Friends, Family & Carers Forum

[justbritto]

He took his unregistered car. He doesnt usually go out at all, except for the occasional random bus ride. He's been in the problem zone for a couple of months now. We moved house and it set him off. In other words, his thinking is fairly scrambled and unconventional atm.

What to do from here?

[Jo]

If you're seriously worried about him, especially if you think he may self-harm, you could call your local hospital and ask if he has been admitted. Or, worst case scenarion, give your local police a ring.

[CherryBomb]

Hi @justbritto,

That sounds quite concerning. I second Jo's advice, give emergency services a call particuarly if he is at risk of himself.

Does his family or close friends know? Would it help contacting them?

[Former-Member]

Hi @justbritto

Has he gone walkabout before? Is there somewhere he has gone to in the past or somewhere he has affinity with that could be a starting point to locating him?

Assuming he is not answering the phone, if family or friends have not heard and if he is at risk I would definitely report him missing.

[Jo]

When my son went missing at one time, I went to his bank to ask them if they would share with me the withdrawals from his bank account. I hoped it would give me a clue as to where he was. But despite the fact that he'd officially been declared a 'missing person' by the police, the bank wouldn't divulge his details to me. I was extremely upset about this but I believe these types of restrictions are no longer so rigid, so you may find out where he is in this manner.  

[Former-Member]

I think the police can check bank accounts. In my case it was my husband that went missing and I could check on the a/c but he did not access it.

[Jo]

I'm glad that restricting law has gone now. The time I wrote about happened in the late 1980s. We wasted days and nights searching the King's Cross and surrounding areas, when all that time he was up in  Byron Bay. If we'd been able to access his bank account we'd have found out long before the inevitable phone call I eventually received from the hospital in Northern NSW.
Contacting police, hospitals, family members and known friends is essential when someone goes missing in this way. I do hope you have found your housemate by now. 

[Former-Member]

hello @justbritto

This is an extremely worrying time for you.

It is also even more so for your housemate.

The fact that he has basically absconded probably means that his hearing voices have heightened. There seems to be a common fear of public authority, government departments.

They run because they feel that they are being watched, chased, they need to hide.

Hopefully this is not the case for your flatmate and he is found as soon as possible.

Do you know if he is on medication? Or seeing a specialist?

Have a read of Zam's post Firsthand Schizophrenia. You will get the perspective from a person who has been through this.

[Former-Member]

hello @Jo

Sadly the bank still has the same attitude.

I had an authority that was set up on my son's account years ago giving me total access to all of his banking cancelled today. I had rung earlier and because was distressed let slip that he was missing. So after 90 minutes on the phone listening to excuses I go nowhere and now have to ring customer resolution department.

I wanted to scream at them what would you do if your son had this diagnosis and you were scared for his life!! i kept control and now am feeling extremely low. i posted a new thread just to get it out of my head. I just want to curl up in a ball and shut the world out.

[justbritto]

Thanks for the input everyone. It gives me some perspective. Its hard to be the voice of reality to someone having a schizophrenic experience, when the voice of reality is so oppressive to him. I keep thinking 'Maybe he can make it without interference.'
There has a to be a line, though. Most of you seem to agree he's crossed it. Thanks.