former Partner in paranoid psychosis is threatening me and contacting friends and associates
We only dated for a short while. When we started I knew they were bipolar but I wasn't fully aware of the extent or severity of it and that they had also experienced psychosis and Paranoid episodes. I did notice that it wouldn't work out because frankly I just felt it was irresponsible of me to go on dating someone facing struggles that I knew I could just not deal or cope with, let alone help them in any way.
We parted on good terms until the last few days when they:
- asked me to get back together or just have a talk with eachother (I initially agreed to the latter). They also told me they were in a state of severe psychosis, to which i strongly urged them to get immediate medical help, I don't think they did.
- contacted several people they knew I was close to to ask for my adress, saying they were in love with me still and/or they wanted to send people to harm me
- threatened me explicitly after I adressed these threats, after denying them at first.
This was based on a LOT of horrible things they believe I did to them and basically a supposedly fully malicious intent on my part.
I really did not know what to do other than to not try to "fight" the delusions but just explain that I understand they are scared and pleaded for them to get medical help.
This had no effect and I just couldn't get through to them, they also said that talking to me was triggering them which for me I took as a sign to no longer respond to those messages.
I feel horrible that a person I genuinely do care about thinks this way about me and I feel depressed asf when I think about that they might never realize that these delusional memories are false and this awful person is always who i will be in their mind.
of course I am also paranoid as hell because of the amount of people they spread these accusations to, I decided not to take any legal action because I felt like thats the last thing a person going through this kind of hell needs at the moment.
I'm a pretty depressive person in general and I just do not know what to do I just can't brush the paranoia off, of how this could ruin my life and what I would do if something happened to them or just the fact that this is just the kind of monster I'll always be in the mind of a person I was kind of falling in love with for a time and still care about.
I feel like I don't even have the self esteem to like really detach myself from their paranoia because eventhough I know there is no reality to what they think I did to them or wanted to do them I still feel insanely guilty about this...And of course I mean I think I genuinely do share some guilt because I just shouldn't have started that situationship in the first place or read the warning signs much sooner.
Like, it is fucking hypocritical of me to start a relationship with someone with these issues and then when it gets this bad to just try to save my own ass or guilt consciousness.
Has anyone had this kind of situation or any kind of Idea what to do?
Also if you've been on the other end of that kind of scenario, how did that develop? Or what do you think someone in my situation should have done or could have done differently?
I just really really really do not want to cause anyone pain or make anyones life worse but it just feels like I fuck it up with every step I take or don't take