# Afraid that a friend is developing schizophrenia



## unknown21 (Apr 14, 2012)

Hello everyone. I am afraid that a friend of mine is developing schizophrenia. Myself and another worried friend have called a helpline to get some advice and I am posting the situation here in case someone else has gone through a similar situation. The story is pretty long, but I feel like due to the complexity of it it would be hard to summarize it. If anyone is able to help I would greatly appreciate it. 

My friend, we'll call him Bob, shows signs of extreme paranoia; he is absolutely convinced that there is a network of people conspiring against him for the purpose of ruining his reputation. At the same time, he also appears to show signs of extreme pronoia; he is absolutely convinced that there is another network of people conspiring to help him. 

 I am not entirely sure when Bob's paranoia began, but I think that he has certain personality traits that make him more susceptible to different forms and levels of paranoia. I can provide some background information on his personality so that perhaps we would be able to have an idea of where paranoia fits in. Since before I knew Bob he was the type of person who would dwell on things; the more that he were to dwell alone on a contentious issue that may have upset him somewhat the more paranoid and suspicious he became of those involved. It came to the point that one could expect a follow up call/email from him after a minor dispute, even after it was resolved in person. Bob told me that when he smoked marijuana (he stopped doing that after he became religious) he was the type of person that while in an altered state of mind would become extremely paranoid and suspicious. Perhaps this is a sign that he is susceptible to paranoia. Moreover, I believe that schizophrenia runs in his family as one of his cousins suffers from a severe case of it. Another one of his personality traits is that he is likes to be the center of attention. He had a reputation as a well-known and talented musical artist. He has performed many times and developed quite a fan base, which he enjoyed talking about. 

I understand that stress can encourage the onset of schizophrenia. I believe that there were some incidents that were greatly stressful to him after which greater and greater symptoms of paranoia started to emerge: 
Up until the point that Bob had a job, although it was a contract position, and was in a relationship with a girl for over two years who he intended to marry, everything seemed fine. However, her parents were uncompromising on their position that they would not allow it. This was due to cultural reasons that masqueraded as religious reasons despite the apparent hypocrisy. He had attempted to change their minds for a long time but it was of little avail. The father appeared to have relented somewhat and had established some conditions that Bob must meet if he wished to be considered, however in the end the father declined, which we understood was due to protest from the mother. Eventually Bob gave up and he and the girl had ended their relationship. He was emotionally hurt quite significantly; I recall times when we would talk and he would suddenly and randomly cry. We did all we could do support him throughout this time. 

Bob could no longer tolerate the routine of working at his job due to the depression that he felt and entertained the thought of quitting quite frequently. At this point he began complaining about how his work environment was becoming increasingly toxic and therefore it was in his best interest quit, thereby justifying quitting. When asked how it was becoming toxic, he would explain how his coworkers would secretly among themselves discuss him, most probably spreading slander. When questioned how he knew of this, he would explain how if he were to mention a certain topic, or song, or anything to his manager in privacy, he would later hear that same topic or name of song in a coworkers passing speech. Sometimes he would talk about how the tone of their voice was meant to patronize him. Later on he began to mention with increasing frequency and concern how a government spy agency was spying on him, or coordinating with his managers in order to keep an eye on him. He would justify this assertion with two reasons 1) during university he was involved in activism, nothing illegal or very controversial, although some of it did involve incidents concerning law enforcement agencies. He worked with human rights groups and lawyers and it was regarded as a healthy community campaign 2) the place that he worked at was closely related to the police and so ties with the spy agency was therefore highly probable. Eventually he just randomly quit without telling employers, he just left. 

