Help for a friend

[AussieScott]

A friendis staying with me and I have noticed a marked increase in her erratic behaviour and moods. I am really worried and would like some advice please. When she was up, her mood was heightened for a short period of time, but then it seems to be followed by a very sudden change (within minutes) where when asked what was happening, she complained of being dizzy and she went very quiet all of a sudden. She asked to be left alone but due to what was happening (and experience with her in the past) I decided to sit with her throughout it. She seemed confused and spaced out and soon after this she stopped responding to me at all (I persisted with trying to talk to her as I was quite concerned) and she remained in this state for quite a while and seemed to be just staring at nothing. Then her mood appeared to change again. After some minutes, she was responding quite harshly to me and ran outside where she became quite angry that I would not "leave her alone." This "cycle" happened several times thoughout the time (usually at night) while she has been staying with me. It was a definate happy and outgoing mood, very sudden change to a blank stare where she was not responding and another sudden change to "angry" which lasted for different lengths. I do not know what she was angry at, as she seemed quite happy only moments earlier. After she calmed down, she was quite apologetic and seemed to be genuinely sad and sorry for her outbursts. I found that she did not remember most of the outbursts which concerned me most of all. It was like she was a totally different person and it all happened so quickly.
Do you have any guesses as to what these symptoms may point to?

 

[Suzannah]

I have no idea of what it could be however, what you describe is surely frightening for anyone to witness and it is definitely outside the bounds of how a healthy person behaves. If you are acquainted at all, with her family, I would strongly urge to speak with them and encourage them to help her seek medical intervention at the very least. It may be that she is suffering from a mental illness that can be treated...

I will pray for your friend ...God bless.

 

[bethdinsmore]

Hi Aussie Scott

Sorry your friend is having these problems - I can see why you would be concerned. I would agree with the previous post, that the problems could be emotional or physical.

From personal experience, I would add that there is always a possibility of demon possession or oppression, altho the chances for this being the case are probably much, much less. But if the other things don't check out with doctors, a large church would probably have someone on the staff that would have some knowledge of these things - especially a conservative, evangelical church, as they believe the Bible is inerrant.

In addition, I am taking it that you are a Christian (the cross smilie), while your friend is not, since you posted under struggles for unbelievers. So for your friend I am including my testimony plus the Gospel:



I am secure in my own beliefs, which I came to not by a leap of faith but by the intellect. I don't think everyone else is wrong - there are many millions of people out there all over the world that have the same beliefs. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me." So that verse points to the famous question, "Is Jesus the Lord, a liar, or a lunatic?"

Here's how I arrived at the belief that the Bible is the absolute truth:
"I was raised in a liberal "Christian" church that taught there were mistakes in the Bible. I swallowed it whole, never asking them to show me the mistakes so I could check them out for myself. Instead, I became an atheist for about 12 years. Then I made the mistake of playing the Ouija Board, and became demon oppressed. I quickly realized the reality of the supernatural world. More than that, I would pray when the strange things would happen, and they would immediately stop for a time. That proved to me that there had to be a good supernatural being who had dominance over the evil.

As I was terrified, I started searching various religions to see where the truth was. The puzzle pieces finally fell into place when I read The Late Great Planet Earth, a book on Christian Evidences about Biblical prophecy. It showed that past prophecies had been fulfilled 100% of the time, and convinced me there had to be a God guiding the writing of the Bible. There was a Gospel invitation in the book, and I accepted Christ as my sinbearer at that point.

I have been saved for 33 years now and it just gets better with time. The God of the Bible has never, ever let me down. He has changed me profoundly, and there have been many, many miracles, both small and large (but I am not using that as proof, as many religions have miracles, though they don't have the external proofs I have mentioned. There are many good books out there on Evidences - myfavorites are The New Evidence that demands a Verdict, and a booklet that can be ordered from a Christian Bookstore - "The Agnostic Who Dared to Search".

In the Bible it says that the true God draws all people to Himself, and that the Holy Spirit convicts them of sin, righteousness, and judgment (in other words, of the need for a Savior).

I have come to realize that Christianity is a relationship, not a religion. It is unique - we do not obtain Heaven by our own good works, contrary to the beliefs of all religions. Salvation is based on Christ's goodness, not our own. We receive eternal life when we make the decision to trust in Christ alone to pay for all our sins on the cross, (past present and future), and trust in Him to take us to Heaven one day, without any good works of our own. (Rom. 3:23, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9, I Peter 3:18, and John 3:16). The Bible says also that we cannot lose our salvation (see "gift" in Romans 6:23 and Romans 11:29 and also John 10:28-29 - we can't even take ourselves out of God's hand). I hope that you will make the decision to trust in Christ as your sinbearer (without any good works of your own).

Hope that some of this helps. I'm praying.
Aloha in Jesus

 

[NothingButTheBlood]

Could be a sugar issue or bi-polar disorder but with bi-polar the swings take a much longer time. I would have her go to a physician and get some blood work done. If they can't find anything a psychiatrist would be the next step.

 

[simplicity]

Hello, AussieScott. I'm thinking on the same lines of NBB. The brain produces many powerful chemicals that are sometimes out of balance. Unfortunately, there are a fair number of prescription drugs that have been known to worsen rather than relieve these sorts of conditions. This is one reason why I personally avoid all of these new sedatives coming out into the market. You might also be interested in how much the brain can physically change (and be damaged) under conditions of severe stress.

In the scope of the many living things on this planet, humans are actually kind of wimpy. We constantly need love, hope and a feeling of security. So you be the best friend you can possibly be, pray for her and take your companion to a family doctor that can refer her to a specialist in mental health.

 

[AussieScott]

Thanks guys.
She is booked in to see a Doctor now.
I just hope that he can see through her "I'm fine" face.
She plays "fine" really convincingly at times.

 

[Alive again]

Encourage her to be honest with doc or even let you go with her to descrivbe what you saw. It could even be something simple like petit mal seizures and yes bipolars, esp young can cycle or change very quickly and there are other mental issues that can look like this as well. Perhaps you could print your post for her to take to doc with her or like I said go with and share your bit and then sit in waiting room and pray for doctor's insight, wisdom and discernment. If it is might poss be spiritual get help from a ministry with healling ermphasis. Too many fundamental church just happen to be unaccepting of spiritual warfare.

 

[Anti Existance]

Is there any awareness of her having a traumatic childhood?

 

[AussieScott]

Yes, during one of her 'episidoes' she did break down and she told me some things.
Though she does not seem to have any recollection of that conversation now, so I am hesitant to bring it up with her.

She didn't end up going to her Doctor's appointment... she seems to be doing better though... but I've seen her like this before. It seems to be just another part of the cycle.
It's pretty confusing to know what exactly to do when she claims that she's fine.

 

[NothingButTheBlood]

Unfortunatly there isn't much you can do if she doesn't want to help herself. Could be she's afraid to find out what is causing the problem. She's lucky to have a friend who cares. Sometimes people bail out on those who are troubled. Just keep listening and trying. God bless you both.

 

[ALIOSIAS]

She could have demon posession.
If she as not received the Lord Jesus Christ as her Lord and savior you might consider leading her to Christ.
Jesus is the only defense against demon posession.