Mentally ill man? What should I do?

Gday. I would have put this in belowtopsecret where it belongs but the site doesn't seem to be working for me (some pear file missing). Anyway, to put a long story short, I work for an ISP, and had a VERY strange customer come in requesting an email address, which we duly gave him.

The thing is, even though to speak to this guy SEEMED normal, he believed in some strange diet / religion sort of thing which has lead me to believe he is quite possibly mentally ill and I really want to help him if it's possible but i have no idea where to start.

I can't remember all the strange things he believes in, but some of them are:

1. Wheat has feelings, and when you cut it down you hurt them, and so it gives you cancer. Apparently metal has feelings too, but EVERYONE already knew that

2. (Quote from his booklet which I do'nt have on me at the moment) "The Ets have had a brain operation, which lets them live 1000years, but we see from this that they have a brain tumour, about 1/2inch long"

3. An alien spacecraft has been hovering in our atmosphere since 1989, and these aliens read everything this guy says because he is some .

The real kicker is he wanted an email address so he could "contact NASA and give them warning when the holocaust is about to start".

All of the sentences in his book start off factual, based on real facts, ranging on anything from biology to medicine, even quoting specialised medical equipment (although not in the context that the equipment is actually used for hehe), but a dozen words into the sentence, it's like he thinks of another thought, and starts to write that down mid-sentence. Then about halfway through each paragraph, it gets to the point where it seriously looks like he just threw a bunch of random made-up words together and hoped for the best. Things like "UN - this is the 11 signs of the gospel, which have already been shown, KA - this is hungarian for ...whatever it was, can't remember now".

It was EXTREMELY hard to keep a straight face during his little speech, but being mature about it, it's obvious to me he's got a few screws loose...but how do you help a person like this? Where do I start?

If he is going to start spamming NASA etc then I will be forced to tell him we can't provide any services to him so we don't get blacklisted, in which case I won't be able to help him at all, assuming he does need help

IS there any help from the authorities, to place this man under observation and help?

It sounds like illness brought on by either drug or nuero damage and paranoia

I would have to agree with the two of you that this man does seem to be in need of some pro. help. I have heard of people of this sort. They appear to be normal up to a point and all of a sudden, their brain goes on a rampage. Let me qualify "rampage" Normal people whom many of us are, process information in a rather straightforward way...from inception of an idea to a logical and ordered reply or end of thought. In folks like the one we are speaking of, their thoughts are like one on crack. Don't let this fool you though. Many are very smart but they are several steps below a Savant. They are very easily bored and find that focusing on and following more than one or two topics running, presents a mental state they find sastisfying and can live with. in other words it is like a "fix" for them. If they were faced with a simple single task, they would go nuts. They always have to "read into" whatever subject or task they are to preform, in search of different ways to make it better than what is actually needed. This is my take on this after seeing several in the past yrs. I hope this can be of help. Merry Christmas-FLYIN HIGH

I agree - guy sounds crazy. I know that, especially in the holiday season, goodwill towards our fellow man is a trait we all should strive towards, however some cases don't warrant that response. Do not entertain his notions and make sure you are not alone. Toolmaker has the right idea.

Poor Guy. Trouble is LordGoofus unless the man does something
illegal, typically Australian authorities won't do squat.

Just from what you've told me, if he is serious and not just making idle chit-chat, he is in all probalbity a paranoid schizophrenic. Of course, getting him help won't be easy because, one, he will think you are crazy or just not in the loop if you don't believe his stories, two, unless he breaks the law, there is little the authorities can do, as someone pointed out, which is by the way the worst thing that was ever done for the mentally ill, that is, to say that it is their right to be crazy.

You might give him the URL to ATS to see if maybe he can find some folks of like mind. Paranoid schizophrenics usually have poor personals skills and withdraw from social contact as much as possible.

I see you met my ex husband......

This wasn't in Victoria somewhere was it and he didn't wear one cut off Black Glove did he? Big guy, toothless, maybe a hat and a perpetual cigarette hanging out of hand..Or two, sometimes he has two going at once. Sounds exactly like him right down to the booklet.

and the above post was correct. Austrlian Authorities will not do a thing.. Geez then they would have to actually work for their paypacket and that would not do ..would it............

Nobody does anything anymore..... its pass the buck sit on the butt and shuffle papers around.

To give you an example of Australian Authorities and people with any sort of "differentness'

southburnett.net...






[edit on 29-12-2004 by Mayet]

slip him some acid. he's probably schizophrenic. acid will help clear out his thoughts.

Sounds like something drug induced. possibly paranoia caused from some sort of psychedelic drug, maybe acid or psylocybin, or one of the various others- depending on whats prevelant in your area.

try to talk to him calmly, and keep him grounded in reality, but it would be preferable if you stayed away

Contact your local police department and tell them that you have a EDP (Emotionally disturbed person) at your location (wherever your at) and they should come and handle the situation.

He's not a threat to himself or others, just let him be and MYOB

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There is probably not much you can do.

Be aware of your own safety.

Reasoning with him is unlikely to be effective.

The authorities are unlikely to be helpful if he is not a threat to himself or others.

The only realistic suggestion that I can think of: If he is a local resident, try to find out if he has any local relatives. If you have further contact with him, and he persists in the disturbed behavior, you could ring up his relative and just mention that he seems to be having some problems and you are worried about him. But chances are they already know how he is.
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Originally posted by GradyPhilpott


You might give him the URL to ATS to see if maybe he can find some folks of like mind. Paranoid schizophrenics usually have poor personals skills and withdraw from social contact as much as possible.

too good to pass up. Why dont you have him contact grady directly?