While unemployed, Bob started talking to me about how people in the religious community know what happened between him and the girl and her family. He would explain to me how it was most likely because the girl's dad talked to the more conservative members in the community who consequently began spreading it. Ever since then he has been developing an increasing mistrust in any religious member of the community. When asked how he knew that people knew about his situation, he would refer to people?s facebook or twitter statuses as evidence. The contents of some statuses were related to marriage and others referred to culture, religiosity, and so on. Because these people were friends with one another and belonged to the same conservative sub-grouping, Bob thought it apparent that they were colluding with one another by separating the theme of his situation among themselves through indirect messages. I explained to him that such statuses have always been typical and consistent among this group of people. Bob also mentioned that because the person who delivers the sermon at the religious place of worship gave a talk that was related to his situation he believed that the speaker was someone who directly heard about his issue from the girl?s father. Again, I would be able to explain it away saying that "these are usual topics, they come up from time to time. It does not mean they are talking about you." He appeared to accept such explanations, however after short period of time of dwelling on the matter he would bring it up again, sometimes with more conviction. 

 Some months later he had gotten into a physical altercation with a mutual friend. It wasn't a severe altercation, nobody was hurt, but it happened in his own home among friends. Although I was not present I was told what had transpired. Everyone, including Bob, was making jokes and as usual the brunt of the jokes fell upon a specific individual (we?ll call him Tyler). I suppose that the jokes had gone too far and Tyler became upset and lashed out at his nearest target, who was Bob. After that incident, Bob indicated to everybody that he just wanted to be by himself and that nobody should try to contact him. After around 5 months of no contact with any of his direct friends, he started hanging around with some close mutual friends (one of who was present at the incident, but they have always been exceptionally close since school, we?ll call him ?Sam?). Slowly he started opening up and would exchange email messages with the rest of us, but was still adamant about not meeting in person. After a few more months he was open to meeting up to go to events and such. By the time 9 months had passed Tole had finally apologized and Bob had accepted. Ever since then all of us have been hanging out again. However Bob does seem different from before. He appears to have lost much of his confidence, his sleeping patterns appear harmful as he stays up until 5 or 6 am on the computer, sleeps sporadically during the day, gets little rest at night and depends on caffeine to function. He has started doing some web based work with some organizations, but does not appear to show much interest in settling down into a permanent and regular sort of employment. He has been more outgoing, attending different events, has gone back to school to upgrade his marks as he had shown interest in pursuing grad school, and has joined the student union where he was well know.

After a number of months of school work and working for the student union, his interest in grad school, and therefore his course material, had been reduced significantly. The only interest that he had shown in school was with whatever activities he was involved in at the union despite the fact that he had spent squandered a large amount of money on courses. More concerning was the developing issue with his neighbours. He would tell me how his elder neighbours have begun annoying him by raising the volume of their TV or radio at late hours of the night, which is on the other side of his bedroom wall as he lives in an attached townhouse complex. In order to deal with this issue he had approached his neighbour and requested that the volume be turned down during such hours as it was disturbing his sleep. Despite this however they persisted with the loud volume. Bob resorted to calling the city and acquiring its by-laws and threatened legal action if the volume persists. The son of the neighbour had shown an aggressive attitude towards Bob, however ultimately complied. All of this appeared completely believable to me, I did not see any reason to suspect otherwise. However, soon after his stories started to become quite bizarre; he made the claim that his neighbours, because they were upset at him, were spying on him by implanting a listening device in the ceiling. I asked him how he could be certain of this, to which he replied that he would notice that if he were to talk about a certain topic or use a specific yet uncommon phrase or word in the privacy of his own room, he would then hear that same word or phrase uttered by a random stranger. Moreover, he had said that he had heard his neighbours drilling in their complex and that the sewer in front of their house had been worked on by contractors. Therefore, the only explanation could be that this work was for the installation of a listening device which is how the details of his conversation were known to others. He would no longer allow any friends to visit his house for fear that neighbours would watch and gather information. It came to the point where Sam, without warning, visiting the city and needed a place to stay. Naturally because of his close relationship with Bob he had assumed that he could stay at his house as has always been the case in the past. However, Bob would not allow it and Sam was thus forced to sleep in his vehicle somewhere in the city. When I confronted Bob about this indicating that he was wrong to have denied this request from Sam simply because he was afraid of his neighbours, Bob became angry explaining that his situation is extremely serious and because Sam would make light of his situation he may say something that would give away information to his neighbours. Since that incident Sam has been somewhat upset with Bob, particularly because he believes that Bob is just acting like a selfish fool with self-induced delusions in order to seem important. 

