Delusion disorder

Hi @DeeElysia

Not reacting is good. Some patients with psychosis do recover without further episode but it can be debilitating in others, or a sign of more serious issues. Things to watch for are not taking care of personal hygeine, withdrawal from social activities and other psych symptoms such as anxiety. Not understanding that there is a problem (loss of insight) can be part of the disorder which is why a lot of patients do not seek help (the following might be helpful to you). It is looking like my husbands psychosis might be due to bipolar ii but this is still yet to be established. This might help you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lstn6WNnCRc

Having faith is protective and can be a great help, indeed it has been for myself, but sadly it did not stop my husband from attempting when he was not getting appropriate medical treatment, Major psychiatric illnesses have a high risk of being terminal by way of self harm if untreated, something I found out myself when researching the conditions that have been tendered in relation to my husband. Having a faith often means that you can have good supports in a non judgmental atmosphere (but this is not always the case). If you are already anxious, getting some support for yourself is vital, there is a super high rate of depression in carers, I found the combination of faith, psychoeducation and emotional support has helped me avoid this (Carers Aust is a good starting point).

Having a "normal" life is important to someone with mental illness, Mr Darcy & I do not have children (this was a decision made long before his MI). With regard to intimacy, mental illness affects this greatly, not just talking about sex, gentle touches and expression of emotion can be absent or rare (another indication of deterioration). If your husband does agree to treatment, one thing to be prepared in advance is that some psych meds have a high rate of causing sexual dysfunction. There are prolactin sparing ones and it might pay to do a little bit of research, not being able to perform was really upsetting for Mr Darcy and it can cause nonadherence to meds.

As you say you have faith, can I direct you to this site, it gave me hope that we can live well in spite of a mental health diagnosis.

http://freshhope.us/

Darcy

My husband started showing very similar symptoms just over 10 years ago. At that time I did not know what to do. My husband was quite a prominent member of the rural community in which we lived. I spent my time walking on eggshells and trying to hide what he and I were going through. In every social occasion I always had one eye on my husband hoping he was not going to say or do something "crazy". Every time I suggested that he needed help he would turn it around to me. At about 4:00 one morning, he packed a bag and took off in our car saying he was going to sort this out once and for all and he left. I did not know what to do or who to speak to. I went to work and told my boss who said that we needed to go see the doctor. The advice I was given was to go to the court house and invoke an ITO (involuntary treatment order) as it was uncertain if harm was going to be caused to either my husband or someone else. Signing that piece of paper was the hardest decision I have ever made and to this day I struggle with the decision I made, as in my heart I felt that my husband would not hurt anyone, physically anyway. Emotionally - a different story. The result was that the police stopped him, he was assessed and admitted to hospital. Since that time, we have moved twice. An ITO has been invoked twice. In the lead up to the most recent (almost two years ago), I left my husband. When he came out of hospital last time, he went to live with his brother and I came back to live in our house. Twelve months later, the living situation with his brother could not continue and with much hesitation on my part, my husband came back to live at home. Since the last ITO, my husband has continued receiving medication by depot (which had not happened previously). He can no longer work, he spends most of his day in bed, he has no social contact with anyone outside of family. He is happier that he lives at his home and sees his adult children more. He is calmer and there has been no evidence of the delusions that were so apparent. However, I still struggle with trying to do the right thing by everyone, including me and our three children who are now young adults. There is no easy way to handle what the illness presents. It effects everyone in the family. Going down the ITO path presents its own problems. I don't know if I had left before going down that path that may have prompted my husband to get help, but I doubt it. I received help from a psychologist in helping me live with the decisions I had made and the decisions I needed to make for my future.

I am managing to live with the current arrangements. I don't know how I feel about my husband other than knowing that I care. I can't imagine what life is like for my husband in dealing with what he has over the past years. I am too hesitant to,ask him.

There is so much I haven't said. I totally understand your difficulties with knowing when enough is enough. It sound like you have already put up with a lot. I am loathed to give advice as the situation is so hard. Talking to someone outside the situation like a psychologist may be helpful in deciding what to do for yourself, your daughter and your husband.

My husband started showing very similar symptoms just over 10 years ago. At that time I did not know what to do. My husband was quite a prominent member of the rural community in which we lived. I spent my time walking on eggshells and trying to hide what he and I were going through. In every social occasion I always had one eye on my husband hoping he was not going to say or do something "crazy". Every time I suggested that he needed help he would turn it around to me. At about 4:00 one morning, he packed a bag and took off in our car saying he was going to sort this out once and for all and he left. I did not know what to do or who to speak to. I went to work and told my boss who said that we needed to go see the doctor. The advice I was given was to go to the court house and invoke an ITO (involuntary treatment order) as it was uncertain if harm was going to be caused to either my husband or someone else. Signing that piece of paper was the hardest decision I have ever made and to this day I struggle with the decision I made, as in my heart I felt that my husband would not hurt anyone, physically anyway. Emotionally - a different story. The result was that the police stopped him, he was assessed and admitted to hospital. Since that time, we have moved twice. An ITO has been invoked twice. In the lead up to the most recent (almost two years ago), I left my husband. When he came out of hospital last time, he went to live with his brother and I came back to live in our house. Twelve months later, the living situation with his brother could not continue and with much hesitation on my part, my husband came back to live at home. Since the last ITO, my husband has continued receiving medication by depot (which had not happened previously). He can no longer work, he spends most of his day in bed, he has no social contact with anyone outside of family. He is happier that he lives at his home and sees his adult children more. He is calmer and there has been no evidence of the delusions that were so apparent. However, I still struggle with trying to do the right thing by everyone, including me and our three children who are now young adults. There is no easy way to handle what the illness presents. It effects everyone in the family. Going down the ITO path presents its own problems. I don't know if I had left before going down that path that may have prompted my husband to get help, but I doubt it. I received help from a psychologist in helping me live with the decisions I had made and the decisions I needed to make for my future.

I am managing to live with the current arrangements. I don't know how I feel about my husband other than knowing that I care. I can't imagine what life is like for my husband in dealing with what he has over the past years. I am too hesitant to,ask him.

There is so much I haven't said of my story. I totally understand your difficulties with knowing when enough is enough. It sound like you have already put up with a lot. I am loathed to give advice as the situation is so hard. Talking to someone outside the situation like a psychologist may be helpful in deciding what to do for yourself, your daughter and your husband.