BACKGROUND:

I met Eddie when we were in elementary school and he seemed very interesting and not like the others; always reading, never talked much, VERY mature even more-so then adults at that age. So I friend with him and it turned out we had alot in common so became very good friends.
He lived with me during junior high as his dad was, well nobody knew where, and his mom was committed to a state hospital in which she would stay for 2 years before being released as a zombie on a lethal cocktail of mind-numbing pills. So this brought us even closer together.

When highschool arrived him and I both started smoking Marijuana on a daily basis, alot of stuff started changing, however, things were looking good for him as the teachers opted he graduate two years early and have his college paid for by the state (special program they had just started) so off he went to FHSU. I talked to him frequently as he bought a cell-phone; we would mainly smoke cigarettes together over the phone, sometimes pot, and it was pretty much exactly like the old days just we weren't sitting in his room anymore He was doing amazing!

DOWNFALL:

He said the university life wasn't for him and the kids were all rich, stuck-up, and undeserving of what they had and if he ever returned it wouldn't be on a good note Instead, he was moving with his dad, who he had just gotten in contact with to work at a casino as a slot machine technician. Upon one week of arriving his dad committed suicide by a lethal dose of methadone, which ed claimed was his fault because he got high with his dad which apparently was a bad no-no as his dad said when he did hallucinogens he heard voices and what not. So he moved back and seemed completely fine, obviously wasn't though he just hid things very well.

Got a job here working for a friends dad cutting metal and assembling stairs/walkways for oil-rigs. I got enrolled in college and got a job and kinda lost contact with him. The other day though, a friend said he wasn't doing good and had held a gun up to his sister, cut his hair off with a knife (he had long blonde hair all the way below his bottom that he hadn't cut since that day I met him in elementary) and set it on fire in a bucket of paint thinner in his work-place. He then disappeared for four days before being found walking in a neighboring town and apparently had totaled his sisters car.

His delusions are really bad and thinks everyone is after him, would sit in his room with a loaded gun for hours on end claiming FBI Agents would soon arrive framing him for the molestation and abuse of his niece? He got laid off work as he could no longer do the job and the people he personally recommended to the boss for hire he now claimed were informants for another metal company and were relying information trying to get their business ran down to eliminate competition. All in all, he absolutely lost it; badly.

Is there anyway I can help? Or should I just cut-ties with one of the best friends I've ever had just because I don't understand/know how to help? It's terrible because the boss tried to get him committed but his sister claimed he wasn't a danger to himself or others because she don't think ed would ever forgive her when he's not in his black phases and she can't lose the one person she has. He won't take medication after what happened to his mother and he seen what pharmaceuticals can do. Obviously someone of this nature won't respond to counseling. IDK what to do?

Sorry about Eddie. I think if a close friend of mine because schizophrenic, I'd still do my best do be there for him. These people are going through the roughest episodes of their life, and it's not their fault; they have a disease/disorder. For that disorder to cause them to lose everyone close to them would be awful.

You can't really help much. If you think you can convince him to go on medication/get counseling, go for it, but I doubt you'll do anything except argue with him. I'd just do my best to be there for him when he needs it.

And if you want to cut ties with him, that's understandable also. He chooses not to take meds, and is a danger to you because of that. You don't have to risk your life if he can't control his disorder. And if you do choose to still be friends with him, you'll probably have to have a huge amount of patience and an ability to distance yourself from his problems. A person doing crazy things like that can be very frustrating.

Sorry, I don't have much other input about the situation. I don't think there are many different solutions to this problem. Good luck.

Sounds like a real loser. No one would miss him and I don't think he has much to offer anyone else.

Tell him to read a book or go for a walk to get his mind off things.

Ya.. um.. OP described a person who seemed to have an innate condition, probably genetically predisposed since his dad was suicidal and apparently psycho when he smoked dope as well.

I don't think that was a very called for response, something that OP wouldn't want to hear either. It says a lot about your character as well if we look at it the other way.

My opinion on OP's issue, though, is to try to keep being his friend in the way he would know best. It may get tricky though if he doesn't value the friendship as much as you do. I would try to get a read on how he feels about that first and then make your decisions how to treat him from there. Just try not to make anything too stressful though, it's a huge factor here.

My stepdad is a schizophrenic. Based on my personal experience, I would recommend to you to cut off all contacts. Maybe try to get him take meds first, at least call the authorities about this. It might get really serious and bad if he doesnt take them.

When he starts using meds, it is still going to be sad to see him. His aggressiviness will fade away, but most of schizophrenias symptoms will be seen clearly.

He had a genius IQ and was able to master anything he possibly wanted, far, far, from a loser. He went through things nobody could even begin to understand yet he was able to keep striving forward as if it had no affect whatsoever on him. His maturity and understanding of everything made him like a second father figure to me.

This post was completely uncalled for and so, so, insincere towards me. In this state of mind no he doesn't have anything to offer and could end up doing something very bad.


Thanks and I'll take your advice into consideration.