This suspicion of his neighbours expanded to now include his wider neighbourhood. To him, this would explain why random people on the bus or at the mall would be repeating things he had said in his own home; these random people were colluding with his neighbours and following him around the city. Bob had indicated that his neighbours were part of a local church group that he considered fundamentalist or extremely conservative. Because he is of a minority ethnic group and of a different religion than them they targeted him. When asked why other people in his neighbourhood, especially those who were also of the same minority background, would work with such venomous neighbours, Bob would indicate that his neighbours have been portraying him as a hoodlum and a trouble maker, the sort of person that a community watch would be wary of. Because of this perceived threat the wider neighbourhood had taken action against him by keeping an eye on him and following him around the city. When we would be somewhere in the city, he would point out random people as spying on him and that we should keep an eye on that person. When asked how or what they do, Bob explains in detail how they would coordinate when and where to stand in order to, most often he uses the vague expression ?troll?, him by saying a word or acting in a way that alludes to a conversation he may have had in his own room. For example, he once told me that he opined about being on the news. Later on that day, or the next day, as he was walking through the downtown core he saw people setting up a camera, perhaps a news camera. To him that is proof that people are ?trolling? him. When asked what the objective of such indirect actions against him was, he would simply respond that it was to ?troll? him, to show him that he?s being watched. 

 I see a pattern among his conspiracies, which is that they tend to expand and encircle more and more people and groups further alienating himself, especially when he seeks to leave something that he is currently invested in. Like his work, he began to talk about how people in the student union were  colluding with his neighbours. This occurred after he took a comment by someone in the student union as potentially offensive, as if they were deliberately mocking his religious commitment with an off the hand comment. When I heard the comment it did not appear offensive or mocking in nature unless one was to assume that the commentator was extremely prejudicial. In any case, he eventually quit saying that he did not want to deal with the ?BS?. When he provided a formal reason to the student union, and to friends within it who he did trust, he simply said that it was conflicting with his homework schedule. When asked how he could mistrust them all, especially since there are people in the union who he has known and worked with for years, he said that those people (we?ll call them the Spanish friends), are also involved with the neighbourhood action against him. But after they learned about its true nature they have been secretly trying to stop it from the inside. When I asked what his proof for that assertion is, he would say that he talked to them. At that point I was fairly shocked because I thought that now he has proof that would vindicate his conspiracy. I asked him if he directly talked about the details of his conspiracy, he replied that he did not talk about this issue with them, but he could tell by their body language, tone, and words that they used, that they were trying to hint to him that they were protecting him from the inside but could not say much because they didn?t want to alarm him. When I commented that it was impossible to tell such details by indirect body cues he would become exasperated and request that I not question him, saying that I do not see what he sees and therefore cannot know what is going on.  

From then up until now his conspiracy has widened significantly. He has shown anger at his own religious community claiming that they were involved in the slander against him. When asked how this was so, he would indicate that they knew about what was going on but using their ?passive aggressiveness? did not prevent it nor protect him. When asked about the ?Spanish friends?, who were also from the same religious community, regarding their support for him behind the scenes, he indicated that he had never said that the ?Spanish friends? were helping him. After I provided proof that he had in fact said that they were helping him, he indicated that they were now untrustworthy.  
He has also discussed getting back into the music-artist community where he was once an avid artist who had connections that have now since then become more well known, perhaps almost mainstream according to him. He would also talk about how the religious community dislikes the music-artist community and it discriminates against anyone who doesn?t fit the typical ?good person? or ?religious? image. 

