Reader’s Question

I am a college student, and I have a friend who I think is developing some kind of mental disorder, but I’m not sure what kind. I’m not an expert at psychological disorders, but I think he may starting to have schizophrenia.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that my friend started becoming very “hyper” and quite annoying. He kept saying things like he’s going to start a philanthropy event for our fraternity, get an A in our winter classes, and even that he’s thinking about starting his own business. I know these might seem like good things, but he was never this energized or motivated before. And he’s doing other odd things like dancing in his room and filming himself dancing. Yesterday we had an exam for our 3-hour winter class, and he finished it in 10 minutes and left. When I asked him what happened after class he said he got nervous on the essay questions. Today, I went to see him after class, which he skipped, and I asked him why. He said something told him that he shouldn’t go to class today and he’s just been dancing in his room. I looked around his room, and it’s messy, and he smells poorly. He also wrote a bunch of nonsense on index cards. Next, he started laughing like a crazy person while playing his Xbox, but there was clearly nothing funny on the screen. Then he said random things out of nowhere, like “yeah, I remember” or “you’re on the left side and I’m on the right side.” I told him we have a presentation coming up, and we plan on discussing it on Google Wave (a chatting tool). Yet he repeatedly said he doesn’t have Google Wave even though we’ve been talking on it over the weekend. He seems to have completely forgotten about our past conversations.

When I told my friend that he’s been acting strange lately and asked whether everything was alright with him, he said everything is fine. But I know something is wrong. I know he was depressed last semester because he failed a few classes and lost his job, but it seemed like he recovered from it. But now it seems like something snapped in his head and seems to be worse every day. What should I do?

Our Clinical Psychologist’s Reply

Many of the things you report are common to individuals struggling with Bipolar Disorder. Folks with the disorder can have depressive periods. But they can also experience periods when they become overly energized, appear restless, have grandiose thoughts, and don’t think clearly.

As far as what to do: encourage your friend to get the professional help he will likely need. These days, there many treatments available to help individuals struggling with mental illness. And the sense of stigma that was once routinely attached to such illnesses is generally abating. Most individuals who struggle with brain biochemical imbalances can not only be treated but also can live healthy, normal, productive lives. Your school counseling center is likely to have a psychologist, psychiatrist, or other professional on hand (or available) who can make an accurate assessment and facilitate necessary treatment.