He refuses to admit that he may need some help. He has symptoms such as thinking everyone is plotting against him and we (his family and friends) are making fun of him. How can I or we convince him that he needs to see a Dr and that these are delusions/illusions that are actually not real. He really believes that what he sees, thinks and feels is true! Our 6 year relationship ended because he swears he has seen "me" in a porn site on the computer. He says that he cant show me proof because "I" deleted it. I have tried several times to convince him that it wasnt me he saw, he refuses to believe this. He has also accused me doing alot of crazy things behind his back. He really believes he saw this. How can I convince or proove to him that none of this is real and what can I do to convince him to see a Dr? He hasnt been like this the whole six years, this just started about 2-3 months ago. This has affected alot of people and has caused alot of problems. We need to get him help.
Q: I believe my x boyfriend is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia? He has alot of the symptoms
Read the 2010 edition of I Am Not Sick, I Don't Need Help by Xavier Amador, Ph.D. to get techniques about how to convince a loved one to takes meds. Up to 50 to 60 percent of the people with schizophrenia have a symptom called anosognosia. In plain English this is the lack of awareness that you have an illness. So if you don't think you're sick, you won't take medication.
It is futile to try to convince a loved one that he is sick when he doesn't think he is. People with anosognosia never realize there's anything irrational about their beliefs. Convincing him he's sick is not the goal: convincing him to get treatment is the goal. And a person with anosognosia can be persuaded to take medication even if he doesn't think he's sick.
Xavier Amador has coached tens of thousands of family members and others concerned with their loved ones' anosognosia on exactly how to act to get the loved one to accept treatment. Linking getting treatment with achieving a life goal is one of the steps.
The sooner someone who exhibits symptoms of schizophrenia gets help, the better the outcome as I suspect you are aware. If he becomes a danger to himself or others, that is the criteria for admission to a psych ward in the U.S., and if he's already crossed that line, an involuntary hospitalization might be required right now.
Regards,
Christina
You will never convince him that his delusions aren't real. I tried till I was blue in the face for many years and it didn't ever work. I tried logic, I tried everything. Even took a lie detector test to prove I wasn't having an affair and never did. It never helped though. You can convince him to get help though. And you need to do whatever it takes, even if that means having him admitted to the psychiatry unit unvoluntarily. It only gets worse with time unmedicated. He definitely has the symptoms of SZ. If he isn't able to rationally think, he does not know he needs help. You have to do it for him.
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