This posts pretty much summed up what I've been thinking all day at work. When a friend is just "depressed" you can cheer them up by being there for them and get them back on their feet. In this case, it's actually being mentally sick and I don't think anything I would do could help him, also I could be putting myself in danger, he held a gun up to his sister the one person he loves more then anyone so I mean it's hard telling.

Sadly, I'll probably just have to cut ties with Eddie and remember him for who he was and all the things he helped me with, which is alot! He could put my hard times and tribulations into a light that would make me smile, that says something about the guy.

do like 4g of shrooms together preferably outside in nature, reminisce about the good old times, listen to some really chill music, talk about how beautiful life/nature is, how amazing it is to be alive, help him build a positive outlook on life and its future.. it should all come naturally in a good atmosphere and good company.. that is if u wann be a good friend to him

I would seriously sit him down and tell him he is not this special that the FBI are after him. Unless he did those things, then I would turn him in myself.

I dont care if the guy walked on the moon, this guy is mentally ill and needs professional help. Thats like saying I have million locked away in the bank but I cant spend it, touch it or see it. It does him no good when he has a genius IQ when the guy is bat-**** crazy.

How would someone that is in a schizophrenic episode, that could be dangerous to himself and others regardless of affiliation, react to psilocybin mushrooms? I think it could be bad. I've always been told that your reaction to a psychedelic, is deeply determined by your mental dexterity, and your emotional state leading up to the intoxication, no?

IDK, FWIW, I've done mushrooms before but don't really experiment with drug anymore and the people you go through to get them sometimes; in my town it's not some hippy guy selling a fresh batch of magical mushrooms, but rather a sketchy ex-con that has a few ounces of some dried up, un-potent, ill-produced mushrooms that he has no idea about.

They can't differentiate between reality and delusions, so obviously can't assure him what he's thinking is "bat-**** crazy", as you like to put it. As for whether or not he did that or not, IDK, I haven't seen the guy since his episode and if you refer to my above post IDK if I'm going to.

I know this, refer to my quote above. You came in here spewing hostility around for no apparent reasons that I can think of, in particular lashing out at someone I looked up too by basically saying that he was worthless piece of life. I wanted to clarify that by no means was that true and he had immense potential, however, was plagued by things that no human being should have to go through. I'll remember him for what he was before all this.

I also don't appreciate you using derogatory terms for someone that is mentally sick. It's, in fact, people like you that aren't grateful for how easy they've got it and don't stop to think about what others are going through. Empathize you breather, how do you think the comments you made impacted me?

The guy held a gun to his sister!..........Stop........and..........think! If this doesnt classify someone as worthless, I dont know what does.

I never really understood why anyone would look up to another person, are you trying to be them? are you scared of being your own person? what, you think they are great? People change!

People call me names all the time, you get used to it. Also define "how easy they've got it" unlike your friend I dont have genius IQ or immense potential.

Why I am the sucker who has to empathise and no one else does to me, no, I'm the guy who tells it like it really is. Usually I have a direct approach that comes across cold but thats me I like the truth.

I understand what you're saying and because you don't know the friend it may be easy to pass it off as that. There is nothing wrong with looking up to people, it just means you have respect for them, which is good. I'm also sure people have empathized for you at some point in time you probably just haven't realized that. Our personality types differ, obviously, and what you said did come across as cold but I can see how you conclude that as you've never met the subject of this post. Regardless, it's all-in-all, w/e.

I guess I kinda knew the answers to the questions I asked before the post but I thought it would be good content for this sub-forum, and also could gain even more insight into what I'd been concluding.

easy there killer.. (and by killer i mean extremely harsh) people have problems and issues.. and by going at them that way your are only making things a million times worse trust me.. i don't have skitz. but i have my own issues. that are very involved and extremely hard to deal with and except... it doesnt make me a bad person.. it just makes me genetically predisposed because of my family's history... it wasn't my fault.... and trying to control or boss someone around only makes it a million times worse as i stated b4... all you can do is be a friend... lend your ear to them... be soft and understanding to their ordeals.. (even if they sound insane it seems sane to them).. lend an ear... lots of times people can talk and talk and talk and without you even tellling them they need help they can come to those terms on their own... i mean i feel sorry for the guy.. sounds like an extremely rough life.. and he has massive paranoia... if he molested someone he neeeds to be in jail.... but skitzos kill their parents and never remember it.. its a disease/disorder... everyone has some issues... attacking them does nothing but make it all Severely worse..

I'm sorry to hear about that.

Thanks for the sincerity and realizing that he is battling what I would consider to be a disease that he inherited from his mother/father. It just started rearing it's head and he can no longer control what is plaguing him and it's now shown to others. I'm under the impression this paranoia and delusional state of thinking has gone on longer then most of us would think he just hid it for a really long time.

This weekend I talked to a friend and we're going to pick him up some food from Sonic, one of his favorite restaurants, and swing by to chat like old times . We haven't decided to press the subject, however, he may come out and talk to us about it as he isn't always in that state of mind it kinda comes and go's so if we can catch him in the right state of mind he may open up about what he's been battling and we can then discuss it. If not, well, at least we'll be there for him and he won't be all along.