Moreover, whatever relatively little feelings of pronoia that he had before, as observed in the case of his ?Spanish friends? secretly helping him, has escalated beyond measure; he now absolutely and definitively believes that people in the music-artist community know about the slander, the neighbourhood action against him, and the involvement of the religious community. He explains that the music-artist community is taking action and has begun ?pushing back?, but does not elaborate on details such as how or what. I asked if they were going to confront the slanderers to which he responded in the negative, indicating that they were simply spreading it amongst themselves in order to raise awareness. When asked how he has come to know of this he would reply that he has spoken with a friend of his who is a well-known artist. Much like the prior incident, he indicated that he could tell by his friend?s body language and tone of voice what they were intending to do and how they were going to act. When questioned whether or not he enquired about this directly in order to get conclusive answers, he would respond that he could tell that his friend does not want to alarm him, but rather just wants to assure him that they have his back and are protecting him. He would constantly tell me how his old friends who he has begun talking to again after five years or so have connections with more prominent artists, who in turn have connections with even more prominent artists, and therefore those artists who are quite established are well aware of his situation. Bob describes the music-artist community as a deeply interwoven and tightly knit community that ?does not tolerate BS? and are thus looking out for him. Even further, he is almost now convinced that prominent artists, not mainstream, yet still prominent are seeking to sign him. When questioned how he knows this, he indicates that these artists are hinting it through their facebook and twitter updates. Sometimes Bob will contact me, excited at the prospect of getting a one year contract, asking if he should accept or not. Often he will contact me saying ?It?s legit? excitedly and with such enthusiasm that one cannot help but feel that it was true all along. Yet his answer is always the same when questioned about the accuracy of his understanding, which is that he can tell, he just knows, and that I should not ask for details. He tells me to wait and see because everything will be out in the open soon enough. 

 Regarding his religious community he has now begun naming figures within it, telling me not to trust them because they were involved. This is particularly worrying because now he is actually selecting individuals as part of the conspiracy. He has even begun naming individuals who we both have known since the beginning of school, nice people, now regarded as untrustworthy because they were aware of the slander against him all along. When asked why they are untrustworthy, he says that they don?t fess up to him about their involvement, that none of them will admit to him that they knew about the slander. Whenever I say that the reason for them not admitting to you anything is because they don?t know about it, he would either ignore that, or say that he knows for a fact that they know. Of course, he won?t say how he knows, and will often tell me not to ask for specifics. Any time that I ask for details he says that he ?cannot say right now?, and that ?all will be uncovered soon?. I suspect that soon I will be included in his circle of untrustworthy people. Lately he has been asking me if anybody has been talking about him to me, and gets me to swear that such is not the case. Even after doing so he would still continue to ask. He would also make it clear to me not to let anybody ?infiltrate the group?, which is merely our circle of friends. Sometimes he will tell me to tell whoever is talking about him to back off. He constantly talks about how despite not being involved in music-artist community for 6 years, they still show so much loyalty to him by helping him out and protecting him, and now even show interest in signing him. Although he is angry at his religious community, I believe it is primarily at those who overtly don the appearance of religiosity due to their obvious superficiality. He says that the only thing holding the music-artist community back from ?ripping at? the religious community is him. He says that the religious community is embarrassing itself by trying to engage the music-artist community.

 In terms of attitude and plans, he has indicated that everything is now out of his control; the music-artist community is taking care of everything. I wonder if this is reflective of his mental state, which is that he is hoping to achieve something meaningful through pursuing a direction in music; he finds potential comfort in this, which is in itself a source of comfort. I have encouraged him to get back into music as he was very talented and well received, but that he should also pursue a stable job just in case. However, with his irregular sleep patterns, unhealthy preoccupation with distractions such as video games, a large consumption of caffeine, combined with his mental state and susceptibilities, and keeping in mind the path of his mental state and conspiracies, we see this situation getting worse and worse. The wider his conspiracy theory becomes the more aliened he becomes. The circle is widening and I fear that soon it will encompass his closest friends. We are not sure what we should do. Anytime we question him he becomes increasingly annoyed and angry, sometimes accusing us of not supporting him.


