I think my brother is/has gone nuts

[jambo101]

5-6 years ago my then 45 year old brother was a fun loving guy,we spent hours on our motorbikes or cruising around in our sportcars,we were up for any kind of airshows, bike shows ,boat shows,car shows etc.
Fast forward 6 years, he has now sold all his toys in favor of an outlandish collection of guns,his wife has left him along with most of his friends, he's taken up residence with a tough old b..tch and they live in a trailer in the woods with 4-5 pitbulls roaming around the house,to protect the guns i guess, he's given up his propane delivery job in favor of an armed guard job ,where he gets to wear a uniform and walk around with guns.
Its now hard to even talk to the guy as every topic turns into an obsessed diatribe about/against the government coming to get us,boogymen are around every corner,drones are watching our every move,in his world conspiracy theories are all true.
He spends most evenings obsessed with his many rightwing websites, talk shows and forums.

I'm now seriously worried he may shoot me or a family member if one of our conversations dont go his way. The guy has basically become psychotic.
I dont know what to do as he now sounds like he's gone absolutely batshit crazy.

[mopinko]

1. well, we try to keep a lid on words like you are using, but i get you.

paranoia is the word i think you want to be using. it does sound disturbed, especially as it is a drastic change in behavior. do you think drugs are involved?
unfortunately, the hardest thing in mental health is getting someone else into treatment. even if you get them there, they have to buy into it.
what you can do is protect yourself and your family is to file for an order of protection.
and maybe educate yourself. the new mh information group is really shaping up well. great place to ask more general questions.

i'm sorry that your brother is lost to you right now. it is an incredibly painful situation to be in.

[jambo101]

2. The bro definitely is not into drugs.

As for=we try to keep a lid on words like you are using,
not sure which words you are referring to.
sorry if i've breached forum protocol..


OK i think i get your meaning..

[Neoma]

3. Gone nuts, batshit crazy, they're stigmatizing words.

I have to say though, being a paranoid right-winger is in a completely different category. I think being fearful from lies isn't really an illness. It's propaganda at work. Relating right-wingers as mentally ill is stigmatizing by itself. But it's rather confusing. Are they delusional, do they want to kill people, and are they always afraid? Most likely. Is it from having a mental illness? ... Not always. Are the KKK mentally ill? No, they're simply assholes by design. That's just how it is.

What people deem as "crazy" doesn't always have a medical basis.