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[quote=Anonymous]In the last few years, both of my parents have become severely mentally ill and abusive towards each other. They have never had a good marriage but after retirement and the pandemic isolation, their situation has deteriorated to the point where I contacted their local health department to see if they had resources that could help. Both are refusing to see a doctor and are plagued with extreme paranoia to the point that no one besides the two of them can enter their house for a few minutes without one of them lashing out in anger, fear, or hiding behind a closed door. They are violent with each other and have bruises from these incidents. One of them is mentally ill and has delusions but physically healthy. The other is in poor health from heart problems, high blood pressure, obesity, and mental illness. I live two hours away and don’t have other family who can step in to help. They are so paranoid that they won’t speak to me for more than five minutes about mundane topics like the weather before devolving into paranoid threats. Their local health department was not helpful. They just told me to leave them alone until an emergency occurs and the local resources can get involved. Is there anything I can do? I just want them to seek medical care independently and take a break from each other to heal. I’m hesitant to deal with them directly because of their physically violent, threatening behavior. It is truly terrifying to see. I visited them a few weeks ago for the first time during the pandemic and had to leave early due to their behavior. I was concerned about my own liability considering that they have no other family. I did not want to be accused of elder abuse. I showed up after asking if I could visit and was shocked.

And before anyone says guardianship, that is a very tough hill to climb legally and would contribute to their paranoia. They are in their late 60s.[/quote]

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