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## forgetmenot (Apr 15, 2012)

You cannot do anything but convince him to go to his doctor and get referall to be  diagnosed.   If he is unsafe then call ambulance who will take him to hospital where he can be diagnosed   that is all you can do.


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## unknown21 (Apr 15, 2012)

Thanks for the response. He is not unsafe, as of now at least. He is a smart guy. He is rational, well read, and coherent. Except when it he starts talking about this he gets kind of awkward and very defensive. So convinced of unrealistic prospects. He doesn't seem the same as he did before, seems depressed but is hiding it. 

And there is no way we could suggest he go to the doctors. Even the slightest hint at this being at all in his head he gets very defensive and angry. I was thinking about speaking with his parents first....


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## forgetmenot (Apr 15, 2012)

I think talking to his parents would be a good idea see if they are seeing the same things you are.  The will have more influence on him maybe to get him in to see a doctor   
It is so hard to convince someone their reality as they see it is not real  so i think  getting a professional as soon as possible would be to his best interest.  I hope you can talk to his parents soon


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## unknown21 (Apr 15, 2012)

Thanks a lot for your input.

Have you or anyone else experienced or knows someone who has gone through a similar situation? My friend seems completely normal and rational, almost to the point where I think he might be faking this just for attention. But then again he seems completely convinced that its true, and isn't that what psychosis usually are, when we convince ourselves that something is true, with layer upon layer of conviction to the point where we can no longer tell what's true and what's not? What about medication? Does he have schizophrenia or is this a precursor?


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## forgetmenot (Apr 15, 2012)

WE cannot diagnose anyone here hun  i don't know your friend  and only a professional could give a proper diagnosis     Has your friend been using any illegal drugs    
Best thing is to convice him to go to a doctor okay  or like you said talk to his parents


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## unknown21 (Apr 15, 2012)

Thanks again, it is very much appreciated. He hasn't been using any  legal drugs and doesn't drink alcohol. It would be impossible for me to  convince him to go to the doctors, but I think I agree with you that I  should speak with his parents. 

I'm actually a little afraid that  he might find this post on the internet. Despite how vague it is,  because he constantly analyses facebook and twitter updates and makes  connections between vague and unrelated things, if he were to somehow  find this he could easily conclude that it's about him. I wouldn't be  surprised if he types in keywords that relate to his situation on google  :concern:


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## David Baxter PhD (Apr 15, 2012)

unknown21 said:


> I'm actually a little afraid that  he might find this post on the internet. Despite how vague it is,  because he constantly analyses facebook and twitter updates and makes  connections between vague and unrelated things, if he were to somehow  find this he could easily conclude that it's about him. I wouldn't be  surprised if he types in keywords that relate to his situation on google  :concern:



And what if he does? Why is that a bad thing?


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## unknown21 (Apr 15, 2012)

