Strategies for dealing with psychotic or in-denial friends.

[Jabberwocky]

Whether virtual friends or real life friends with clear mental problems, what kinds of approaches do you recommend to help lead them back to reality and access some professional help. Please share stories if you have them.

When I went psychotic on coke my family called in some favours from friends in the police who came to the airport and talked me out of buying a one-way ticket to Colombia with all the money I had left in the world. Aussie police seemed quite skillful in such a situation but I imagine many US people would never dream of voluntarily involving them.

At the same time I know a lot of people who won’t try and intervene with a friend before they hit rock bottom and “want to change”. However, I think good friends probably try and intervene before things get so crtical. What to do if your friend cannot see their own doomed trajectory?

 

[Joey]

I don’t buy into the rock bottlm, tough love, everything that’s less than that is “enabling” bullshit. That’s taking someone else’s problem and instead of at least being receptive to this person you care for, you’re shutting them out and making their problems which are probably totally out of control and killing them inside all about your welfare. Yes, draw lines. No, don’t wait for “rock bottom” because quite often that’s death. It’s not gonna be this soap opera on Intervention, “yes I’ll go”.

“Now John Doe is 8 months clean and his dick grew an extra inch”.

rock bottom indefinable for any individual, except that for many it’s death. Sure glad I didn’t talk to that person or try all if I could because that’d be so “codependent”. Sick of rehab bullshit.

don’t let anyone walk all over you but don’t nevessarily love from a distance either. The more supports a person has, the better. You never know if you might be the one who’s able to get that person physically to the next place or have the talk that prevents a suicide. Loneliness is one of the harshest realities in this game, and being cared about in a HEALTHY way and respected as a person despite the problems makesthe positives in life much more believable.

If you can handle it, I’d just be there as an ear at least and I’d call in the situation if it’s that out of control where it needs to be called (perhaps psych hold for instance) so that person can live and know that someone is there. I would not give up anything bc I can’t lose though. Make sense?

I’m having a hard time explaining my stance here. There’s a middle ground anyway between the dirt and the doormat and it’s a concrete, solid place to stand you feel me? Be that friend.