Does this sound like a Persucatory /Anxiety disorder?

[mauimeg]

Aloha,
    Im good friends with a man who also happens to be my boss. We work in a small salon/spa. He openly admits to taking medication for severe anxiety. Hes an extremely hard worker and people pleaser. The problem is he thinks everyone (strangers and co-workers alike) are always mad at him. He thinks people are always "yelling" at him even though no voices are being raised and nothing negative is being said. For many years I believed he was possibly being maltreated by people because HE believed he was. He has fired many people over the years believing they were just plain bad people. For years they are good friends and then one day he changes and can only see the bad in them.And he will talk about the person obsessively until he fires them. Every day someone snarls at him as he walks by or "yells" at him.For example: We were walking down the street and a drunk college kid asked us if we wanted to go to a party. We said no thanks and laughed. Later when he told the story he said the kid got very angry and stomped away.. See what I mean? In his  mind everything is twisted to the extreme being a hostile and angry experience.His own family,strangers and now me. I have been the only person who visits his home and has him over for dinner.He stays holed up in his apartment on his days off. Until now. He has started talking about me to everyone he knows. Apparently  I have been "yelling at him" and now he feels completely alone now that everyone in the world is against him. He thinks he is the only normal person and everyone else has personality disorders( which he tells me EVERY DAY!) I have NEVER said anything cruel to him or ever raised my voice. Im very supportive of him but something changed and I guess Im not exempt. I want to get him help, he's miserable,  but he doesn't think he has a problem. My co-workers and I dont know how to bring this up. But if I dont confront this soon  his dillusions are goung to continue to grow until I become a liar, druggie or worse. Ive seen it happen at least 6 times in three years. Can someone like this ever have someone they can trust? Ive been the best friend to him. I know he has a serious problem. I need to get him diagnosed. Please help! Mahalo from Maui. (Where according to him all of the crazies move to)

[RubyWitch]

Your friend definitely has problems.........very large ones and he is in need of some very serious help. How to get that help for him is the hard part.
Does he have any family you can call on for help with this?
If not, then it's going to be up to you and anyone else he can still claim as a friend. But what that help should be is beyond me! It's kind of like leading a horse to water, ya know? Until he admits he has a problem and wants help, I don't think there's much you can do. Do you think he is a danger to himself or anyone else? Is there anyway for you to find out what kind of medication he's on? That would give us some kind of idea of what he's being treated for. BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM NOT SUGGESTING YOU SNOOP IN HIS PERSONAL BELONGINGS OR SEARCH HIS HOME OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. I WANT THAT MADE VERY CLEAR! Can you ask him about his meds?
You could talk to a therapist or a doctor about his behavior and see what they recommend. Short of calling the police when he's acting "weird," I don't know of any other way to get him help without his consent. I think if the police are called and you say you're afraid he might hurt himself, they can hold him for a couple days for a psych eval, but you can bet he won't be your friend  any more and you'll be out a job, but I get the feeling you're more concerned about him as a friend right now. This is a tough one! I hope someone else on the forum has some better ideas than mine.
I would try to talk to his family if he has any. Then I think I would just talk to a police person and get their opinion..........they would probably be able to tell you what you could do legally to get him some help. Perhaps DSHS could step in? I'm really sorry, but I just don't have a good answer for you. How about your parents? Could you talk to them about this and maybe get some insight from them?
Sounds like your head may be on the chopping block since you've been "yelling" at him now.................I hope you find some help for your friend and I wish you luck. I think you're a very special person to want to help him like this.
Aloha
Greenlydia