Are you asking, what if he does find this post and concludes that it is about him? Knowing him, he will believe that someone from among his conspirators is attempting to misconstrue the plot against him as merely a figment of his imagination, thus indicating that he is unstable thereby, in his words, "undermine" him, and "isolate" him. Ultimately they want to ruin his reputation in order to silence him. After a period of time, he may start to believe that one of his close friends who he speaks with and complains to is leaking information to other friends who are not as close, and that person, although perhaps means well, is causing more harm than good. Then he may, after delving on this and becoming increasingly agitated, conclude that this person is in fact not well intentioned. He will come up with as many scenarios as he can that will just come shy of accusing his closest and most trusted friends. But after a period of time, he will start to become suspicious of us, and given enough time and paranoia, may believe that we have betrayed him and are working with his neighbors. This is because subconsciously he knows that the conspiracy is his own construct and that the only people who know about it are his friends. Therefore, he will have an "inkling" that the only way for this post describing him could be on the internet is if one of his friends posted it. On a number of occasions he has felt it necessary to tell me not to tell anyone about him, even if it's an attractive girl whose "batting her eye lashes at you". One time he asked if he could trust us, and I replied saying that realistically we're the only ones you can trust (since we know what's going on, but I kind of wish I had not said this), and he replied by asking if he has no choice, even if we succumbed to the "mass coercion being attempted on me?" I think that this shows that he believes that it is possible for his closest friends to succumb to the mass coercion against him thereby taking part in conspiring against him. Although by saying that we succumbed to it, he is also implying that it's not 100% our fault, as I'm sure that deep down he does not want to feel or tell us that we are not really his friends. But the feelings deep down sometimes appear almost negligible because of how layered his sense of denial and conviction is. 

Thanks


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## making_art (Apr 16, 2012)

I think the best way to help your friend is to tell his parents that you are concerned. Write your concerns in point form so they also have something in writing to refer to in the future. Keep documenting these things that you are seeing with dates. This also could be helpful in the future because it is hard to remember details or dates over time. Maybe he is depressed and could be encouraged to seek help through his school counsellor. Please keep us posted. 

Another option for you would be to attend a Nami  Family to Family education group where you live because you learn so much through that program and they also will be able to help you help your friend: NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness | Family-to-Family

Good for you for trying to understand and get help unknown 21 - it's not easy to get help for someone who does not know that they are sick. Here is a good way to understand this: When we have a pain in our leg our brain tells us that our leg is hurting and that something is wrong and to seek help. When our brain is hurt there is nothing to tell it that there is something wrong and to get help.


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## unknown21 (Apr 17, 2012)

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated. Making a log does seem like a good idea, I'll do that. Most of the discussions of this are through email or chat logs. I think that he is depressed, that he has been for a long time but he will never admit it. Over a year ago whenever he had to end his relationship with that girl he was staying with some friends. I learned that there were times when he contemplated suicide, but I could never see him think such things. Since then he hasn't said anything about that. But I do believe that he is still depressed and it's not getting better. He is about 30 years old, doesn't have a stable or consistent work life, is single. He still lives at home with his family, but that is common in his ethnic community. All of his brothers live together as well. 

I believe that I know him very well, and currently probably better than he knows himself. Just as I predicted that his circle people he feels he can associate with will continue to decrease, eventually pushing out those closest to him, significant signs of this are emerging. In my above post I expressed regret about telling him that "realistically we're the only ones he can trust." I had a feeling he would brood and interpret that in ways that have undermining qualities to it. Not only is there an increase of deterioration over time, but the rate of deterioration also appears to increase; I feel that time is running out. Since I posted that last post it has gotten worse. He suddenly messaged me saying something to the effect, "What's going on, who spoke to you? I swear I'll stop hanging out with everyone if none tells me the truth. I'm definitely not hanging with Paul and Jerry anymore. Which skanks spoke to you?" (these are closely accurate quotes, the actual ones are a little less coherent and has more spelling errors, but its chat so I don't think much focus should be on that. I'm not sure why but I feel uncomfortable right posting direct quotes).

I was surprised and asked if anything happened that would make him distrust them. I pointed out that just yesterday he said he trusted them and was fine with them. He replied by saying that he was bs'ing. In response to my question if anything actually happened to make him distrust them, he basically responded by saying to the effect "Whatever, every "person of this religion" these days is a damn liar". I said to him that he was cool with them until this moment, and that he stayed at their places for weeks (they knew he was depressed and took him in, provided him with constant company, talked to him). He replied by saying, "I wasn't for the past few weeks. I was digging. You guys tell me when you're ready."

