[EnglerEd]

My sister is believing the government is watching her and has moved 3 times the last 3 weeks. She believes nails in the walls are wired transmitters, people talking on a cell phone is taking pictures of her, cars parked are spying on her, etc. On top of that she's been a hypochondriac for a few years. She's seen doctors, 5 different ones that I know of and takes turns visiting each one. Some are out of state. She has a grocery bag full of different medications.

She refuses psychiatric help or listen to reason and will tune anyone out who suggests she needs help.

How can I get her into some treatment?

[Sometimes psychotic]

Unless she is a danger to herself or others then this cannot be simply forced upon her. What this means is you actually have to talk to her and guide her through the process of getting help...it also means you have to find out whether she actually wants help for any aspect of what's going on. It's likely she does not recognize the delusions for what they are...but is there anything she does want help with. My friends took me to see a pdoc and while I had no idea my delusions and hallucinations were not real I was not sleeping for more than 2 hours a night so I wanted a sleep med...he started with seroquel which is an antipsychotic but also used for sleep....we had to discontinue that one due to a bad reaction but went to risperidone another antipsychotic not used for sleep...he never told me it had nothing to do with sleep. My point is getting her into a pdocs office is useful because they have other more subtle ways of dealing with this stuff even if I would have preferred an honest approach in my case.

I always recommend Xavier amadors book I'm not sick I don't need help in cases like this...it's an involved method of building an alliance with the person you're trying to help but legally you have no grounds for anything else...I understand it would be easier for her to be forced into the hospital for long enough to get medicated but as a person she has rights and the medications and even the hospital experience are in no way pleasant or benign and they don't even work for everyone....

[Sometimes psychotic]

This is a good place to start...a 1 hour lecture by dr amador...

[Sometimes psychotic]

Part 2 how to help...

[Isild]

I have exactly the same problem: someone who is delusional but doesn't realize it, who needs help but doesn't recognize it. It's scary how logical she is about her delusions. She was fired recently and refuses to acknowledge it. She thinks it's a joke her employers are making to her. And when she's down, she's completely paranoid. I feel helpless to convince her to see someone.

[Sometimes psychotic]

Originally Posted by Isild

I have exactly the same problem: someone who is delusional but doesn't realize it, who needs help but doesn't recognize it. It's scary how logical she is about her delusions. She was fired recently and refuses to acknowledge it. She thinks it's a joke her employers are making to her. And when she's down, she's completely paranoid. I feel helpless to convince her to see someone.

Check out the resources I posted above...logical argument isn't going to get you anywhere with this. Delusions are by definition resistant to change even when legitimate proof is provided to the contrary. You need to find something she does want help with and become her ally and convince her to goto a psychiatrist....talk therapy alone is ineffective for this although it's an important component of a treatment plan.