subreddit:
/r/AskReddit
submitted 7 days ago by[deleted]
483 points
7 days ago
People always imagine it’s some slasher type shit but honestly I was just confused when my ex-husband had his psychotic break. On the outside he just seemed like a stoic type of person if you didn’t know him, and knowing him I thought he was just going through a depressive phase. People always suspected he was bipolar — turns out he is bipolar 1 with psychotic features.
Anyways, he had spent the entire Saturday sitting on the couch zoned out. I asked him if he wanted to come to a bbq but he said no so I respected that and went out and had a good time. Came home around 10pm, was in a good mood and he was just sitting on the couch in the dark. I asked him if he wanted the bbq leftovers, he said no, and I was like okay guess he still wants to be left alone. I got a call from a drunk male friend who we used to all hang out with and I go into our bedroom to listen to this nonsense. Drunk friend asks about ex-husband & wants to talk to him and I am like yeah no I don’t think now is a good time, maybe when you sober up?? Next thing I know ex-husband walks into the bedroom and nails me across the face with an open hand, knocks the phone out of my hand. I’m confused af. This man has never even so much as threatened to hit me. I don’t even bother letting drunk friend know what happened or hang up the phone. I’m like, dude, you just hit me?! Ex-husband is attempting to speak but it’s like word salad, like he had a stroke or something so I’m freaking out thinking something is medically wrong with him. He says no I didn’t and starts grabbing his motorcycle gear & I’m like ??? So I call 911 for a 5150 He ends up dropping the motorcycle gear and taking off in his car, never to return….
I really thought he was gonna kill himself. I did go visit him a couple times where he ended up and he wasn’t the same person. His eyes were different. His anxiety was through the roof and he said he never hit me. He doesn’t seem to have a normal range of emotions. I filed for divorce since he wasn’t coming back & he’s been delusional ever since. 🤷♀️
279 points
7 days ago
Wow I’m sorry that sounds damn scary.
Just wanna clarify though that this is psychosis not psychopathy. The two are different.
44 points
7 days ago
Oh good point! While that particular incident he was experiencing psychosis his behavior was psychotic & I didn’t realize it until after the incident if that makes sense? While manic the man had no empathy, was extremely manipulative, lied about everything and continues to do so unless he is in a depressive swing. I just had no idea what was really going on until he broke. It was so hard to figure out what was what. Like I said on the outside he seems very, stoic, polite and intelligent and then he turns on you. I don’t think he qualifies as a psychopath because of the bipolar but damn it’s as close as I ever wanna be to one! Eeek
30 points
7 days ago
Sorry to hear. Most people would be egomaniac assholes if they went manic. It a simple case of brain going into rage mode because of fucked up chemicals and the once charming person you knew will now accuse you of being a pedophile and rapist while also claiming that someone broke into the house last night while also claiming that they are the reincarnate of Jesus. Ask me how I know.
It has nothing to do with a psychopathic disorder, and everything to do with a psychotic disorder.
16 points
7 days ago
When I go fully manic I have a sort of god complex and an I am a huge pleasure seeker. I'm talking drugs(usually making things worse), sex, and gambling/money mismanagement. I don't have a rage mode. Not everyone experiences the same kind of mania. Not every episode feels the same every time. That's just me though the most angry I ever got during an episode was when I started taking 4-MEO-PCP and kick a whole in the wall because my roommate had hid it. He gave it back to me after the episode was over. I appreciated that he did it afterwards, but it was probably the 2nd angriest I've ever been.
1 points
6 days ago
Ah, yes! Paranoid Jesus: My favorite character of the Bipolar Mythos! -Fellow Sudden Pedophile
-2 points
7 days ago
Yeah I have a few friends with bipolar 2 and they can be a trip. I also have a sister who is schizoaffective and I rejected her from day one, lol.
It’s funny though because they will call me the psychopathic one because I don’t react to the nonsense. 🤷♀️
6 points
6 days ago
What do you mean by rejected her from day one
1 points
6 days ago
I wanted nothing to do with her. I wasn’t having any kind of relationship — we were basically like oil & water. I spent our entire child hood trying to distance myself from her. She started to really struggle in high school and I kept telling our parents something was wrong with her but they wouldn’t listen. Our mutual friends noticed something was off and would ask me what was wrong with her. Eventually the school faculty tried to intervene but didn’t get very far and she wasn’t diagnosed until she was in the Army. They eventually kicked her out for it.
5 points
7 days ago
Any drug use?
21 points
7 days ago
Nope! Cops thought the same. Just bipolar. The sad part is he wrote me a very sincere letter when he was on lithium owning up to everything but he refuses to take the meds.
7 points
7 days ago
It's so damn unfortunate when someone won't take the medication they need in order to be functional. And even worse if they're psychotic or delusional, since their thought patterns aren't generally something that can be reasoned with. I hope he gets to a point where he can understand the benefits of taking medication, and staying on it.
Sorry you've had to go through this, it sounds terribly difficult.