We talked for a while longer. And then he went back and asked, "But yo, I'll ask one last time. And swear by God on it. Did you participate in any way or are withholding knowledge?" I basically said that you've asked me this numerous times and I have even swore to God that I had nothing to do with anything, but I'll say it again. And I also indicated that I am alarmed yet shocked that he would distrust even me. And I told him that he should firmly believe that if anyone were to confront us about him we would protect him. He said that its because people who he thought he could trust didn't do anything to help him, and he still has to get to the bottom of it despite at other times saying that he "knows everything", and is just really upset that people are constantly lying to him about not being involved, although he has never confronted anybody about it. He also said he's reassessing who he befriends. 

He also said that everyone knows about the slander, and suspects that his family might even be aware of it now. 


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---------- Post added at 10:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:43 AM ----------

I apologize for the spelling errors and any incoherence in the above post, it was getting late. There is another trait about my friend that might add some more insight into his personality and perhaps what this trait may develop into. He has the tendency to avoid situations that make him uncomfortable. I realize that that is normal, but it is also normal to confront such situations when we feel or know that it is important to. He used to be very social, very outgoing, and very involved. As his circle shrinks he increasingly confines himself away from the outside world, starting with involvement in broader community initiatives, then to socializing with others, then to friends and acquaintances, and I suspect soon his close friends, perhaps even later on his family.

I also noticed that, ever since his return from isolating himself, he's always seemed a bit 'off', as if he lost a lot of confidence. He can't look anyone in the eye and sometimes his more upbeat personality seems forced. Now, since then he seems to have gotten better. He stayed over last weekend and we just hung out, he seemed ok, but still a bit off. Depression usually diminishes ones sense of self confidence, you no longer believe in yourself or the purpose of your existence, that's how I feel or believe it can affect us anyway. People who have little self confidence tend to be very self conscious. Could his symptoms now simply be heightened versions of these character/personality traits? If so does this mean he doesn't have schizophrenia, rather he's just really anxious and stressed out?

David Baxter, in an older post you wrote:
_The deterioration is, generally speaking, progressive disorganization of behavior, social withdrawal, personal confusion and neglect including neglect of hygiene, etc. Exact symptoms of a psychotic episode vary but may include confused and disjointed thinking, high anxiety, delusional thinking (especially delusions of persecution or grandiose thinking), auditory or visual hallucinations, etc.


_I'm not sure about any progressive disorganization of behavior, mainly because I don't know what he does all day. I know he tends to sleep very late and wakes up late. He appears to show signs of social withdrawal. In terms of his thinking, he's always been known to jump around in his thoughts, but now it seems like it is more so than before, almost as if at times he can't sit still. Perhaps because of the coffee. But he definitely, absolutely, has delusions of persecution (he has now even said media, intellectuals, and even on an international level is the slander against him known), and definitely has grandiose thinking (he's at the center of attention, always talking about himself, believes that high level artists are contemplating signing him), but to be fair I've never heard him brag about himself or how good he is. As far as I know he doesn't have auditory or visual hallucinations. But, right now he does interpret innocuous behavior by random strangers as threatening and scheming. He pointed out some random guy on the train as spying on him and part of the neighborhood watch against him. He was just sitting there minding his own business. 

Again, thanks for reading and the advice everyone.


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## unknown21 (Apr 18, 2012)

Just another update for everyone. 

I spoke with some other friends who have spoke with his mom during the summer. Apparently she is pretty worried about him and suspects that it has gotten much worse since then. This Friday I will go to their house to speak with his parents after work. Meanwhile, he will go to my house during the day to hang out with my brother and some other friends who will be there off school. But honestly, I don't even know if he will last until Friday, meaning that there is a realistic possibility that by the time Friday comes he will think I am in on this conspiracy against him and won't come over. If that happens it will be very difficult to get to his parents because he will always be at home. So I will stop trying to reason with him until then in order to not upset him. He is becoming more absolutist in his thinking, anyone that doesn't agree with him 100%, or if that person were to do anything in the slightest that would cause him to suspect you, you're his enemy.


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