Mental disorder

[The Mask]

I have a qestion..

I work in a restaurant and there's this guy,about 50-60 year-old coming over every few weeks,buys alot of food, get's the reciet and counts everything over then eats the food..He's not fat or anything in fact i think he jogs alot because I see him with a towel and sports clothes everytime he comes over now the problem is that when you speak to him, even saying "Hi" to him he starts to talk, he talks loudly and talks just about anything that comes to his mind, statements like "this country sucks" or "I'd like to see all of you rot in hell" or "the president is corrupt and so is the whole country"..Well basicaly he hates everyone and everything...Mentaly that is..When you say to him like "good night" or "good day" that triggers his "talking" and he starts to say all this bad things about the country and the people without controll, then he settles down and shuts up...When you're polite to him he acts politely as well but after about 3-5 seconds latet he can start coursing at you (without controling himself, I think..)

 

Well basically I would like to know whats wrong with him and so is the rest of the staff of the restaurant..Not to laugh at him because no one does (even the costumers sometime ask me what's he's deal I just politely ask them to ignore him because he's mentaly unstable..) so if anyone knows what his syndrome might be I would be grateful.

[morgane]

he's just really opinionated that's all

[DaBladeRoden]

I know someone like that, just let them tire themselves out then change the subject.

[The Mask]

Nope..Can't say that..He's really out of control when he speaks..As I said before he says really random stuff, like for example "The president is corupt" and then instantly saying something like "This chicken sucks" and then "The dream was blurry but I saw then diplomats" and then someting like "They rip us off with their prices"

 

I mean you can clearly see or hear that he's very unstable...Almost sociopath like.

[The Mask]

I know someone like that, just let them tire themselves out then change the subject.

 

Yes but what's he's syndrome? I mean okay,no one has problem with him, everyone understands he's not okay with his head and everyone ignores him. But what is the syndrome..?

[rocio]

No idea what would cause this. There are a couple guys who hang around downtown here like that.

 

One of them is very friendly. He talks to everyone he passes on the street. If you're standing next to him in line, he'll chatter on and on, even if you look the other way. (I don't look the other way - I always chat with the dude.)

 

There's another guy who wanders up and down the street going "child abduction! Child abduction here. Get this one! Murder, guts, rape, murder!" ...random stuff like that. He'll point at people and accuse them of horendous crimes. He once pointed at me and said, "Get this one. She's intercepting the signal and trying to take us down!" I looked at him for a few seconds, then thought "No, I'm not". Just at that very moment, he looked me in the eyes and said, "Yes you are." I'm convinced the guy has superpowers.

[Jeen]

It sound like Schizophrenia to me.

[itsallgrand]

No one here can say.

 

Maybe one day you will be lucky and he will come in with someone who is friend/family/knows him. Have you ever asked him questions about himself?

 

It's enough that you are treating him with respect.

 

To help with your curiosity, just off the top of my head, I'd guess out of the mixed bag of mental disorders such as schizophrenia and the like. Or drug problems. Or a combination.

 

But this is just pulling things out of my hat, from my experiences with people - many schizophrenics have trouble controlling their speech, suffer delusions, and have obsessive themes that they will go on and on about.

 

It really breaks my heart when I hear or meet people who are so obviously suffering. So many people slip through the cracks.

 

So my personal thanks for caring just that bit to show this guy some decency. Whatever he is going through, it just can't be all that easy for him to deal with day after day. And even though you aren't qualified to diagnosis him (and no one on a forum can give a solid answer either, only speculations!) , it's great that you want to know.

[browneyedgirl36]

I've encountered a lot of people like this in my town. We have a lot of people -- some of them homeless -- who go into local businesses and talk loudly to themselves or to others about really bizarre stuff. They're not talking to themselves, though, literally. It's as if they truly believe someone's there and that they're having a conversation with someone. There are two guys I know of who used to go into two different Starbucks stores, buy coffee, and sit there talking to themselves. The first one appeared to be homeless -- mismatched clothes, appeared un-showered and unkempt, and he'd just sit there talking loudly about whatever was on his mind. The other appeared quite "normal" -- clean, well-dressed (shiny shoes, matching belt, hat, etc.) and would do the same thing, except he would sometimes make comments about other patrons as he was talking to himself. He would never direct these comments *at* anyone; he'd just be talking and then all of a sudden say something about someone in the shop. Several people complained about him, and the manager told him he could have a cup of coffee, sit for 30 minutes, and he had to leave (he used to sit there for hours).

 

 

I think it's definitely a sign of some sort of mental illness, though as others have pointed out, we can't be sure. The best thing to do is treat him like a human being, as you've been doing, but don't allow yourself to be distracted from your work by him.

 

I agree with the others: It's sad to hear about and see people like this.

[rocio]

Life must be hard for these folks. Many of them likely already suffer from severe paranoia, and then people are looking at them like they have 3 heads everywhere they go. I agree to treat him like you would anyone else. Make eye contact, smile..

[greensleeves]

It sounds like he might be a Paranoid Schizophrenic. Here's a link with a list of symptonsand some other info.

link removed

[Casey13]

People who have a tough life or suffer a trategy or are left alone at an old age tend to be bitter in many ways loudly as it makes them feel better. I know one, fed up with his life he curses and complains yells at everything.

[big greg]

When I was reading your description of him, it immediately made me think of jack nicholson in "as good as it gets" with him in the restaurant being all loud.

 

I used to live in a low-rent part of town, and pretty much all of the homeless streetwalkers were like this. All you had to do was make eye contact with them one time, and then they would just start talking all kinds of crazy at you. There have been studies, and a big majority of homeless people are homeless because they have some form of mental illness.