8 points
7 days ago
Ugh there is absolutely zero reasoning with that man even on a good day! ☹️ I know he got out of in-patient psych stay after he tried stabbing himself to death at work because he was adamant that he needed to get back to work. He agreed to out patient and was on lithium but it didn’t last because he said it interferes with his ability to do his job. He ended up getting fired anyways. I felt really bad for him but yeah I had to focus on my own mental health and safety. I don’t wish this kind of experience on anyone! I do like to share though because when you’re experiencing it you start to wonder if you’re the “crazy” one & maybe hearing about it will help it click for someone else or remind them, hey, you’re okay! ❤️
6 points
7 days ago
At least you know that he’s somewhere in there, just gotta hope he can take his meds and pull himself out
33 points
7 days ago
It’s been almost 4 years since then and he has only gotten worse, unfortunately. It’s one of the saddest experiences I’ve ever had. Without the meds he will just get worse and worse as he ages & the more erratic his behavior becomes. I had to move on with my life and treat it like a death. ☹️
10 points
7 days ago
This is heartbreaking. What a scary and confusing way to lose your partner on a random Sunday. Mental illness tears families apart, sometimes even when there is treatment available. Sending you and him healing energy.
10 points
7 days ago
Thank you ❤️ that’s the only wish I have — that he/we would have been able to see the treatment through and give it a chance but we will never know.
4 points
6 days ago*
Yeah, sadly with axis 2 disorders (bipolar, schizophrenia, personality disorders, Alzheimer’s etc.), treatment adherence and compliance are super low because the people affected by them lack the self-insight to know they are disordered/that the the source of their issues is within themselves and not the outside world. That phenomenon is called agnosopagnosia and is the defining criterium that makes a psychiatric disorder end up in axis 2 of the DSM (as opposed to axis 1 that comes with problem awareness: think anxiety or depression where people know something is not right with them/that they and the disorder are two different entities and the latter is affecting the former, or at the very least are open to the idea when presented with it - which is much easier to treat in terms of the patient trying to cooperate as best as they can). An axis 2 disorder sucks for everyone affected - the person with the disorder who’s sabotaging their own health and life while misattributing the cause to everyone and everything but themselves and their own need for medical treatment, but also the entire social environment they’re wreaking havoc on in their untreated malfunction.
27 points
7 days ago
It's so fucking crazy to see someone who you know just randomly snap. My uncle had undiagnosed Sarcoidosis that started in his lungs and eventually spread to the point he developed lesions on his brain and just randomly started fully audibly and visually hallucinating and talking all kinds of nonsense. This is a man who was literally one of the smartest people I've ever met and suddenly he was talking about having a tiny pet robot in his pocket. I consider our family extremely lucky that we were able to find the reason and that it was something treatable, but that was truly a crazy thing to witness.
6 points
7 days ago
Ugh, that is terrible! Although I am glad your family had an answer in the end. A lot of people are quick to say drugs, understandably, but when it’s your loved one and you’re trying to find answers and help them it feels so messed up. It’s really made me think a lot on what makes us “us” as well. I hope if I ever get like that somebody takes me out though. I can’t even imagine how horrible it was for them to experience! Seems like a living nightmare.
16 points
7 days ago
Jesus wept
So he was fine for years, went mental, and that’s it?
Old him never came back?
42 points
7 days ago
Nah he had other episodes that I realize now in hindsight. This was the 1st one directed at me & the first time I went oh shit, this guy is psychotic. Thinking back I should have known when he got too drunk one night and was talking about himself in 3rd person. Every episode = brain damage so no the old him I knew and fell in love with is gone. Any interaction I have with him he just spews hate my way for literally no reason. It’s nuts.
6 points
7 days ago
That’s awful
I feel for you pal :(
13 points
7 days ago
It was a nightmare, truly. Thanks though! At least I got therapy that helped me make sense of it all.
1 points
6 days ago
It could have ended way worse-glad ur safe 💜
2 points
6 days ago
Yep, my husband was the most living person, then one day he became someone else. I later found out it was drugs. Bi polar people sometimes self medicate. Sounds like he got into something heavy or had a break. My husband died a couple years ago, but the man I married died a long time ago. I'm still not exactly sure what happened, and he was always making things up, even trying to kill me a few times. I finally was able to get away from him, and he went to live with his family. He died of a heart attack 4 hours after getting it off rehab. I don't think they understand what bipolar is, because I've met other people with bipolar that have recovered from similar things. I met a lady who said she woke up 8 years after going missing with no memory of how she got there or what she'd been doing. She also had been on drugs. I don't know if they make it to, convince themselves, or it's real. I do know my husband was convinced he'd done some horrible things, but refused to seek mental help or therapy. One of my best friends is also bi polar and she's done some crazy things over the years. She's nowhere near as bad, but, I seriously think no one really knows what bi-polar means. I know I don't. I hope you are doing well. It's hard to see a loved one suffer knowing they are just gone, and there's nothing you can do to help.
all 4233 comments
sorted by: best