1 February 2012, 6:56 am
I have a brother in law that we believe is suffering from Paranoia Personality Disorder. First...I am NOT a medical professional and I do not CLAIM to know what is wrong with him. I have searched the internet about his symptoms and came to my own conclusion, so please do not scold me for making this claim. I want help in how to get him to a professional for evaluation. Let me give you the details: He is 53 years old and has had diabetes for the past 10 years, although he doesn't believe he has it. When he goes to the doctor for blood tests, he claims that the labs are falsifying his records to support the pharmaceutical company that give them commissions (he goes to a hospital for the tests). He walks everyday about 5 miles. He has high blood pressure, but we believe that this is because he somehow feels that he needs to take about 14 - 16 Tylenol Cold Medicine tablets each day. He is married and has 4 children, ranging from 4 years old to 14 years old. He doesn't work in a traditional manner, his income comes from the many rental properties he owns. For the past 4 - 5 years he has slowly withdrawn himself from nearly all social situations and is currently paranoid that his brothers are somehow going to "steal" his inheritance. At first, we thought is was just overly greedy, but for the past year he is increasingly and increasingly throwing accusations about everyone. He was nearly arrested because the store asked him to check in his bag before going into the store and he thought they were trying to accuse him of stealing. He refused and it was a 2 day ordeal involving the whole family with the manager of the store. The manager apologized and apologized for any misunderstanding and asked if there was anything that he could do to make the situation right. My husband had bought a new TV at the same store 3 days prior and the brother in law accused us of "taking" the TV from his situation and demanded that we give him the TV. We had to show him the reciept that the 2 instances were not related. He still doesn't believe that we bought the TV. Yesterday he threw his wife out and her clothes on the street accusing her of infidelity, although they are together practically 24 hours a day. My sister in law hardly ever leaves the house, only to visit her parents. When he takes his son with him on errands, he frisks and pats down his 14 year old son to make sure he hasn't any weapons because he thinks people are going to kill him for his property and money. He carries knives in his pockets and in the trunk of his car, claiming that he thinks people are out "to get him". The list is endless. Now my problem...he will NEVER agree to go to a mental health physician for an evaluation. He's impossible to talk to and when you try to open the subject, he becomes violent. We are now getting concerned about his family and kids. Yesterday, he kept pointing the remote at the refrigerator trying to change the channel on the TV and accused the family of sabotaging the TV so he can't watch what he wants. How do we get him evaluated and get him help? One person suggested that we invite a doctor to our home and invite the brother in law over for dinner and let the doctor evaluate him in an unthreatening manner. My husband is the only one left in the extended family that he "semi" trusts. He believes that all of his brothers, wife and sister in laws are out to make him look crazy and/or "get rid of him" for inheritance property. Truthfully, he doesn't have any more inheritance than anyone else in the family. His behavior is really troubling and we are worried about him driving and his family because of the rage and paranoia fits he goes through daily. Please help us figure out a way to get him evaluated and ultimately treated. Please give us ideas on how to get him evaluated without him freaking out! That's what I'm asking for here. Thanks all.... Read More »
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