Friend Group Sends Their "Weird" Friend To A Mental Hospital With Their Three-Week Prank That Convinced Him He Was Having A Schizophrenic Episode
Pranks that do not end in laughter or amusement from everyone involved, including the subject of the prank, are not pranks at all. It's bullying plain and simple.
Intentionally gaslighting someone until she believes she's having a full-blown delusion is not what a prank is but it's what happened to this Redditor. His friends thought it would be funny to dress up in silly costumes and deny they wore them once OP mentioned the odd clothing.
It didn't end there, they would randomly say, "the police like to track people like you," and pretend it was completely normal. OP's friends didn't know he has schizophrenia.
OP has been diagnosed since he was 22 years old. He is active in communities related and groups related to schizophrenia but he doesn't actively disclose his diagnosis even to his friends.
They just think he's weird when he randomly decides not to attend a party at the last minute or when he avoids crowds. When their pranks started, OP panicked because he thought he was having an episode.
He kept asking his friends about the weird things one of them said but they convinced OP he wasn't even there to know these conversations. OP was terrified; he thought it was a delusion that was about to spiral into psychosis.
OP voluntarily checked into a mental hospital to protect himself because he was so scared that his medications stopped working
u/DrudawgthedroodNone of his friends heard from OP for a few days
u/DrudawgthedroodWhen he got out, he decided to share what he went through with one of his friends
u/DrudawgthedroodAfter the conversation, OP got a long message from his friend who is apologizing for what they did and OP promptly snapped at his friend
u/DrudawgthedroodRegardless of medical history, this is a cruel joke to keep up for three weeks. It's not funny at all.
BolieleIt's like these people never watched an episode of Just For Laughs Gags, those kind of confusing pranks are the ones to emulate
Starchild2534What prompted them to play this sick joke on one of their friends as a group? Not one of them voiced an objection to this even when OP was obviously freaked out by it? Or are they just that dense?
BaddestPatsy
It didn't have to come to that but it was good on OP for recognizing when he needed help and actually following through. He deserves better friends than these people.
BaddestPatsy
They kept it up for three weeks, too, even after OP voiced his confusion and panic multiple times
[deleted]
Even for someone without a history of mental illness, this would be a sick joke to play. For OP who is schizophrenic, it could be life or death. It's dangerous.
Kebar8
They collectively suck and their poor attempt at an apology is laughable after what they subjected OP to
CopperPegasus
It really does
idunmessedup
OP posted an update a few months after his original post:
u/Drudawgthedrood
He has since cut his friend group out of his life and has been doing incredibly well since
u/Drudawgthedrood
The milestones you achieve once you cut the toxic people out of your life are infinite and OP proves that
u/Drudawgthedrood
Pranks like these are not enjoyable, even for a person removed from the situation. It's shocking that none of OP's ex-friends felt uncomfortable when they were executing their "brilliant" prank.
They're just that cruel, I guess. It was appalling reading OP's original post, even by Reddit standards, but knowing that he is thriving now offers a bit of relief.
