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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Original poster with an update.

Police were called last night (for the third time) after nephew got irate and threatened to kill his mother.  He has paranoid delusions and is being involuntarily hospitalized for a week to evaluate mental illness.

I had been skeptical, because defiant malingerers can be manipulative.  This can be difficult to distinguish, because people often hide their mental illness.  Finally, illegal drugs and unhealthy lifestyles can exacerbate underlying mental health problems.  It is possible to be a rebellious little punk who also struggles with episodic mental health issues, aggravated by smoking pot and staying up all night.  I hope they find an effective medication, and that he takes it.[/quote]

Hopefully, the young man will sign the papers that allow you or someone to talk to the evaluator, because if there have been paranoid delusions, it is most likely that the drugs were self-medicating, but also exacerbating. Given the behaviors, this may be a case of schizoaffective personality disorder, which is notoriously difficult to treat because they don't typically sick to any medication. Typically becomes most apparent at age 18-19 (and before that age these kids are viewed as a bad, defiant, underachieving -- they are unable to articulate what they are experiencing and fight it and everything as a normal fight, flight, or freeze response to massively traumatic delusions). Don't expect miracles from the mental health professionals. This kid is going to need a lot of support. In the spirit of trying to help you, I have to say, your attitude (punk, loser, etc.) is immensely unhelpful to him, so unless you can reframe how you see this kid's situation, you should probably step back and let more compassionate people help him. Or, as I myself did, if this is the diagnosis or something similar, talk to a psychiatrist yourself to get information on how to talk to and handle your relative.

More information to see if the shoe fits: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21544-schizoaffective-disorder[/quote]

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