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How do I be supportive to a friend with asd who is psychotic/suicidal delusional?

NAS83342

Hi my son and best friend have ASD I do not but am carer for my son with ASD. My friend that I have known for many years who has asd is mostly if not always having some form of psychosis/feeling suicidal , she will be overwhelmed crying  very paranoid and everything is out to get her in some way .I think that weed is bringing out the worst in her i dont think it can be helping her asd which is why she likely smokes it for the anxiety etc  it is very difficult to communicate with her as a friend because she will overload me with her troubles and 99% of it is about her  her delusions and troubles etc and to be honest our interactions consist of 99% of her side and my 1 % of what is going on in my life. I find this very difficult as I have my own mental health issues and have to stay strong  to look after my son who has asd..and needs a lot of help.How do I  deal with her so she doesn't over burden me  how do I be there for someone as a friend without crippling myself ..?

  • Well, if she is psychotic she can't help it right now. During an episode people can't take on board anyone else's needs. But your real friend, the person is still in there, just a bit lost right now.

    I hate mental health services, but this is one of the few things only they can handle, if they don't mess up. They need to deal with the psychosis and then get on top of the drugs, holding her autism core to treatment.

    Hopefully she'll pull through and can be a friend to you again. Sadly, right now she can't do other than deal with her own 99% and all you can do is try to push her in the right direction for support.

    And the weed debate goes on, but personally I don't think it interacts well with some neurodivergent neurologies. Tried only once in my 20s, never been so physically sick and disorientated in my life, while everyone else was a bit chilled out. Never, ever again!

  • in reply to Glitter

    Yes I did email and tell her as blunt as I could but also trying not to offend at same time.Thankyou that is excellent advice Ok hand 

  • I suggest telling her what you just wrote here.  She might not realise that you are struggling and probably won't pick up on any subtle cues that you are giving her.  We need to be told directly if there is an issue. This doesn't guarantee how well she'll take it, but it's a place to start.

    Everyone is different so there's no one way to support an autistic person.  It's about individual needs and the only way to find out what those are is to ask the person themself.