my wife is 48. We've been married for 18 years. She has always been somewhat paranoid especially towards me. In the past, she has accused me of tampering with her food, damaging her clothing, and most recently physically harming her while she sleeps. My reaction in the past has always been to get upset and even angry at her. But after reading up a little about this subject, I'm beginning to realize that perhaps she cannot help it. Attempting to Rationalize with her is futile. To make matters worse, she has also developed obsessive/compulsive behaviors over the past 4-5 years which are severely handicapping her. About 4-5 years ago, she also began staying up all night and sleeping during the day.
Whenever I suggest she see a doctor, she becomes upset and tells me I'm the one who should see a doctor because I'm the one who's doing her harm. This has been going on for years but appears to be getting more serious. She recently purchased 2 surveilance cameras she plans to use to monitor herself during sleep. I'm somewhat able to deal with this for now but fear that as she gets older, her condition will worsen, causing us emotional and even financial ruin. It hurts me when she accuses me of such absurdities and I'm not sure what my next step should be.