How to deal with psychosis sufferer who wants to leave house at night to clear head

His symptoms get dramatically worse at night after midnight and he starts getting paranoid his family is plotting against him. On several occasions he has run away for the big meaning police have had to get involved etc. He tends to come back after his head has cleared.

At the moment we go searching for him in our cars when he does this (it's freezing out there so feel like we can't leave him). Is this the right thing to do or should we give him space?

Who is this person and how old are they?

Hi sorry for the lack of info. It is my younger brother and he is 23 years old.

He has only been recently diagnosed and only started displaying signs something was wrong recently too.

He previously had an issue with confabulation where his mind would create violent memories of things that never happened

I would say give him space.

I have gone through multiple periods of dealing with psychosis/paranoia, and mine also tends to get worse at night when it's happening.

This can spike anxiety and agitation very badly, and one thing that many of us afflicted worry about is accidentally harming (verbally or physically) our loved ones in the midst of freaking the hell out. Sometimes this concern is only deep down and subconscious, and on the surface, we simply just don't want to lose control.

So getting away and getting some space can be very important. It gives us time and space to cool off, talk to ourselves and do other self-soothing skills without anyone around to judge us or be weirded-out by it. Things like walking/pacing, exposure to cold, smoking, etc are common ways we might "bring ourselves back down" and clear our minds.

If an adult with these struggles needs space, it is important to let them have that space. If it is cold outside and they have been gone for more than an hour, it is not unreasonable to call and expect a quick "I'm okay" from them, as a deal of sorts so that space can be given and loved ones don't have to worry.

Does he take his phone? Aren't their tracking apps for phones? Just a thought.

I would seriously try to convince him into getting professional help.

I wouldn't give him space, if it were my brother. I would try to get him to stay on meds until stable or get hospitalized.

Have you asked him during times when he's less symptomatic what he wants? Maybe he doesn't exactly know what he wants yet but if it were me it'd go a long way in helping me feel more secure with and likely to approach you for helping me if I were asked directly. If he feels like an active participant in the help and protection you want to offer he may also be more likely to answer his phone or reply to a text even if experiencing paranoia and/or psychosis.

I know fresh cool air and a fast walk helps me calm down.

Are you familiar with NAMI? If not that could be a good resource for finding the best ways to help your brother and get support you may need, https://www.nami.org/

I haven't experienced full blown psychosis but have had a mental health crisis that resulted in police involvement and hospitalization. Looking back it would've been much better if I had been able to work on a plan with someone for what I myself would do in a crisis situation and how others may or may not be involved.

That said, early on I may not have been willing to create a plan with someone or able to acknowledge the seriousness of my situation enough to make my own plan. It sucks but there's a good chance you might not be able to help directly when he's most vulnerable.

What makes me paranoid a lot of times is not making the observations I need to make. Expecting the information I need to live my life correctly and safely to come to me, that's where the mind wanders. See you are "paranoid" because you don't know. Concern or paranoia?

Can you openly talk about anything and everything with him? He may be perceiving from experience. He may also have trouble turning things over. Like maybe he was suspicious and it was nothing, maybe he isn't learning how to laugh about it.

The very fact that you might mention it just here on the internet. You aren't doing anything wrong but he isn't unjustified by thinking this. He can't "read minds".

I'd say there is a fine line between being actively involved in your world and becoming just too overly suspicious. Sure sometimes I turn ideas over. Got to find what you are looking for. Maybe he's looking for the answer. Could be in his head. Probably is.

One of the best ways to cope with stress is to take a walk. It's where you turn things over and discard them. Have you ever taken a walk with him and talked about these things? He would probably trust you if you did not shun the ideas but rather handled them as they came.

Politicians? Paranoid as hell. Aggressive and bold. Try not to give him too much trash because nobody respects trash. The more you complain about that the worse things will get. He should probably mind his own business and you yours.

I just showed this post to my boyfriend. We both have bipolar 1 and have psychotic episodes where heading out the door is a strong pull. He jokingly said "maybe we are all supposed to be meeting up someplace." LOL

Just a bit of levity. Not trying to minimize it. My boyfriend tends to frighten people when psychotic. For example, he became psychotic and was convinced he was the janitor/cleaner at a random medical office.

He was polite but wouldn't leave because he was "ready to clean".



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