Our friend, a guy in his mid-twenties, recently became permanently manic and has been living with delusions for the past couple of months. He believes that he is being chased after by authorities and therefore is running around the westcoast trying to get away. He thinks Vegas is his safe haven. Do to his manic behavior, he has been dismissed from his university and therefore university housing and now has no permanent home. He has friends and family in many different cities of California and Arizona, trying to stay in touch with him and to help him. But once you imply that you think he is ill, he will become angry and lose all trust in you.

I've spoken to several psychiatrists who say there's nothing we can do until he admits himself to treatment. But PART OF THE DISORDER IS LACK OF INSIGHT INTO THE ILLNESS! So what can we possibly to do convince him that his manic behavior and unrealistic delusions are due to a mental disorder?

He used to have panic attacks when these delusion symptoms appeared. He felt that he was going crazy and was trying to stop it. Then, he eventually succumbed to it and now he doesn't have panic attacks anymore. It is difficult to have a conversation with him because he will cut you off if you're not pleasing him and has stormed off on many occasions. He is surprisingly very coherent in his speech, speaks better than he ever has before. It's just that the things he says do not make sense. He tells stories of how a celebrity brought him breakfast to his motel, that cops followed him to a starbucks and therefore he had to run away, that he is going to meet his lawyer to sue "everybody."

He was always a very intelligent, gentle and caring person. A good friend to many. What can we do to help him? He is spiraling into debt and his bright future is now no longer in sight.