Hello. I have a severe problem with my son and I was hoping that someone here could help me. Lately, my son has ideas of being followed. He says that there is a dark man that follows him around. I am afraid that this may be schizophrenia. Could this be true? I would really appreciate if someone could answer me.
Hello, there. It doesn’t have to mean necessarily that your son has schizophrenia. He can have paranoia. In paranoia, there are ideas of persecution that at first can seem possible. I mean, if a person says that someone follows him, you are not sure whether it is true or not, especially if you don’t know him well. However, in paranoid schizophrenia, you see at once that a person has illogical ideas of persecution. That kind of person would say for instance that someone wants to still his organs. In that way you see that something is wrong at once. In any case, your son should talk to a psychiatrist. Only then, a proper diagnosis is made. I hope everything will be all right.