Posession?? Hallucination??

[blackgen]

hi!

One of my friends has become seriously ill (mentally). He is currently in college and lives in a hostel. He has been behaving strangely for quite a long time (about 3-4 months). He has been going through a rough time academically and has not been doing too well. He also started isolating himself. Things came to a head about 5 days ago, when he started shouting loudly in the night without concern for who was watching him.

The shouting incident:
He started bad-mouthing an Indian painter called M.F.Hussain, who drew nude pictures of Sita (Lord Rama's consort and an Indian goddess). He had completely lost his senses as to who was watching him. This continued for more than an hour and a half.

The next day, I heard of the incident and went to see him. He behaved extremely strangely. He had a brand new pencil in his hand, with which he was trying to write in the air. At other times, he would place it in his mouth and look at me sideways. He skipped ahead on the road like a child, all the time oblivious that I was at his side. When I would talk to him, he would keep asking why I was following him or why I was asking him questions. He then told me that he could summon Sita at any time he wished. I asked him how he could do that and he told me that I should paint. He was also trying to compose poetry in Sanskrit. Repeatedly, he was talking about Kali, Kalidas and Kalachakra. When we sat down, he pointed behind me and asked if I could see a golden peacock. Other similar incidents followed.

He started dancing in public and had to be calmed down and brought back. His reaction time has become very slow and he forgets things. He keeps running away from people saying that he has to think.

Well, so those are the symptoms.. Could somebody explain to me what the possible cause is??

[The Present Moment]

I would say that your friend has psychosis.  It could have be caused by any number of factors, mental and physical.

[MisterJingo]

This sounds like it could be a psychotic break (if drugs have been involved it might not be) and you should either get your friend to see a docotor or get a doctor to come and see your friend.

Over christmas a friends friend suffered a psychotic break and before they could get him to see a doctor he vansished. He was picked up in London last week (he'd been living on the streets) and has now been sectioned :\.
So the sooner you can get your friend help the better.