i hope someone can shed some light on/give me somewhere to start on my "situation"....my mother is 67 years old....functions normally in every way, shape, and form..except.....she is having quite the detailed and intricate delusions and paranoia. she thinks that a family from her home country (Scotland) has all moved to her town in Michigan....and that they are harassing her - following her, shining spotlights in her apartment window, and even using a top secret military electronic harassment machine on her. after almost a year of me not arguing but not feeding the delusions, i finally had the "talk" with her. i did it in a very loving way and am trying to force the issue to tell her M.D. about all of this and check for any physical anomaly. she has pretty much ditched her entire family (maybe because i seem to have a bit more patience)....but i am getting little more than lip service about her getting checked out. as i said, she is completely competent and normal in every other way....but the situation is progressively getting worse. she has taken to making a 2 + page list of license numbers that belong to "that" family...following her etc. if it helps, my grandmother (her mother) had alzheimer's. i am her oldest son and i am the only family left that she actually talks to. help? i just don't know where/how to proceed with her.
Yes, forcing the issue might get her so mad at you she'll stop talking to you. But not forcing the issue might result in the paranoia cutting you off anyway. There are no answers without risks. Do the best you can in your mother's interest, and don't beat yourself up if the results aren't perfect.
Good luck! Let us know what you find out.