; it had a huge impact. in response to the queries, there are negatives aspects, and their growing worse. loss of jobs. issues with socialising. its all there. delusions of grandure are apparant at times aswell.
as an update, i believe ill be visiting a therapist with him in the not too distant future, something which he has thankfully agreed too. hopefuly we'l be able to establish a certain foundation of knowledge about it and go from there. so thats a relief.
im sure we'l work through it. and a part of that, is down to you guys. Honestly, your a great group of open minded, rational, intelligent guys and gals. seriously, thanks.