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Blanche and Azur,
Thanks for sharing. Yes, he does have a serious problem which was proven yesterday at work. He was convinced that he was videotaped and on cable tv. He left the premises saying that he was going to report it to the police. By the time I realized he had left, all I could do was call the co-worker he had asked for a ride to try and get him back to the office. He did not come back, but I spoke to his wife, who was distraught and told her to get him home and get him medicated. I've been tryging to reach his doctor, but with no success, but I did tell his wife that he could not continue working in his condition. I confirmed with one of the directors that the company will pay for treatment.
It's weird in that I had spoken to him during the afternoon and asked him if he would agree to having the company pay for his treatment. I'd also sent off an email recommending time off for him and then all hell broke lose.
It's been hard on the folks at work. All of us are praying for him. I hope that with time off and appropriate treatment, he'll be back to normal at some point.
posted by
word.smith
on September 9, 2006 at 7:54 PM
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Lost,
Thanks, we're hanging in there.
posted by
word.smith
on September 9, 2006 at 7:40 PM
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Word.smith
It seems that this problem will be out of your hands soon. These kinds of things in a workplace are distressing. I remember my first day at a newspaper years ago. One of the staff came in and was acting very strangely - of course I'd never met the guy so I didn't know how he was normally but for the others it was distressing to watch someone they knew and liked crumble before their eyes. A long period in hospital followed and then last I heard he was still working and doing fine.
posted by
Azur
on September 9, 2006 at 5:39 PM
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Word.smith, that's a tough situation for you, your boss and coworkers,
because convincing this man, and, apparently, his wife, that he has a serious medical problem, and is delusional, may be hard. It sounds like she's in as much denial as he is. I don't know about Jamaican law, but he may have to be involuntarily committed, and that is extremely stressful on all concerned, espeically him, as he will no doubt perceive it in light of his paranoia. Although, there is good reason to be fearful of psychiatric hospitals, ,and treatment, but it is the only system the world has for dealing with people with psychoses, and it's sounding like he is psychotic, whether bipolar or schizoaffective.
I'm not sure how much you personally can do for him, but I think your fears for your coworkers, and your workplace are well-founded. I'm not sure how you will have to handle this, but good luck and God be with you, this is no light matter.
posted by
Blanche.
on September 9, 2006 at 3:01 PM
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That's tough!
I will be thinking of you.
posted by
SomeoneElse
on September 9, 2006 at 5:24 AM
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Anna,
Nice to see you. He will be seeing his psychiatrist as early as we can get an appointment. We are all praying that he gets better.
posted by
word.smith
on September 8, 2006 at 8:07 PM
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Word,
He sure sounds like he needs something...hopefully he does see a psychologist...
posted by
SincerityAnna
on September 8, 2006 at 8:01 PM
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Pat,
Things got interesting today. He had one of his episodes and left the premises to find the police because of his fears that he was in some sort of video. He did not come back, however, I spoke to his wife and have given him some additional time off and will be making arrangements with his doctor. He clearly cannot function and I doubt he'll be able to for some time.
My frog may need a tranquilizer dart. 
posted by
word.smith
on September 8, 2006 at 7:49 PM
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If you're making the decision about what to do
with this person, then you're between a rock and a hard place. Sounds like he could be one of those irrational guys who decides the boss is the cause of all his trouble and comes back with a weapon after he's fired. I hope you can convince him to get help, but one thing you can't do is to let this disruptive behavior continue.
Speaking of disruptive behavior - that irritating little frog dancing in the right margin of your blog needs to take a nap. Geez, how annoying!
posted by
Pat_B
on September 8, 2006 at 5:57 AM
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