Suggest remedy for mental health problem
Patient: I think my friend may have somethin wrong mentally. He talks about hearing voices that ask him to do bad things. He's distant. He cried when I toldhim a joke. He stayed up an entire 24 hours staring at the ceiling. Something isn't right. Please, help. Doctor: Hello, thanks for the query & I must congratulate you for your vigilance. Based on your description, hearing voices commanding to do something bad, inappropriate emotional responses, social withdrawal & aloofness are suggestive of Psychosis/Schizophrenia. Since when are these symptoms emerging? Your friend needs emergency attention from a Psychiatrist as long duration of untreated Psychotic symptoms leads to worse long term disease outcome. He can be treated by antipsychotic drugs like Olanzapine, Risperidone, Aripirazole, Quetiapine etc. based on his clinical profile & physical health. Once treatment is started, he will start to get better in as early as 1-2 weeks period. He may need to take these drugs on a long term basis depending upon his clinical profile. One last thing is please rule out whether he is on any drugs like cannabis, ecstasy, heroin, cocaine, amphetamine etc. As these drugs may also cause Psychosis during intoxication phase. Do rever back for any further help. Good luck