My brother seems to have mild delusions--thinks movies are being made about him, or movies have secret messages for him, that he is extremely powerful/influential, that he has found important flaws in scientific theories that the establishment refuses to acknowledge, etc.
My question is, is it necessary to get him into treatment? He is completely functional at work, and these mild delusions of grandeur seem to help his self-esteem. I do worry about the effect they have on his children, and it causes other strains in the family, but it seems pretty mild compared to other stories I read on this board.
The only reason to get him into treatment (if it's even possible--I don't know how I'd convince him) would be if this is likely to get worse. Five years from now will we wish we'd done something when he still had some contact with reality? I'm planning to talk to a psychologist to get more info but it's hard to get away from work the next few weeks, so I was wondering if any of you have thoughts or advice. What is the course of the disease if left untreated, and what are the warning signs that tell you it's getting worse?
(And my deep, deep sympathies to those of you going through this with a spouse. I've been reading the stories on this forum and my heart goes out to you.)